Manny Baker - Church Visit #2

Church name: First Presbyterian Church
Church Address: 101 North Prarie, Galesburg, IL 61401
Date Visited: March 23, 2014
Category: Greater than 10 miles away from Wheaton

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

This is always an interesting experience. I was a part of the worship leading. Concert Choir had its second miniature tour this weekend. This church visit was definitely not something I was used to, but as choir tours many different types of churches, I am becoming more familiar and comfortable with different types of services. What I really appreciated was that music was a central part of the service. At my church, the music is "performed" for about ten minutes before the sermon and then one song after as a sort of benediction. This service had music all throughout (obviously not in the middle of the service, but you get the point). It was more similar to my church than the last church visit because there were hymns sung. Organ was a central instrument rather than guitar, keyboard, and drums. 

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

I loved that the music was scattered throughout. The amount of music and the length of the sermon seemed to be much more equal than that at my church. Also, after one of our songs, a few of the church members loudly expressed their joy from hearing the song we performed. I appreciated the love for the service. They did not feel the need to stay quiet and "respectful". It was very interesting to me just how the service felt to be a part of. It is definitely an experience to watch the service, but to be able to be a part of the service gave me another perspective. You pay so much more attention to what is going on.

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

It is always challenging for me to go to a church that teaches different doctrine than mine, but it is always interesting. I may not ever understand denominations, but it is fascinating. The most challenging thing for me was the in between of liturgy and non-liturgy. I grew up in a Catholic church, but then we became Protestant when I was in high school. Growing up with liturgy, I became rather annoyed at the seeming redundancy of church services. Then, becoming nondenominational, we have no liturgy whatsoever. Visiting this church felt as if it was an in-between. There was definitely a much more structured service, but there was not a "follow-along". The service packet gave us the order, not the words. Honestly, it was confusing. I do not know if I'll ever understand that feeling I got, but it was definitely a great experience to be a part of.

4. 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 am definitely not used to being a part of a service in this way. We sang hymns (which is normal for me), spirituals, and contemporary classical music. This particular musical program was centered around the sermon's theme. Our first song was "Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel? Then, Why Not Every Man?" Which happened to be the basic theme of the sermon preached that morning. This was something that was definitely illuminated through this particular context. We were not just singing it to perform. It was a purposeful worship service (not that all performances cannot be worship). Since that service, I have sung that song in a more thoughtful way.