My First Time At Church
I attended the 11:00 am to 12:00 am service at River Valley Christian Fellowship on Sunday, December 4th. When I had arrived I was surprised by how big the church was. Then I parked in the back to get a view of all of the cars and people. The cars that were parked there ranged from nice jeeps to cars that looked like they had just gotten into an accident, but generally the cars were good quality cars. The people that were there were mainly older caucasian people and young families. Also it seemed like there was a significant amount of women compared to men which made sense since football was about to start and the majority of men probably went to the earlier service. All of the people seemed happy to be there even though it had started to snow on there way in. Honestly getting out of my car was very nerve wrenching due to the fact I had never been in a church before. Then I decided to make my way inside the North Worship venue where I was greeted with smiles and good mornings. Then as I was about to head in I was given a pamphlet with the schedule and donation amounts for the week. Inside of the pamphlet it also had card
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Then the pastor asked everyone to introduce themselves to the people sitting next to you (the only persons name I remembered was Rick) .Then shortly afterwards the band sang a song, which I did not get the name of which I still thought was very good and well performed. Shortly after that the Senior Pastor got up on the stage and talked about how that this church has many missionaries. The pastor then introduced a pastor from Nigeria, this pastor introduced his family which was somewhat large. Then the family started to light candles for advent if I remember correctly. Then after that had happened they thanked everyone in the church for the donations and for all of their
In the essay, “The Second Great Awakening” by Sean Wilentz explains the simultaneous events at the Cane Ridge and Yale which their inequality was one-sided origins, worship, and social surroundings exceeded more through their connections that was called The Second Great Awakening also these revivals were omen that lasted in the 1840s a movement that influences the impulsive and doctrines to hold any management. Wilentz wraps up of the politics and the evangelizing that come from proceeding from the start, but had astounding momentum during 1825.The advantage of the Americans was churched as the evangelizing Methodists or Baptists from the South called the New School revivalist and the Presbyterians or Congregationalists from the North that had a nation of theoretical Christians in a mutual culture created more of the Enlightenment rationalism than the Protestant nation on the world. The northerners focused more on the Second Great Awakening than the South on the main plan of the organization.
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 ...
...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.
At Victory there was no alter, marble or stain glass windows it just looked like an auditorium it made it feel like you were not at church. My teammates love this church because you get to express yourself to the Lord while you are singing up to him, I thought it was very interesting how casual it was there, not many people were dressed up. The pastor was wearing kakis which surprised me because at my church the priests are always wearing white robes. During the ceremony it was hard to follow what he was saying because the pastor went off into tangents about the sections of the bible he was reading, within my church there really isn’t a whole lot that is read from the bible, and honestly I have not been to my church at home since last Easter because of being at school. When I was at Victory church there was not Eucharist like there is at my catholic church. We talked about this within class about how each church celebrated Jesus’s body differently, some do not use it, others use it each mass, and it differs for each church about who takes the Eucharist and who can
My great-grandfather poured his heart, soul and money into that church that has a congregation of about twenty, just because he wanted to give the people of the Petway Community a place to worship. I believe that he is so willing to give to others because he had to do a lot for his entire life. Many years ago, a random lady came knocking on my great-grandparent’s door to simply ask about my great-grandfather’s health, because he was sick, and to tell my great-grandfather how grateful she was that he paid to get the heat turned back on in her house, how he sent firewood to heat her house, and how he had presents delivered to her children on Christmas Day.
Four years ago, I departed my first pastoral assignment at St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church in Dickerson Maryland after serving for three years. In that time I learned a lot about leading, interacting with people, communication, cultural expectations, and how both leaders and congregations can either fuel the immunity to change environments within a church or encourage it remain unchanged all but killing any potential for growth and advancement. Change can often fail in the church context because of a lack of trust and confidence in the leader. This accord to author Rick Maurer is one that can kill and otherwise fine idea.
It was back in the summer of 2004 when all was calm. The trees filled w/ dry green leaves, the grass barely green as patches of yellowness overcame its dried burned look, dandelions arose in monstrous amounts as the white cotton-like blooms of a dandelion flutter in the midst of an arid breeze, and visions of heat waves could clearly be noticed along a paved street on a clear afternoon. Yep, this truly was mid summer. But I do prefer summer over winter any day of the year. Around the hottest time of the year, a.k.a. middle of July, my church travels on a mission trip over to the Appalachia Mountains to help people in poverty rebuild their homes. I, among 14 other youths and leaders enjoy this yearly mission trip. Only to leave one week after my birthday the ASP (Appalachia Service Project) crew fled the town of Glen Ellyn and headed east towards the mountainous Appalachia Mountains. The mission had not only been to help people in distress but to also give an insight on personal faith, life, love, friendship, and a better understanding on why we are really here and why we have chosen to come here, as certain personality traits that we possess are revealed throughout the trip. I do remember last year's trip very clearly, and we've had just a few major dilemmas, but this year just clearly out does last year in every way, shape and form.
For my field experience activity I choose to go and visit the Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall in Cumming, Georgia. I choose this particular location because not only did it represent a religious sector that I was very uninformed of, but this specific building is one that has been there for almost 15 years now and I would say I have driven by it without paying it any mind just about 5-6 times a week for several years. The Kingdom Hall is made entirely out of red brick. The Kingdom Hall building is a simple setup. They have a general meeting area with about 150 seats inside and a podium for speaking purposes. They have a couple of additional rooms for storage purposes and multipurpose areas like a kitchen and other open areas for different things.
...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.
That is our cue to walk into the church and sit down. I’m amazed at the number of people there. Every single pew is filled, and there are people sitting in spare chairs in the back. We sing hymns, say prayers, and listen to speeches, but one speech stood out from the rest. Reverend Owen LAST NAME is my uncle’s best friend from elementary school. Before he even starts his speech people are crying when they realize that he and my uncle are wearing the same suits they wore to his and Stephanie’s wedding. The main message of his speech was pals, and the huge community that my aunt had built around herself. We laughed and cried, and I honestly felt moved by his
Over the past years of my life I have seen many changes, some for the good and others not as good. Change can be demanding and also crucial. The early believers would encounter this. One can see that significant change happened, when reading through the gospels and the book of acts it is obvious to the reader that the believers who followed Jesus would never be the same again.
7am. That was the time I arrived at the parking lot of the First Presbyterian Church in Woodbridge, New Jersey. I was heading to Montreat, North Carolina with twelve other kids to attend my first Montreat Youth Conference, focused on strengthening and shaping youth’s faith. I’ve heard great stories of what a week in the black mountain area of North Carolina entailed, however, in hearing the greatness and multitude of them I wanted stories of my own. I’ve heard that this trip was supposed to be life changing, and that Montreat was a “thin place between heaven and earth,” but I wasn’t really sure what any of that meant before actually going on the trip. But after a twelve-hour drive, a week there, and another twelve-hour drive back, I surprisingly found myself in a spiritual sense, and actively strove towards creating a newfound relationship with God.
The prayers lasted for about forty five minutes, it was awkward because my husband and I stood out in this congregation. There was not many people there for prayers, except the older generation. Throughout the prayers there was a lot of standing and sitting, and I also noticed that the sign of the cross was being made. At one point I notice that the priest had an incense burner with bells and he was shaking it around the altar, but there was no smoke coming out it the first time. On the platform there was eight stained glass doors of saints or apostles on the front of the doors. Once the priest was done with his prayer to the altar, he came through one of the doors and started to shake the incense burner in front of the doors. After he was done with that he went through another glass door to place the incense burner back. The priest remand behind the glass doors for the most of the
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
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.