Adriana Betz - Church Visit #3

Church: All Souls Anglican Church
Church Address: 25W741 Jewell Rd, Wheaton, IL 60187
Date Attended: 04/05/2014
Church Category: More liturgical

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?
All Souls is a tiny congregation. I LOVED how small it was.  Apparently I visited about 3 years ago, and even though I had no recollection of it - people recognized me and someone even remembered my name (whaaaat?). I love that kind of community - where everyone knows everyone, and they check up on you, kind of like a little family. The passing of the peace becomes a 5 minute family reunion. This is as close as I've ever come to finding a church community like the one I grew up in. It was so different from any church I've attended in my adult life, but I wish I'd come earlier.

What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?
I loved the liturgy...and there was significantly more of it than I'm used to. My favorite thing was that they went through the 10 commandments methodically - the celebrant would state the 10 commandments one by one and then the people would respond with "Amen. Lord have Mercy". It sounds really simple, but it's crazy how taking each commandment and both individually and communally responding to each makes you consider the weight of your commitments.

What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?
I didn't find anything particularly challenging, however I was happy to be initially disoriented by the fact that the Rector was a woman. Growing up, my family ended up in a series of churches that inevitably imploded over women's role in ministry and I was so relieved to just see it not being an issue people were bickering about.

What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?
The sermon was on John 1:1-45, the story of Lazarus' death and subsequent resurrection. The rector really used the passage to illuminate Christ's humanity and how much he loved Lazarus. I've never really delved to deeply into this passage, probably because it's one of those passages that you hear all the time - but I loved how much emphasis she placed on Christ's anger and sadness against death as a product of his love for Lazarus.