Jacob Wentworth- Church Visit #1

Jake Wentworth- Church Visit #1

Church name: Holt Transfiguration Orthodox Christian Church

Church address: 28W770 Warrenville Road. Warrenville, IL 60555

Date attended: October 18, 2015

Church category: Orthodox

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?

The first thing I notice when I walked into the church was how good it smelled. The priest was at the front of the church swinging back and forth burning incense while there were two people, which were called chanters, who sang hymns to the side. The majority of the service followed along with a packet that I was given when I entered. This church was a relatively small body so I think it was fairly clear that others knew I had never attended there before. After going through several chants in which the priest would offer up prayers and the chanters would lead the congregation in singing songs, the priest delivered a sermon that was similar to the church I attended. In his sermon he made jokes talked about modern day analogies to help the audience understand his message. I was taken a bit off guard by the contrast between the rituals taken place before his sermon and then lack of rituals in his sermon. The freedom from rituals that he spoke with in his sermon was very similar to the current church I attend. My current church is in a high school with a band that plays guitars, drums, and keyboards. The worship through song was very different but the way the message was presented was similar.

How did the worship service illuminate for you the history and contours of global Christianity?

 The intentional detail that was taken in every ritual throughout the service made me feel like I could be attending a worship service that the earliest followers of Christianity would attend. The way the priest went through nearly 15 minutes just preparing the bread and the wine for Eucharist helped me myself better prepare my own mind for it. Although I did not participate in it fully, despite that a woman came up to me and gave me a piece of bread, I now understand the reverence that Christians have had for communion since the beginnings of Christianity. I am not sure if the earliest Christians went through all the rituals of blessing the cup and the bread, but learning that these rituals have been practiced by the Orthodox church for centuries made me feel like I was connected to a body of Christians who lived long before I was born. I also happened to be sitting next to a picture of St. Macrina which I found particularly interesting because we learned about her in class. I was thinking to myself "Hey! I know who that is!"

How did the worship service illuminate for you your personal identity as a Christian?

 

The worship service and the body of believers at this particular church helped me understand that Christianity goes far beyond one particular denomination. Although I probably won't start regularly attending this church, I was am to appreciate the differing worship styles of this church. Instead of becoming defensive of how this or that part of the service differs from my current church, I found a beauty in the service knowing that people can connect with God in different ways. In talking with people after the service, there is no doubt in my mind that these members loved God, each other, and their neighbors (me). Although I stuck out like a sore thumb in their worship service and didn't know what to do for the majority, they still welcomed me and even came up to me offering parts of the Eucharist. My main goal of the service was to not offend them by messing up one of their rituals but it seemed like their main goal was to make me feel welcome and loved even if it meant that they broke one of their rituals.