A.)
The first church I went to was my coach’s church; Hope Christian Reformed Church. I went to a Sunday morning service. The service was very serious and well planned out. I felt as if every minute was planned and we had to follow it to the tee, everything was very robot like. The program was sort of like a conversation filled with chants and paper turning. The “Liturgist” would say something and then the “People” would reply and ten we would sing a song. I felt like I was at a business meeting rather than a place to worship. I did not feel welcome and was slightly uncomfortable. The way the pews were set up felt very welcoming aside from how hard the pews were. The entire atmosphere was very cold and harsh. I felt as if I coughed everyone would turn and scorn me. Every noise seemed to eco against the walls. It was so cold in every sense of the word. The sanctuary was very dim lit. The few lights that were hanging were very low lights the majority of the light came from the stained glass windows. After leaving the service I felt like I could stop holding my breath. I felt like I was at my grandmother’s church while I was there and that if I did anything wrong I would be scorned. I do not think that I would want to go back to this church. I did not feel welcomed during the service which is the most important thing.
B.)
The second church I went to was Vineyard Church of Houston. This is a youth church that is a part of a nondenominational church that branched off of The Assemblies of God church. I went to a Tuesday night service. This church was very welcoming. I felt as if I was at a family gathering rather a church service. The service started with free time. Free time is not mandatory it is kind of like an afte...
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...is their obligation to lead the children in the right path because of “original sin”. “Through the disobedience of Adam original sin is extended to all mankind.” Because of the mistake made in the beginning the church has a responsibility to instruct the youth in godliness. The church needs to catechize the youth and lay the grounds for their faith to grow. No matter the other difference between these two churches they both are holding their responsibility as Christians to bring souls to Christ.
Works Cited
Exploring Protestant Traditions; W. David Buschart
Viewpoints:Exploring the Reformed Vision; James D. Bratt
The Reformed Pulpit: Volume 1
Reformed Confessions of the 16th Century; Arthur C. Cochrane
The Assemblies of God at the Crossroads: Charisma and Institutional Dilemmas; Margaret M. Poloma
American Evangelical Christianity: An Introduction; Mark A. Noll
In order to gain a full understanding of the United Methodist Church’s practices and doctrines, it is important to compare and contrast the modern tradition of the Methodist Church to Wesley’s original tradition; by considering Wesleyan-influenced worship specifically relating to Methodist preaching, the Methodist sacraments, order of worship, significance and meaning of various baptism ceremonies, open communion, and the nature of the early Methodist worship service. The Methodist tradition and it’s future has been significantly transformed from its original theology because of controversial challenges, such as: interpretation of scripture, abortion, evolutionary theory, sexism, racial issues, and homosexuality.
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 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.
But my brother and i agreed to check it out to see if we liked it. When we were done with the worship we went downstairs and and found a small breakfast area. With all kinds of doughnuts, kolaches and they have hot chocolate in the winter. After breakfast my parents showed my brother and i where our classes were. Which i wasn't thrilled about because at gateway it was only an hour and at the hills it was one and a half hours plus a class. But i actually surprisingly liked it Because i found a lot of old friends and made some new ones too. We had a great time, the student minister was awesome because he very funny and remembered my name! The best part is the size of the church because i see my friends every day and it feels like a big family. Also i like that the small groups were very small and you don't have to talk in front of a lot of people. After church we went out to eat lunch with some church friends to talk and hang out. When we got home our parents asked us if we liked it and wanted to switch or if we wanted to stay at gateway. My brother and i went over the pros and cons of switching and we decided we wanted to switch to the hills. My parents also agreed and after a week of going, we
My initial thought was that the church was going to be packed however, around 2/3’s of it was filled. I initially was drawn to the interior design. All the windows were stained-glass, painted with multiple colors and each window contained a different Catholic Saint. The ceiling had a painting of god surrounded by angels in the sky, it’s not clear whether god was reaching his hands out to a dove or freeing it. The words “Praise the lord, all the nations, glorify him, all you people!” surrounded behind the painting. The remainder of the time was spent listening, chitchatting with my mom whom I brought
...ughout the whole service I never felt out of place or that I was not welcome there. I felt as though I was immediately accepted as one of them and I had become friends with all of them. All different kinds of people attend these you groups and it is not just the “goodie goods” and the “church boys” like people seem to think, they are all just people looking to express their views among their peers. As I first walked through those doors into that dark room with Connor I was a little skeptical of what I was getting myself into but as I walked out I had a whole new outlook on youth groups.
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.
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.
Comparison of the Roman Catholic Church and the United Reformed Church All Christian denominations celebrate Holy Communion in some form, although how they do this varies. The two I have chosen to compare are the Roman Catholic Church and the United Reformed Church. In the Roman Catholic Church the act of worship is called Mass. Catholics are expected to attend Mass. Only those who have been Christened and then later confirmed can receive Holy Communion. The Mass consists of six parts as follows : The Foremass consists of the entrance, procession, and chant, which are then followed by the confession, which includes a litany ( Kyrie eleison) and ends with the Gloria.
It is strange to think that some things that are incredibly similar can also be polar opposites. With religion, most have the same ways or reasons for doing what they do. Just like your usual route to and from school or work, you have a reason for that one route and no one can change it for you. Even though they all participate in some form of the same thing, it isn’t until you examine the details in the fine print that you notice their differences pop. Catholicism and Baptist are two of those close yet far religions. While they both pray, receive baptisms, and are held in churches, the methods behind them differ widely. Some of these differences even cause major resentment.
I went to Calvary Church in Naperville and I chose this particular place because it interested me because we learned about mega churches in class and I wanted to find out how mega churches work. The place of worship was big it had a stage and multiple screens for people in the back of the rows for them to see and there wasn’t much artwork because it was mostly dark with blue lights to bring focus up to the stage and there was a cross on the stage and the people worship at this church by listening to the pastor or who ever was performing on the stage like a concert or speech. What happened on the day that I went was it was mother’s day so I went in with a friend and sat next to them in one of the rows of seats and it started with a woman performing
" Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."
There were many differences between the two services. During the Christianity service, it started at 9 AM and lasted roughly one hour, and a priest would stand between the two rows of pews and give his service. Towards the end of the service we would all walk to the front to receive bread and wine. They were dressed in robes with a cross around their necks. The church itself was very elaborate and featured stained glass windows with artistic designs on them, and a big sculpture of Jesus at the front of the church. There were also many flowers scattered around an altar. The music that was played was very soft and based off a piano. The only people that sang were people in the pews. This is very different from my recent experience at the Wesleyan church. The service here did not begin until 11 AM. Also, the pews were shaped in a semicircle with the priest being surrounded by people. The priest did not dress up fancy, but just were casual clothing. The same goes for the other people that attend. This was different for me because I am used to dressing...
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
The purpose of this paper is to discuss a service that I got to attend that was different from my own religious tradition. I decided to go with my chosen topic because to be honest I had never experienced or thought to experience a different type of church service other than the one I grew up in. I grew up in a Christian home and attended a non-denominational Christian church on a regular basis. I just never felt the need to experience something that was different. So I decided to attend a mass at a Catholic church. I had been to weddings in a Catholic church and even funerals with a Catholic involvement but not an actual mass.