Matt Cardillo: Church Visit 2

Church name: Faith Community of Saint Sabina

Church address: 1220 W 78th Place 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?

The service was emotionally intense. Emphatic dancing accompanied the gospel music at the beginning of the service, as did waving flags. Once the pastor came to give the message, he spoke very loudly and, at times, seemed to be screaming to us at the top of his lungs as he made his way into the center aisle to pound his point home. The pastor interrupted the music to make sure that the University of Chicago Divinity students present were aware that a younger man struggling to walk down the aisle had been shot, given a poor prognosis, but miraculously was healed. The extent to which the immersion in emotions was emphasized at St. Sabina is not something typical of my church context.

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

To call the service at St. Sabina interesting would be an understatement. Everything about St. Sabina grabs your attention. A mural of Black Jesus with outstretched arms forms the massive centerpiece of the Cathedral. “JESUS” in neon lights floats 50 feet above your head. High stained glass windows encompass the pews. Despite the fact that the service lasted in excess of 2 hours, I am sure that no one present even considered dozing off. The pastor’s style of speaking forces you to pay attention as did the little stuffed lion that he used as a prop. His message of fighting against the new kinds of captivity present in our society was lost on no one and neither were his strong political views. It all seemed very powerful, and the message was very necessary. These injustices cannot go on.

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

Perhaps it is due to my lack of exposure and assimilation to that style, but I could not quite keep up emotionally, and in turn, intellectually, and in sum, spiritually. The overall effect came across to me as a jumbled collection of good sentiments. How does praising the Lord’s gracefulness over and over again in worship lead into a reading that tells the parable about throwing underdressed guests out of the wedding ceremony that leads into an almost vitriolic appeal to fight against the terrible social discrepancies of our time? Again, these are all good, important, essential themes to consider, and consider in depth. This service that seemed to theme-hop pushed me to the point of being overwhelmed, and at a loss of what to do and what to think about. But perhaps this challenge in itself is a good reminder: It is a messy world we live in. God is in control, yet we still see so much violence. God is graceful yet justice must be served. Although I can’t say that I know from experience, but I am sure that the south side of Chicago could be called a complicated, emotional place to live. And Saint Sabina is surely a complicated, emotional church doing God’s 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?

It brought out the fact that God reigns in all spheres, even in our fallen, messy world. Despite the racial turmoil outside the church building, the gospel of Jesus Christ transcends race quite tangibly at St. Sabina, in the congregation and in the artwork. Despite the denominational turmoil inside the church, the unity of the Body of Christ is quite apparent at St. Sabina as it seemingly purposely befuddles your preconceived categories of the different “kinds of churches.” Despite the violent turmoil of our world, the God of peace is still at work and he is still omnipresent in our lives. It is hard to pick up on this in a completely middle-class, comfortable atmosphere of many churches I have been used to attending.