I conducted a church site visit to a church by the name of Blessed Family of God on Sunday November 20, 2016. Service was scheduled to start at 1030 am. It did not get underway until approximately 1045 am. My visit to this church is a visit that I will always remember. This church was located next to a used tire shop. So needless to say the outside looked nothing like a church besides a small petite sign taped on the bottom right side of the door. They had a little parking sign that the church had made to show that the parking lot was to the rear of the building. As I walked into the church it was a sight, there was nothing but chairs, and a media box office that they built, but from the picture and symbols all around the building I knew I was in a church of God. I haven’t been in any church for a Sunday service in at least 20 years. I felt out of place. Walking in a was met by three people first a young lady named Mrs. Renea who handed …show more content…
I’m certainly aware that, I am the last person to speak about anyone walking in a church wearing anything. Since I had not stepped foot inside a church for so many years. The dress code was just something I could not close a blind eye to. I was taught that you should show respect to any church and wear something presentable. A woman wore blue jeans with sneakers and pants sagging down past her behind. I felt this was uncalled for. Also the way that people in the church would catch the Holy-Ghost. It didn’t seem genuine to me and more like an act the Pastor kind of asked and make a hint for someone to feel the presents of the Lord and poof out of thin air two or three people was hit with the Holy Spirit. They began to scream and yell words that weren’t really words, just more like sounds. Once the ladies would drape these red cloths over them it seemed to calm them down as if the cloth or whatever would settle down the spirit. I was lost after
Throughout the world, there are many religions such as christianity, catholicism, and islamism. Many of the devout people who follow their religion strictly and attend church on a regular basis are considered perfect people, yet in reality they are not. Being a perfect human is impossible, because humans make mistakes, and its part of life. There is no such thing as a perfect person. Common things that are part of life are considered sins in church, and because churchgoers are humans they commit these sins. Things such as spreading gossip or being greedy happens in human nature, and one cannot help it. Other things are grave sins in church too, and are also frowned upon within normal society. Because we are all humans, even churchgoers do this too. Something like committing adultery or cheating on your spouse does happen in the real world.
I am wary if the modern day Christian church embodies a full appreciation or understanding of the genesis of the Christian church. There is certainly a reverent acknowledgement that Jesus, a native of the slums in Nazareth, emerged as a great and impactful spiritual leader. There is an equal recognition that Jesus didn’t live a life of splendor and privilege, yet he had tremendous influence on hundreds and perhaps thousands of followers during his day. But the narratives that record the ministry of Jesus (i.e. The Gospels) portray a Jesus who was insistent on mentoring a small group of followers. As such, “The Twelve” is part of our Christian vernacular. This, for all intents and purposes, was a small group. The Christian church, which now boasts an adherent group of about 2.1 billion, started with a group of twelve men. Some would argue for the inclusion of a group (bringing the total number to 120) that met together with the twelve in the days following the ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:12-15). I would agree with that assertion. Nonetheless, it remains my observation that the billions of adherents in the Christian church exist due to the impact and influence of a small number of people.
The event I choose to go to was a confirmation ceremony. The event was held at the Living for Christ Catholic Church in Saint Michael, MN. The event started at 7pm on Wednesday. There were several families there and their children were the ones being confirmed. The children looked to be high school age and were wearing a robe over there clothing. I was sitting in the back of the church and all the young adults came walking in from the main doors coming into the what I will call the hall. In front of the young adults there was a what looked to be middle school age kids carrying down a stick with Christ on the cross and candles on a stick. fallowing them was Father Richard and several other Fathers’ or priest from the congregation. The child then fallowed behind them
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.
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.
I attended a church sermon on Saturday, April 9, at the Emmanuel Catholic church for my critique of a live public speaking event. The church is located in Delray Beach, FL, off Military Trail. The building for the church itself is modern looking, and humble in appearance. It is surrounded by trees with open field next to it, offering a quiet and tranquil mood. Inside the church itself the main room was of moderate size, and filled with row after row of chairs for those attending.
This church was quiet and everyone dressed casual. If anyone wanted to talk to one another, they would walk outside the church. Looking around I see all types of people black, white, Spanish,
Great choir, fantastic pastor, lovely folks, exciting atmosphere for ministration.. I was all ready to "bring the word" until I got on the altar and an eleven year old boy started running around. He beat the drums wildly, knocked chairs over, let out wild screams and finally jumped on my back and soon was struggling with me for the microphone.
Usually, the communication from priests to his audiences are pretty clear. For the first in a while, I felt like it was difficult to follow along. Since this text will be over how his messages were conveyed, the fact I had trouble most of the time understanding him should only be a small factor. The background allowed for success, the close bond between the behaviors and audience allowed for an easier form of communication.
On the other hand, the service I attended at St. Sophia Cathedral was a bilingual service. Even though attending a bilingual service was interesting, it made me a little confused; like I did not know what I was attending or listening to. This reminds me of one of the discussion in our class, when back then, the people did not understand the language yet they still came to the service. It made me feel foreign in some sort of way, also there were no other Asians in the church, mostly caucasians. It did not bother me because most of the people attending the church must have a Greek descent or knowledge of the Greek language.
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
On March 25th, 2016 I attended a service at Temple Emanuel, a Reform Jewish Temple, in my hometown of Andover Massachusetts. As an outsider, from the beginning I was extremely paranoid about my behavior. I had some prior knowledge from attending a Bat Mitzvah at a young age, but all that did for me was let me know that as a male, I needed to wear a yamaka. Luckily for me, the temple had spares I was allowed to use. As soon as I walked into the room where the service was taking place, part of me was reminded of church.
In the front of the church were these rooms with large entrance ways, curtains and pictures of these men over top of the rooms. These rooms were behind the pulpit and were roped off yet lit. I proceeded to ask one of the Ushers what they were and she stated that was the sacred space set assigned to honor there founder Bishop Charles “Sweet Daddy” Grace, his predecessor Bishop William “Sweet Daddy” McCullough, his predecessor Bishop S.C. Madison (their name plates were listed under each picture). The usher made sure to tell me that there are only certain times and certain people that are allowed in those rooms and that I was not to go any where near them without permission.
Growing up I was raised in a religious household, so, of course, I’m a big believer in God and my faith. To me, God is the creator of all and I believe Judgment Day is going to come very soon.The definition of faith is the belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion. My faith and the reason for my faith goes hand in hand because it makes me know the truth and opens my eyes to this world. Also, I get clarity of why I’m in this world which is to make it a better place. But seeing the world as faith with reason or reason with faith has a few challenges and can make things a little bit difficult. Same goes for science and religion which butt heads a lot. Some may feel that the Big Bang Theory created
According to Hutchison (2015), “religion is symbolic patterns that consists of values, beliefs, behaviors and experiences” (p. 184). I personal conceptualize spirituality as a vital role in my life that helps me during a time of sickness, forgiveness, and needed guidance. Spirituality helps guide me throughout life during the difficult times I have encountered. Spirituality impacts my life in positive ways that influence and regulate my behavior and health. Health is very important to me; I believe the spirit can heal a person from their sickness. It seems that the spirit heals me every time I pray to be healed from sickness. The spirit gives me strength at a time of weakness. When I feel at my lowest point in life I call on the spirit to pick