My First Time At Church
I attended the 11:00 am to 12:00 am service at River Valley Christian Fellowship on Sunday, December 4th. When I had arrived I was surprised by how big the church was. Then I parked in the back to get a view of all of the cars and people. The cars that were parked there ranged from nice jeeps to cars that looked like they had just gotten into an accident, but generally the cars were good quality cars. The people that were there were mainly older caucasian people and young families. Also it seemed like there was a significant amount of women compared to men which made sense since football was about to start and the majority of men probably went to the earlier service. All of the people seemed happy to be there even though it had started to snow on there way in. Honestly getting out of my car was very nerve wrenching due to the fact I had never been in a church before. Then I decided to make my way inside the North Worship venue where I was greeted with smiles and good mornings. Then as I was about to head in I was given a pamphlet with the schedule and donation amounts for the week. Inside of the pamphlet it also had card
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Then the pastor asked everyone to introduce themselves to the people sitting next to you (the only persons name I remembered was Rick) .Then shortly afterwards the band sang a song, which I did not get the name of which I still thought was very good and well performed. Shortly after that the Senior Pastor got up on the stage and talked about how that this church has many missionaries. The pastor then introduced a pastor from Nigeria, this pastor introduced his family which was somewhat large. Then the family started to light candles for advent if I remember correctly. Then after that had happened they thanked everyone in the church for the donations and for all of their
It was back in the summer of 2004 when all was calm. The trees filled w/ dry green leaves, the grass barely green as patches of yellowness overcame its dried burned look, dandelions arose in monstrous amounts as the white cotton-like blooms of a dandelion flutter in the midst of an arid breeze, and visions of heat waves could clearly be noticed along a paved street on a clear afternoon. Yep, this truly was mid summer. But I do prefer summer over winter any day of the year. Around the hottest time of the year, a.k.a. middle of July, my church travels on a mission trip over to the Appalachia Mountains to help people in poverty rebuild their homes. I, among 14 other youths and leaders enjoy this yearly mission trip. Only to leave one week after my birthday the ASP (Appalachia Service Project) crew fled the town of Glen Ellyn and headed east towards the mountainous Appalachia Mountains. The mission had not only been to help people in distress but to also give an insight on personal faith, life, love, friendship, and a better understanding on why we are really here and why we have chosen to come here, as certain personality traits that we possess are revealed throughout the trip. I do remember last year's trip very clearly, and we've had just a few major dilemmas, but this year just clearly out does last year in every way, shape and form.
This experience was really out of my comfort zone. It was hard to be an outsider and not prepared for what was to come and not speaking one of the languages used to understand the entire service. This service learning project gave me the opportunity to try a new church and gain a deeper respect for a different religion. Everyone at the service was very educated on speaking the sacred texts and participating in the rituals practiced. I hope to have gained a better understanding for those who are new to religions and are nervous to come to a worship service. I will make more of an effort to be welcoming and accommodating to those who are new to our church.
In my paper I will talk about my visit to The Community Church at Murphy's Landing (CCML). I have chosen this particular Church because it is a family church type and my neighbor goes there and she encouraged me to go with her. I went there with my neighbor on April 6, 2014.This church is an appropriate for this assignment because the people there are welcoming me with an open heart and they are willing to help and provide me with information. When I visit the Church’s site I read these words “We know visiting a new church can be intimidating. But, we want to help you to be as comfortable as possible when and if you join us”. The people gather in the church weekly to glorify God in joyful worship. The expressions of worship on CCML take many forms a prayer, a hymn of reverent awe, a guitar ringing with a chorus of praise, or a warm handshake and a welcoming smile. Their weekly services begin at 9:30 each Sunday at church. Also, they have weekly podcast if anyone wants to listen online. They have many types of services for parents, kids and students. People at CCML were so friendly; they gather around me and start welcoming me, one by one. People there introducing themselves to me, one after another and provide me with their contact information and help. Then we start talking about the church services and Christianity in particular. The mission of CCML was knowing, growing and loving. They seek to live out our mission by worshipping together as a local community of believers, growing in spiritual maturity through discipleship, education, and small groups, caring for one another within the context of the larger church body and small groups, and Communicating the love of Christ to our world, both through local outreach and global mis...
My great-grandfather poured his heart, soul and money into that church that has a congregation of about twenty, just because he wanted to give the people of the Petway Community a place to worship. I believe that he is so willing to give to others because he had to do a lot for his entire life. Many years ago, a random lady came knocking on my great-grandparent’s door to simply ask about my great-grandfather’s health, because he was sick, and to tell my great-grandfather how grateful she was that he paid to get the heat turned back on in her house, how he sent firewood to heat her house, and how he had presents delivered to her children on Christmas Day.
In the book The New Guidebook for Pastors, James W. Bryant and Mac Brunson do a magnificent job of identifying and explaining the practical nuts and bolts that make a successful pastorate and a fruitful church.
In the essay, “The Second Great Awakening” by Sean Wilentz explains the simultaneous events at the Cane Ridge and Yale which their inequality was one-sided origins, worship, and social surroundings exceeded more through their connections that was called The Second Great Awakening also these revivals were omen that lasted in the 1840s a movement that influences the impulsive and doctrines to hold any management. Wilentz wraps up of the politics and the evangelizing that come from proceeding from the start, but had astounding momentum during 1825.The advantage of the Americans was churched as the evangelizing Methodists or Baptists from the South called the New School revivalist and the Presbyterians or Congregationalists from the North that had a nation of theoretical Christians in a mutual culture created more of the Enlightenment rationalism than the Protestant nation on the world. The northerners focused more on the Second Great Awakening than the South on the main plan of the organization.
For my field experience activity I choose to go and visit the Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall in Cumming, Georgia. I choose this particular location because not only did it represent a religious sector that I was very uninformed of, but this specific building is one that has been there for almost 15 years now and I would say I have driven by it without paying it any mind just about 5-6 times a week for several years. The Kingdom Hall is made entirely out of red brick. The Kingdom Hall building is a simple setup. They have a general meeting area with about 150 seats inside and a podium for speaking purposes. They have a couple of additional rooms for storage purposes and multipurpose areas like a kitchen and other open areas for different things.
Four years ago, I departed my first pastoral assignment at St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church in Dickerson Maryland after serving for three years. In that time I learned a lot about leading, interacting with people, communication, cultural expectations, and how both leaders and congregations can either fuel the immunity to change environments within a church or encourage it remain unchanged all but killing any potential for growth and advancement. Change can often fail in the church context because of a lack of trust and confidence in the leader. This accord to author Rick Maurer is one that can kill and otherwise fine idea.
...varied greatly. In addition, they were exceedingly sympathetic not only towards me and my fellow State University student but to the world in general. They prayed for the well being of not themselves or their community alone they prayed for peace in the world. I agree with much of what was said in the service even though I do not share their faith. Nonetheless, I find their values and their love for God admirable. I did not feel like a stranger amongst them I felt like I was making friends with people I would have probably never dare to approach before. That is the most valuable I obtained; to have an open mind and an open heart to others because regardless of how different we may be, there is always something precious we can learn from each other.
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.
The prayers lasted for about forty five minutes, it was awkward because my husband and I stood out in this congregation. There was not many people there for prayers, except the older generation. Throughout the prayers there was a lot of standing and sitting, and I also noticed that the sign of the cross was being made. At one point I notice that the priest had an incense burner with bells and he was shaking it around the altar, but there was no smoke coming out it the first time. On the platform there was eight stained glass doors of saints or apostles on the front of the doors. Once the priest was done with his prayer to the altar, he came through one of the doors and started to shake the incense burner in front of the doors. After he was done with that he went through another glass door to place the incense burner back. The priest remand behind the glass doors for the most of the
7am. That was the time I arrived at the parking lot of the First Presbyterian Church in Woodbridge, New Jersey. I was heading to Montreat, North Carolina with twelve other kids to attend my first Montreat Youth Conference, focused on strengthening and shaping youth’s faith. I’ve heard great stories of what a week in the black mountain area of North Carolina entailed, however, in hearing the greatness and multitude of them I wanted stories of my own. I’ve heard that this trip was supposed to be life changing, and that Montreat was a “thin place between heaven and earth,” but I wasn’t really sure what any of that meant before actually going on the trip. But after a twelve-hour drive, a week there, and another twelve-hour drive back, I surprisingly found myself in a spiritual sense, and actively strove towards creating a newfound relationship with God.
It may seem a little bit strange, but my favorite place in town in none other than this beautiful Evangelic Church. However, it wasn’t always so.
Growing up, I was raised in a southern Baptist church setting. Every Sunday you were required to attend church which included going to Sunday school, first service, and second service. You were also required to be active in the church whether it be ushering or singing in the choir. For my foreign experience of worship I decided to attend a Catholic church. At first I was a bit skeptical about stepping outside of my background history of worship because I thought that attending a Catholic church may change some of my beliefs or practices. I will admit before my attendance to this Catholic Church I had negative thoughts and was determined that my paper would be only about negative experience that I had. Once I entered the church all of my negative thoughts were out of my mind. Prior to researching background information I really didn’t think that Catholics and Baptist had a lot in common, besides their belief in the faith of Jesus Christ. In my essay about my Catholic Church experience I will describe the physical setting of the church, tell you about the church service, and lastly tell
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