Ritual Observation

I arrived at the destination of where the ritual observation was to take place at 9:45 a.m. on February 23, 2014. The ritual takes place in Brockville, Ontario in a building called the New Hope Brockville Tabernacle. The tabernacle is a large building that has a tower, also known as a steeple, erected on the roof. On the steeple is the symbol of the cross. The front doors opened up to a large foyer where the majority of the people inside were gathered in various small groups. These groups were composed of members similar in age. Everyone who entered through the doors was greeted with lots of hugs and welcomes.

At 9:55 a man referred to as an usher greeted me and handed me a program. The room I entered into next was large and had an aisle down the center separating the seating. There were eight chairs seated side by side in each row and fifteen rows in total on each side of the aisle to provide comfortable seating for 240 people. I took a seat amongst the rest of the youth in the second row from the front of the platform. On the platform at the front of the room sat various instruments, a large podium and multiple speakers. There was a large, rectangular opening in the center wall at the back of the platform where a large tub with steps, referred to as the baptism tank, was located. Beyond the tank was a large wooden cross hanging on the wall.

The women and girls were all dressed in skirts that covered their knees. The majority, but not all of the women, had very long hair that they wore down while others had it neatly tied up in elaborate buns. The men appeared to keep their hair short and if they had facial hair, it was neatly trimmed. The majority of the young men were dressed in black dress pants and shirt and tie, howev...

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... ability to transform people's view of themselves and their beliefs. In the case of the baptism ritual, crossing the threshold in the liminal phase often results in the individual receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. This strengthens their communication with God and subsequently fortifies their Christian beliefs. Through the act of prayer and watching one transform through liminality, a spontaneous peak of emotion is reached amongst members participating in the ritual (Manning, 2000). This creates a communitas, which is a strong sense of closeness amongst participating members of the ritual that creates a temporary sense of community (OED, 2014). The feeling of closeness to other members and God generated through the ritual, encourages individuals to communicate more regularly with God through prayer and unifies people together that might not connect otherwise.