Emma Domach - Church Visit #2

Church name: Saint Sabina

Church address: 1210 W 78th Pl, Chicago, IL 60620

Date Attended: October 12, 2014

Church Category: Lower socioeconomic demographic

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

Saint Sabina was very different from the predominantly white suburban church I grew up attending. For starters, Saint Sabina finds its home in a beautifully adorned cathedral of sorts, with a Black Jesus painting behind the altar, and a neon yellow fluorescent sign that shouts “JESUS.” The church was almost entirely comprised of African American members, with a small group of white students visiting from the divinity school at UIC. The service was charismatic, fiery, political at points, and moving. The pastor spoke about issues that white suburbanites do not usually worry about such as the all-too-often impossibility of getting student loans and the all-too-often violence plaguing their neighborhoods. Saint Sabina was completely opposite of my home church, as is true of the neighborhood it resides in.  

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

I liked how real the service was because it reflected where the members of the congregation were emotionally and spiritually. Instead of the covering up of trials like I was so familiar with at my home church, the pastor called out people who perpetuate racism and, as he said himself, he is not afraid to make people feel uncomfortable. I loved how so many of the topics covered were things I have been thinking, experiencing, witnessing, and reading about this semester like race, poverty, injustice, and mass incarceration. So often I am guilty for my white skin and the privilege it brings with it, but today I was reminded that the concepts I have been wrestling with this semester are experiences that so many people wrestle with their whole lives without having a choice in the matter. It was beautiful to see such faith amidst so much brokenness.

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

As I was mentioning above, it was disorienting for so much of the sermon to be focused on race and the racism that follows. My home church rarely talked about race, and if they talked about Black people they usually were focusing on Africa versus the inner city; however, I do want to acknowledge that there were definitely some people involved in inner-city ministries at my church. It was refreshing for the pastor at Saint Sabina to be so fiery and not gloss over things. The all-encompassing desire for justice was a beautiful and powerful sight to behold. However, oftentimes the pastor went on rants about race and poverty that were political, often with no connection to Scripture. But, after having attended CCDA, I definitely noticed when he quoted Jeremiah 29:11, promising the congregation a prosperous future.

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

During the worship service, there were times when the singing would stop but the music would keep playing and the members of the congregation would pray out loud, sometimes working their way up to a yell. I have not encountered this in many services within my white evangelical experience of suburban America, but I remember this being a huge part of my church experience when I lived in Zambia for a summer. I always loved when this happens because it means that I am surrounded by people who are crying out to God—and if he exists, and if he can hear us, then that is a truly beautiful thing to contemplate and be a part of. Saint Sabina felt so much more alive than my home church; I found myself really moved by the faith I saw.