Sadie Singer- Church Visit #3

Church Name: DuPage African Methodist Episcopal Church
Church Address: 4300 Yackley Avenue Lisle, IL 60532
Date Attended: 4-6-14
Church Category: Different Ethnic or Racial Demographic

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

The worship service I attended was very different than my usual service. I was one of four other white people there, the rest were African American. It was very charismatic. For worship there were never any words, projectors, hymns, etc. they would simply have the worship leaders up front and the songs would usually be pretty repetitive so you could catch on as the songs progressed. However, the worship was very different. It was not the organized three verse, chorus, bridge type songs. It was free and flowing, it was whatever the people and musicians were feeling and felt led by the Spirit in the moment. It was loud. There was shouting, praising, Amens, Hallelujahs, and dancing. All these were very different from my more conservative service. 

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




I enjoyed how alive the room felt. It is difficult to feel like the Spirit is not there when so many people are shouting, singing, and dancing, for his praise. I loved how vocal and interactive the congregation is allowed to be. If the preacher teaches something that they feel the Spirit has led him to say and is truth, they let him know. They give affirmation throughout the whole service. It was also interesting because it was smaller that they had all of their visitors stand up and introduce themselves to the entire congregation. After this the visitors sat down and the congregation stood up and sang a blessing over the visitors. Then we had a greeting time where I was approached and made welcomed by many.

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


I found it difficult to quiet my heart and meditate. I think if I attended this congregation every week I would have to find allot of time throughout my week to really be silent and listen to God's word and what he has to say. This service was enjoyable because I felt it was alive, but there is an emphasis on worship and I didn't feel there was as much emphasis on receiving. It was also difficult to keep up sometimes when the preacher would get going on a role he would begin shouting and the congregation would begin shouting and I felt like I had missed what he just said and was struggling to catch back up. I felt a bit overwhelmed at times throughout the service. Also when the music was going there was never any direction as to what we were singing or words for the songs. This was challenging for me because I felt like I could not fully engage in worship. It was also challenging when the piano would keep playing throughout the entire service to emphasize points. I thought it was slightly distracting.

 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 loved the life of this church. It reminded me of what joy we should have at being children of God and included in His gift of eternal life. That is something we should celebrate everyday and thank God for. I often take that for granted. They had many Pastors including both men and women. This was perhaps one of my favorite aspects of the church because it did not emphasize one person, rather they had many who had different tasks such as reading scriptures, doing announcements, performing calls and responses, and giving the sermon all throughout the service. I enjoyed the implications of accountability with this. It was also interesting to me the role the congregation played in accountability with the preacher. He spoke on John 15 and they would affirm him as he preached if they felt like the Spirit had led him to truth in his teachings. I enjoyed the energy and passion they displayed for the love of Christ.