Anna Relph- Church Visit 1

Church name: Faith Community of Saint Sabina
Church address: 1210 W 78th Place
Date attended: September 28^th
Church category: Different ethnic or racial demographic

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?

The worship service I attended was most similar to my regular context in its format. It began with music, followed with announcements, a special musical number was done, and then the preaching began. After the preaching was communion, which is similar to church contexts I’ve spent the most time in. This emphasizes its importance and is influenced and moved by the worship before it. Similar to the church I’d grown up in and similar to several music teams I’ve worked with, music was obviously very meaningful to this congregation. There was time, talent, and preparation put into it, symbolizing its ability to be a strong spiritual connector between congregants and God himself.

Several points were different than the environment I grew up in. Congregants at St. Sabina were primarily African American, which is different from my context. What stood out to me the most though was the female preacher we heard. In the church I grew up in, women were not at all allowed to participate in preaching, and not permitted to lead anything from the stage, certainly not the pulpit.

What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?

            Most appealing was the passion that led each person leading the service, and the passion that was evident in the reactions of those sitting in the pews. Honestly, I don’t think I will ever hear a better rendition of “It Is Well” in my entire life. The atmosphere is one of energy and motion, and people are responsive to their leaders. When the preacher began, the passion behind her words was seen in the way she delivered what she had to say and the drive behind why she thought it was important. The service as a whole felt purposeful, and like it was a place people desired to be. If a church is welcoming in that way, and it feels like people are engaged in its mission, curiosity forms as to the message they are presenting.

What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?

            A disorienting point about the worship service was the way that people worshipped. Challenging not because I thought it was wrong, but challenging because it was different than the environment that I was used to. As people worshipped, they seemed to be less self-aware, and more open than the seemingly emotion-less church context that I grew up in. I desire to feel more freedom and openness, but it makes me uncomfortable even still.

            In contexts where I am the minority, which don’t occur very often, I am constantly worried about how others perceive me. Imaginary questions arise; does she think she’s better than us? etc. It is hard to try to join sometimes a context like, as we’ve talked about in class before, you weren’t invited to. Wrapping my mind around the fact that solidarity as believers is more powerful than racial lines takes some work.

           

What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?

            In the service, the preacher talked about Proverbs 27:19, which ends with “so the heart of man reflects the man.” She spoke on honesty, and challenged the congregation to really think on whether or not we were actually engaged with the will of God. Her line that struck me the hardest was “God has already spoken”, which is true. The word is filled with commandments and promises of God; we really have no excuse not to follow them. Most interesting was that she spoke on this in reference to the education system, because she herself was an administrator in this context. She said “Children toady need hope, need that truth”, referencing God’s truth, salvation he gives through Jesus. This service illuminated the challenge to be honest about where I’m at following God’s truth, especially in the face of something as difficult as the public school system. So many places in our lives need truth and hope, and what am I actually doing about that?