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 ...
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...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.
Selecting to do my service learning at Harvest Hope Food Bank was a very impactful experience. This was so, because of the fact that I have never volunteered at a food bank until now. The organization was able to connect me with the required skills I will practice throughout my career as a professional social worker, therefore better preparing me for assisting clients who may be dependent on my services.
The service began with a time of invocation through prayer, responsive reading and song that evoked the presence of God. An oil fueled candle and tray that contained the communion bread and grape juice were then placed at the center of a table. The invocation brought attention to the reality that we who were in attendance were not merely gathered as individuals. We were part of a community, the larger body of Christians from which we came. Remarks were made that emphasized the significance of the event and the paradox in sharing the...
In my paper I will talk about my visit to The Community Church at Murphy's Landing (CCML). I have chosen this particular Church because it is a family church type and my neighbor goes there and she encouraged me to go with her. I went there with my neighbor on April 6, 2014.This church is an appropriate for this assignment because the people there are welcoming me with an open heart and they are willing to help and provide me with information. When I visit the Church’s site I read these words “We know visiting a new church can be intimidating. But, we want to help you to be as comfortable as possible when and if you join us”. The people gather in the church weekly to glorify God in joyful worship. The expressions of worship on CCML take many forms a prayer, a hymn of reverent awe, a guitar ringing with a chorus of praise, or a warm handshake and a welcoming smile. Their weekly services begin at 9:30 each Sunday at church. Also, they have weekly podcast if anyone wants to listen online. They have many types of services for parents, kids and students. People at CCML were so friendly; they gather around me and start welcoming me, one by one. People there introducing themselves to me, one after another and provide me with their contact information and help. Then we start talking about the church services and Christianity in particular. The mission of CCML was knowing, growing and loving. They seek to live out our mission by worshipping together as a local community of believers, growing in spiritual maturity through discipleship, education, and small groups, caring for one another within the context of the larger church body and small groups, and Communicating the love of Christ to our world, both through local outreach and global mis...
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
An organization known as Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) was helping our church with the event. CEF hosts five-day camps during the summer to share the gospel message with children. They had been to our house several times so I knew all of the leaders pretty well. One of the leaders invited me to go to the training camp in the summer and I readily accepted the invitation. After the training camp I was able to share the gospel message in front of groups of children, further helping me to go out of my comfort zone and pave the road to
I have to admit; I was a little hesitant to go into the synagogue at first. But when I entered the doors, I was immediately met by smiling faces. None of the families in the front area greeted me, but after smiling at me, they walked down a hallway. After following them, I was met by three guys who handed me two pieces of paper – which turned out to be a program and a weekly calendar, a Kippah, and two books, one red, one blue. One is the Siddur,
While the pastor was preaching he told the worshippers at the Sunday service look at one another and said” are you tired yet, because I’m not tired.” Correspondingly, he makes us repeated after him “you got to work”. Also, he told us “to look at your neighbor and said work that thing”. While the worshippers at the church were clapping their hands and thanking God, there were some people that started to cried while they were praying. Afterwards, the choir started to sing hymn of preparation #264 “amazing grace”, while the man was playing the piano they kept singing “praise God”. I think Jesus Christ was presented through the hymn, prayer, and preaching. While the pastor was preaching about the verse from the bible, he make it seemed like he was singing. When the pastor did the “alter call”, they put two chairs in front of the church nobody didn’t give their lives to God.
I volunteered at the Activity Center for my Service Learning project. My duties were to watch the kids who participated in the after school program, play with them and help them with their home homework. I really enjoyed interacting with the African-American people and culture. I learned many things from the African-American population I worked with. I learned how the Activity Center staff teaches the after school kids good manners and behavior. I mentioned in one of my service learning journals that the staff was very strict and treated the kids like prisoners, but I came to the realization that maybe that is how they teach the kids discipline. I had the opportunity to be around all the Activity Center kids and interact with them. They were kids just like any other kids. Of course they are kids and sometimes they did misbehave but overall they were really great kids. I noticed that most of the boys want to be more independent of them, but they were such sweet kids.
Once the service started, my friend showed me where the schedule for the service was and what each number meant. There were different colors of numbers in the book and those indicated what section the reading or song was coming from. This was different from the church that I attend because we have a choir and a band that plays the songs and if you wish to join in you can but for the Catholic Church there is, no choir and the members of the church are the ones who sing. After some singing, the priest came up to talk and this is very different from what I expected. I was used to flipping through the channels and seeing the catholic churches with the priest who were a ...
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
There are many misconceptions about Judaism and the people who practice it, but by attending this service, I was able to experience the practice of this faith first hand. Christianity and Judaism obviously have their differences in terms of belief systems and methods of worship, but I believe that the basic values demonstrated by both religions are the same. One value that I noticed in the service that parallels my own is that of helping the community. For part of Jessica’s transition into Jewish adulthood, she participated in a program that helped provide gift cards to children in the foster system so they are able to purchase their own clothes and other personal items. The program focused on helping these foster children gain a little control over certain aspects of their lives since they live in such unpredictable situations. Helping those in need is something that I believe is very important. God taught us to “love thy neighbor as thyself” and in aiding those around us, we are fulfilling God’s plan for us as those who
Although it was wonderful to see how happy the people were and how interesting it was to see another culture, this was not what impacted me the most. Every night, the three girls I shared a room with and I would have group devotions. We talked about some of the things we struggled with and it made me realize that I need to open up to people more more. I am very independent and I don’t like people knowing a lot about me, but how am I supposed to share God’s love if I don’t talk to people? I fell in love with the Lord again on this trip and I want to live in a way that makes it clear to everyone that I know that I am His
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.
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 gave me the chance to see how other people worship or fulfill their spiritual need. I was able to see and get a better understanding of the things that go on. It seems that we all share the same goals. To be good people, listen and receive the Word of God and to go out and spread to other people what we have been