More handpicked essays just for you.
Compare and contrast the teachings of the world's major religions
Significance of religious diversity
Religious pluralism
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Service Learning Project – Attend a Jewish Synagogue Service I have attended a Christian church my whole life. While I have attended various denominations, I have always considered myself to be non-denominational, not favoring one over the other. The only other churches I have ever attended were Catholic; I have had other family members practice this faith and so have always been a guest with them if I have gone and had the services feel fairly familiar. When we were given the project to go and attend a different religion’s church I wasn’t sure what to expect. I decided to attend a Jewish church since Judaism and Christianity believe some of the same fundamentals but are still separated, I thought it would be a good way to learn more about the church as well as be able to relate better to anyone I know who practices Judaism. Also this taught me what it feels like for someone who does not have any experience in church. I attended a Saturday morning service at the Congregation of Beth Simcha. This Is a smaller church who meets in different Christian churches until a time where they can buy their own building. Everyone was friendly when I came to the service, as a few different members came up and introduced themselves to me. I was taken aback to be greeted with the phrase, ‘Shabbat Shalom’, and when I asked what it meant, they let me know it meant peaceful Sabbath. They did not have pamphlet or handout that would maybe describe the order of their service, they just handed me an offering envelope and new members slip so I was not sure what to expect. They started the service by blowing of a horn called the Shofar. It took me by surprise because I am used to an opening of prayer at my church and where we also have a contemporary ... ... middle of paper ... ...vice. He read out several of the commandments and spoke on the prescribed words from God and why we are to follow them. The service finished and gave announcements about future celebrations coming up such as Purim. 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.
Overall, I enjoyed the experience of learning more about a new culture and participating in their cultural events. My original fear of being an intruder went away when people would be friendly and introduce themselves to me. I was surprised to enter the prayer room and see that people were sitting on the floor because I am used to people having a chair to sit on. I was also nervous about sitting on the floor for a long period of time because my body is not used to it and I am not as youthful as I once was. After about thirty minutes, I started to get really uncomfortable, but I continued to sit because I did not want to be offensive by standing. I was surprised to see volunteers cooking meals for the guest because that is not something that I am used to seeing at a
Attending a non-denominational church we start out with worship and being free to sing and dance and let our spirits take over. This may come out as someone running around the pews, or on their knees, but while in the Catholic Church the environment was much different. It was a lot more structured and formal in a sense than that of the non-denominational church where I practice my faith. Another difference was the offering, or as the Catholic Church calls it, the Gift. I am use to this concept, but rather than taking Gifts at the beginning of the service they take it at the end; then came communion. This is where you take part in eating the bread and drinking the wine in symbolism of Jesus’ body and blood. This I was also familiar with, but was informed by the couple that I went with that they partake in com...
...in Islam singing never been a part of a ritual practice. That church was different than any other worshiping places I have visited before. I was very happy after this experience, because they still send me emails, mails, and thank you cards every Sunday. Before I leave they gave me a copy of New Testament Book and The Story of Jesus to help me in my research. I did not feel that I’m a stranger or a guest; I felt that I am one of the group members and my present is important for them. Obviously , through that experience their goals was knowing God through believing in Christ, grow in faith and spiritual maturity by providing opportunities for spiritual growth through Life Groups, and love and serve others unselfishly as Christ did, by equipping and preparing for service and offering various opportunities to serve within the church and in our community and the world.
Christianity is one of the largest religions in world with believers spreading across barriers of language and culture. Christianity can come in many forms with beliefs on different subjects varying wildly, but there is one practice that remains relatively the same: church attendance. The ritual of getting up every Sunday morning and attending a church service including a sermon by a pastor and sometimes a smaller, more focused lesson given during what is called “Sunday School”, is something that is practiced by many faithful Christians across the world and the United States, in particular. Attending church is a practice that is integral to the Christian faith as it is shown in the Bible. It informs and impacts the lives of many believers of
Saturday, November 30, 2013 marked the fourth night of Chanukah. It was also the day that my friend Brandon and I visited the Center for Jewish Life in Marlboro, N.J. According to the information I gathered from different online news articles, it is a fairly new reform Synagogue that opened its doors in another smaller location in 2004. The current site of the temple was the former Monmouth Worship Center. Rabbi Yossi Kanelsky, with the help of the members of the congregation, relocated to this 18,000 square foot building in 2011. The temple is currently located within a scenic community off of Route 79 surrounded by private homes. The Synagogue can accommodate more than 500 people and has 17 classrooms for various activities for both adults and children.
On Easter Sunday, a dozen adults and half that many children gathered at the Perry City Friends Meeting an hour before their usual worship time. They came, bringing plates of food for a time of fellowship before worship. The children had an Easter egg hunt, while the adults visited over coffee and snacks. After a while, the group moved to the meeting room for a time of singing. The meeting room, a plain room with a stage at one end and a few small tables holding brochures along the wall, has simple benches arranged in a circle around a central space. Someone had put a small table with a vase of fresh picked daffodils in the middle. Music is not a part of the worship at this meeting which is unprogrammed, so this time of singing together was special for the Easter holiday. One person played the piano, while people looked through the hymnal for their favorite hymns. Anyone was free to suggest a hymn, as no one is in charge of planning a worship service. When worship time approached, the hymnals were gathered up and put away, and one adult led the children downstairs for First Day School. Without announcement, everyone lapsed into silence. The silence at Meeting for Worship is not a passive silence; it is the deep, comfortable silence of people accustomed to joining together this way. It was not broken when a few more people entered the sanctuary to join the group. The silence continued for about an hour with each worshiper communing with the Holy Spirit in his or her own way, not interrupted when the children reentered to join in the silent worship. One man broke the silence to say a few words about the simplicity of Jesus’ teachings, and then the silence returned. At the end of the hour, without announcement, one woman turned to gr...
My first visit was a simple observation visit. I met with Gary and Dina at the Kingdom Hall for the 1pm Bible Talk service and the Wa...
...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.
Our goal as a church was to go into another community and share the gospel with them but we did it in a unique way, through community service. Together we volunteered in a trailer park to clean up trash, fix gardens, redo roofing, paint and clean trailers. While doing this I meet an old woman who appreciated what we were doing for her and her home and wanted to know why. This gave my small group and I an opportunity to help guide her to Christ and when we left not only did we give her a better and beautiful community and trailer to live in, but we left her with a bible and a thirst to learn more about our God. This experience was important to me because it showed how one can truly make a difference in people’s lives just through serving
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.
Bibliography Ashton, Joseph N.. Music in Worship. Boston: Pilgrim Press, 1943. Johansson, Calvin M.. Discipling Music Ministry. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1992. Snydor, James Rawlings. Hymns and Their Uses. Carol Stream: Agape, 1982. www.infoplease.com for information on the church history background
Learning about Judaism caught my interest the most, so I decided to visit a Synagogue that was in my area named Congregation Beth Tephilath Moses; where I attended a Shabbat service on a Saturday morning. Shabbat means a day of rest. On my way to this event, I was a little nervous because I was unaware of what exactly to expect because I am from the Christian religion. This was a different atmosphere for me, but everyone was very welcoming. The place was beautifully decorated with many glass murals and Hebrew writings on the walls. The set up when walking into the room where the service was held was with the podium at the front and many rows of seats reminded me of what my church looks like.
The first place I went to was O.A.T.S.(Offering Alternative Therapy with Smiles) and I helped them out for six hours every week for four weeks and we walked around in the ring and on the trails with the horses and kids who had disabilities. This is spiritual because I got to connect with the kids and myself with God. I could also see God in each of the kids, seeking me out. This was a basic because it was lead by someone, but you needed specific skills to complete the skills, and some people wouldn’t be able to handle it. The second place was K of C dinner that I set tables for, served people, and then cleaned up after everyone. I did this with Brother Marty and this was civic because it was dish-washing and cleaning up. This was emerging because
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
I attended a Wesleyan church service in Sandy Lake as a religious event, and will comparing it to my normal church service of Christianity service in my hometown of Grassflat, PA. There were many aspects of the religious services that were different, such as the clothing worn, music sang, and setting. I also experienced many things that were unique to what I was used too. Many aspects of the service also appealed to me, while some parts of the service were unappealing to me. It also relates to many things that I have learned in Western Humanities thus far. Church services have went from a group setting to a more individualized approach to better fit the way people want to worship God.