Ruth Jeong- Churh visit #2

 

 

Church name: St. John Lutheran Church

Church address: 410 N Cross St, Wheaton, IL 60187

Date attended: 2/16/14

Church category: Liturgical church

 

 

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

The moment I entered the worship room I was very confused. There was a huge circular tub of water that was slowly flowing out and people walked to it, dipped their hands in the water and dab it on their heads (a lady later told us that it was for baptism and the water symbolized the living water). The second thing that caught my eyes was the big cross-shaped banner with crucified Christ and two cherubs at each end of Jesus’ hands. I could also smell the fragrance of incents and hear the reverend hymnals sung by octet of Wheaton students at the back balcony. During the opening of the service, we sang hymns while five people, the first holding a cross symbol on a pole, two dressed in white, one dressed completely in a fancy green robe, and the pastor dressed in white and green walked in. There was also a large stain glass painting of Jesus and people walking up to him right behind the chancel, and the chancel included a big black alter-looking thing and candles and other fancy stuff I do not know. The setting was very different from my church that has none of the exquisite symbolic items. It was so different from my church I did not know how to see it and probably has no similarity other than announcement in the beginning of service.

 

What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?

I thought that it was interesting how the congregation physically turned towards the cross and nodded their heads when it got close both at the start and end of the service. The organization of the service was both interesting and challenging. The bulletin exactly showed you what to say and what to do making the service feel like a ritual. Even the communion was super organized as each row went down and knelt for the elders and other people to come and give them the bread and wine. I was so surprised that they handfed each person the bread and one cup is shared for everyone. At first, I was thinking of how gross it was to share the same cup with everyone else but later thought of how much sharing a cup symbolizes the intimacy of community and humble it was to kneel down. I found it most attractive during the service.

 

What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?

I thought that it was disorienting that they did not dismiss the children in the middle of the service and some were rowdy. I also found the incest not appealing, and especially because I was hungry the scent made me feel sick. It was also my first time kneeling down during a service and it felt really odd and unusual for me. The church takes communion every Sunday and I found it disorienting because you are not supposed to take it if you are not baptized by a Lutheran church. I was thankful that Christine noted that or else I would have not known that. The sermon was also extremely short and did not feel like a sermon either, the communion was longer than usual, and we had to keep singing hymns every ten or so minutes.  I also did not understand half of the things that were carried out throughout the service, such as the swinging of a metallic ball that fumed out incense, the different hymns we sang, and the coming and going of the cross symbol.

 

What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?

I think this liturgy service really illuminated me on what the people of the Old Testament have done to worship God because the Bible talks of the incest were being burnt for worship. The strict structure of how the procedures were carried out also reminded me of the Bible and the specific directions for sacrifice and other specific rules that God gave us. Also the reverence the congregation had, although unfamiliar, reminded me of how worship is an act of respecting and honoring God’s glory and power. Sometimes we forget that when we are in a looser worship setting where we are more relaxed to stand up, sit down, and kneel. It really helped me to understand how much the physical things the congregation did represents respect and that is what most clarified my questions that weren’t answered in my regular context.