I chose to visit a catholic church, as I was interested in how the experience would be based on what I’ve heard others say about the religion and other notions I’ve come to gather. I ended up going to The Resurrection Catholic Parish, which is located on 21060 Sw Stafford Road in Tualatin, Oregon. The original Resurrection church was founded in 1978 as a mission of Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Lake Oswego, Oregon. In November of 1992, the church was able to move to its present site, which is actually the site of a former equestrian center. After much remodeling with many donations, the church you see now came to be. They also have a Resurrection Catholic Preschool in the main floor of the building as well as a Kindergarten. Along with their …show more content…
I was pretty overwhelmed walking into the church, I had decided to go to the 10:00 AM mass, hoping it wouldn’t be too full. To my surprise however, before I even reached the second flight of stairs leading up to the doors of the church, I was stopped by an older women. She was kind, but seemed to be a bit frazzled, she was telling me how she went to the early service and that maybe I’d see her once in awhile if I stuck around, she then introduced herself and walked back up the steps with me. So right off the bat I got the impression that the church was sort of intense, very kind, just a little more in my face than I was used to. Once I made my way into the main doors I was greeted by a man and then about eight women who were all facing the door with wide smiles on their faces. I wasn’t quite sure what they were there for but it seemed to be a normal thing. The church was fairly full so I sat in one of the last pews in the back, in the middle row, between a few elderly couples. Something I found interesting was how the outfits throughout the building varied. Those who were older …show more content…
It felt nice and spacious, with a ton of natural light coming in. The lights hanging down from the ceiling were hardly noticeable as well, they gave off the same glow as the sun outside. The brightness of the building was honestly one of my favorite parts, it made it feel so relaxing and open to me. Then in the middle of the walkway is this large, beautiful fountain like structure, which I learned is where the churches holy water was. I noticed most people when they walked in dipped their fingers into the water and touched it to their head, followed by what I learned is called “the sign of the cross”. The pews were spaced out into four sections that rounded around a middle circle where the priest stood. There were two separate rooms with glass walls that allowed families with babies or young children to still be able to participate behind a closed door, incase things got too loud. Off to the side there was also a little station set up with candles where you can donate a small portion and then light a candle for someone, it’s usually followed up by a prayer. A kneeling board sat next to the candles, but I didn’t see many people use it. All across the top of the wall were the different stages of the cross, that was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Most people didn’t give it a second look, but I couldn’t stop looking at all of them since I wasn’t used to it. There wasn’t much in the way of decoration in the church, other
...altar through the royal doors, and censing the altar. I found this part to be very interesting. Everyone stood while the censing was taking place and the offered up prayers and crossed themselves as the Priest and Bishop walked by.
When I got to the altar, it was then I was truly amazed at the beauty of this cathedral, and I wondered to myself, if the people outside only saw what was inside, it would make them think twice about throwing their garbage on the sidewalk in front of it. When I walked near the steps of the altar, it looked like the area was made for a king with the carpet, lighting, and all the artwork around it. It really did look like the throne of a king. I could literally feel the holiness of the cathedral once I stepped foot onto the altar. I felt like that the Trinity was in the cathedral at that point, and I also felt like the cathedral was the border for humanity and the divine.
I am a nondenominational Christian and I decided to attend a catholic mass. I attended mass at the Conversion of St Paul Parish on April 6, 2014. The preside was Father Senan Glass and the starting time was 10am. The Conversion of St Paul Parish’s location is 4120 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, Ohio 44103. The church was very big and the stain glass windows were beautiful. At first, I felt uncomfortable because I did not know where to sit or what to do. I really did not have an idea of what to expect. Everything seemed very formal and the service was easy to follow because of the bulletin I was given, which had the order of service on it. The service was concise and it only lasted about an hour.
As I walked deeper into the gallery, I found myself walking through what looked like a church with pillars of stone, stained glass windows, ...
...entrance door and archway, that had and overwhelming impact on me, these over exaggerated entrance doors, were built to awe and act as the gateway to salvation, they succeeded. Upon entering the church, the saints were lined up and down either side of the church and were lustrously painted and adorned, the cathedral with its stained glass also elumeminated the church with bright sunlight that gave the church a peaceful and serene atmosphere. While viewing the church from the outside, you tend to fixate on the towers, and you tend to divert your view skyway. The massive Gothic church, really humbles you, the enormity and size are truly overwhelming. The ornamental gargoyle sculptures placed around and throughout the rooftops of the church, really feel as if they were alive and guarding the church.
On Sunday, December 3 I attended the Solemn Mass at the Church of the Advent, in the North End. Now, you have to understand that I am religiously challenged, at best. I’ve been to my share of weddings and funerals, but growing up I averaged one regular church service every year or two. When I did go, it was either to Hardshell Baptist or Dunkard Bretheren services, with my father or mother’s side of the family, respectively. Both these denominations focus heavily on simplicity and egalitarianism. The churches are usually one room, wooden affairs with a simple lectern. The music draws heavily on the English folk tradition, and the service is delivered in a straightforward manner.
The church external appearance was quite different than other churches that I have seen. It was basically a big white stucco block with a gold dome on top and four decorated spikes on each corner of the building that surrounded the dome. The people of course were all Greek and were very well dressed. Most of the men and boys all wore suits, and If not they had some kind of vest on. I don’t know if this was some kind of rule or tradition, but it mostly seemed as a respect to God. The women all wore the basic dresses, and all the skirts fell down below the knee. Everybody was proper and ordered. As I walked in the church I entered a lobby of some kind. What I saw hear was something like social hour. Everybody was in there. They were all speaking Greek, and I felt as if I was in a family reunion party. The children were all together; the adults talked together and the young adults all were together. The way they all socialize is when someone comes up to say hello, they give each other a kiss on the cheek and a hug. These people are all very close to each other. It seems as if the church is the center of their lives. I admire that trait as well. To enter the auditorium you must enter this little room, which has a piece of garment from St. Constantine and St. Helen. Also there were candles lit. As they walked through this little room they lit a candle and knelt down for a moment to pray, and then touched each garment and made a cross over their chest.
Once the service started, my friend showed me where the schedule for the service was and what each number meant. There were different colors of numbers in the book and those indicated what section the reading or song was coming from. This was different from the church that I attend because we have a choir and a band that plays the songs and if you wish to join in you can but for the Catholic Church there is, no choir and the members of the church are the ones who sing. After some singing, the priest came up to talk and this is very different from what I expected. I was used to flipping through the channels and seeing the catholic churches with the priest who were a ...
I will be describing and exploring my first visit to a Catholic Church. I attended Sunday mass with an ambassador in our class, CCC, on April 13, 2014 at noon. The service was actually called Palm Sunday because it is the Sunday before Easter. The service lasted about an hour and a half and took place in the interfaith portable on campus at UCI. I have grown up in a house that is not religious and have not attended a church before. My family’s race is Caucasian and I am independent when it comes to religion. I decided to attend a Catholic Church for my cultural plunge to get the experience and to see what it is like to attend church. I have always listened to my friends tell me they are going to church and that they are this religion. But I have never been able to experience what going to church is like.
As my friend Jenni and I entered the hall of the big church, a feeling of apprehension overwhelmed us. Our feelings were soon comforted when we entered a sea of smiling faces and outstretched hands. A sense of belonging engulfed us. Ms. Shirley, an older colored woman was first to extend her arms. She did not know us from Adam, but it did not matter. She threw her arms around us. "You girls have the prettiest smiles", she declared. "I am so glad you came to be with us this morning." Words can not describe what the act of kindness did to our feelings of apprehension, and that was just the beginning.
On April 8th, 2018, I attended a service at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Springfield with Emily Abbot and her aunt and uncle. The church itself was rather small and was similar to an elementary school in size. As we walked into the church, we were greeted at the sanctuary doors by members who wished us a good morning and welcomed us. The main meeting room was filled with pews where people would sit, with a podium at the front. Behind the podium were more pews, presumably for a choir.
I also thought that I would instantly start doubting my practices and beliefs after attending this church. To my surprise, after this experience was over I still felt the exact same way about beliefs. The most enjoyable part of my experience would have to be the scenery of the church, from the marvelous baptismal font to the paintings in the windows. My least favorite part of my experience would have to be the sermon, and maybe it is because I am not use to listening to a short rushed through summary. It actually felt weird being outside of my comfort zone and being a “foreigner” at a different church. I cannot really say that this visit to this Catholic Church really affected me in any way, but I will say that this was a pleasurable experience to have in my
The people there were all extremely nice and would try to help me understand. They understood and accepted the fact that I wasn’t religious, but was showing interest in their faith. There were not as much people there as I had expected, but that might have been because it was a smaller church. It also wasn’t as racially diverse as I had expected. I thought that because it is the world’s biggest religion, that it
There was incense burning outside which was what had lured me in. Once we got inside, my eyes were popping out of my head with how many items were engulfed inside. There was a lot of hand crafted art, such as jewelry and candles. I marveled for a good long time in there.
Jesus served as example for all of humanity. His life work was to solve the fundamental problem of humanities sin and to provide eternal life with the Father. Jesus Christ demonstrated the way humans should live. He modeled behavior to the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, women, tax collector, to His friends. He came to set the example of the way to live for Christians. Basically, Jesus life was an outline of how to live your own life. Jesus confirmed that you should love your neighbor as yourself. That you should love your God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your strength. This was demonstrated on a daily bases. Jesus verified that although humans are prone to sin, one can make a choice to not sin. When tempted by Satan, Jesus refrained from sin and turned to God the Father for strength to turn away from the temptation. Jesus was the teacher of complete, true knowledge.