Kelsey McDonald Church Visit #2

Kelsey McDonald - Church Visit #2

Church name: Saint Sabina

Church address: 1220 W 78th Place Chicago, IL 60620

Date attended: September 28th, 2014

Church category: Different Race

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

The worship of Saint Sabina was raw emotion. There was no warm up or preparing the space. The Spirit fell from the moment the music started. Often at church I have to look to find where God is hanging out, and then join him there. This usually involves the shedding of my cynicism and judgement, and sometimes I stay in my pretentiousness. However, St. Sabina creates a space for all to come and worship. There is no act, these people are here to worship Jesus. And worship they did. The worship service was composed of a choir, soloists, a full jazz ensemble, as well as liturgical dancers. I went to Catholic school from 6th-12th grade, so I am familiar with the Catholic mass. At least I thought I was. Saint Sabina mixes black sass and culture with the structure and mystery of the Catholic mass. I normally attend Church of the Beloved, which is a nondenominational evangelical service, which does not involve the mass structure. Beloved is also a Korean and White church, whose members are mostly college students and young working adult couples. Saint Sabina was a drastically different experience in all ways. The only similarity is the Gospel, which is at the heart of both services. Our God is a creative God who desires us to worship him in ways which show off his beautiful work.

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

When you walk into Saint Sabina, the first thing you notice is the massive mural on the wall behind the altar. The mural is that of a black Jesus with arms outstretched. Behind Jesus are two larger outstretched hands. This mural took my breath away. Not only for it’s magnitude, but for its welcoming aura. I felt as if I could walk right up and into Jesus’s arms. I could not stop staring at it the entire service. The fact that Jesus is black startled me, but then it soon felt normal. Jesus dwelt among us so that we would know God’s grace, so why wouldn’t he look like the people in the pews? This mural is radical in the racial choice, and it brought me to tears. After CCDA, and hearing so much heaviness about the systemic ills and atrocities in our world, most especially those against African Americans, this mural is a portrayal of God’s agape love. Christ lived a radical life and died to break down barriers, so that we could live in unity with each other through him. There was no compulsion to be quiet and keep still, but rather I felt free to dance and sing for Jesus. Saint Sabina broke down my white suburban conception of Jesus and gave me the gospel in a raw and tangible way.

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

As we got on the bus to Saint Sabina, we saw a woman seated in the back yelling at a young guy in the front. The two were going back and forth exchanging insults. From my impression it sounded like the boy had given the lady lip, and she wasn’t taking it. I was totally on her side. She kept repeating, “You need to act grown.” and he would respond with, “Stop taking crack ” Coming from the North Shore, this was a culture shock to the neighborhood. However, as soon as we walked into Saint Sabina there was peace. People were there to escape and worship their savior. Throughout the whole service I could not stop thinking about the world that these people lived in. The world that was scratching and clawing on the doors. Every neighborhood has brokenness and need, some are just more visible than others. I was disoriented to the stark contrast between the streets and the church, and challenged to see how Christ can transcend both. He is just as present inside the walls of the church, as he is outside.

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

The lady who spoke is currently head of Catholic Schools in Chicago. She was dynamic and on fire for the Lord. She had a passion and was not afraid to proclaim it. Her talk was geared towards educators, but she emphasized that we are all educators. The line that has stuck with me is “Some things cannot be taught, but rather must be caught.” She emphasized that as educators, and more importantly as Christian educators, we must realize that learning is so much deeper than test scores and achievement. Our job as teachers should be to create space for Jesus. We cannot simply talk about hope and love, but rather our students, and essentially ourselves as well, must touch, feel, and experience it. This requires a ridding of ourself, and the transformation into an echo of the gospel. She said when teaching she brings three things with her; a mirror, a candle, and the Lion King. The mirror is to remind us to look at ourselves honestly and deeply, shedding our insecurities and gaining Christ’s identity. The candle represents God’s light and warmth, which our reflection should show. Finally, she shows the scene in Lion King where Simba looks at his reflection and discovers who he is truly meant to be. The speaker called on the audience to “look harder” for Christ in our current lives. At the end of the sermon she revealed that she recently found out she was adopted. This news of her true identity was a shock, and made her realize that she must find her identity and affirmation in Christ, rather than human relationships. As a teacher, I resonated with the call to experience lead teaching. Teachers need to create space for students to ask tough questions, and feel affirmed and empowered to find their true identity. But what hit me on a deeper level was the conviction that in order to teach well, I must discover my true identity in Christ. Then and only then can Christ speak through me to my students, allowing the light of his gospel to fill their hearts.