Recently, if not in the last twenty years, several evangelical Christians have begun to convert to a more traditional aspect of Christianity, few have seemed to notice the thread connecting all these conversions to be a need for deeper meaning in worship. Thomas Howard's book Evangelical Is Not Enough: Worship of God in Liturgy and Sacrament speaks to those longing as well as how to satisfy them through the liturgy. Tom Howard's whole aim is to direct the reader to understand that every church needs to identify its roots and appreciate the two-thousand year old history behind communion. Furthermore he does an excellent job in breathing life into doctrines and practices of both the evangelical and catholic world, that many of us lose the sight…
President Obama delivered the eulogy at Rev. Clementa Pinckney’s funeral. Throughout the entire speech, the President had patterns within his delivery such as pauses at critical moments and the rise and fall in vocal patterns. He would pause after speaking about God as well as forgiveness, as if to allow the audience to reflect on his words. Major patterns in the message included references to biblical stories, God, the idea of forgiveness needing to be directed towards the attacker, and giving grace. Prior to listening to the eulogy, I had read articles about the attack that happened at the church.…
On Sunday, May 1st I attended a Catholic mass hosted by Reverend Gilday at Little Flower Catholic Church. The church was divided into 3 sections, north, south, and west of the altar in the center. It was a traditional mass given on the Sabbath, a required day of worship. He gave his speech through a homily during the mass reflecting upon the reading from the bible, but he also created a unique message driven from this reading. He started off the speech with a comfortable confidence and soft-spoken yet attention-grabbing speaking voice.…
At St. James, the pastors are all older men who have no energy, and seem to cough and spit into the microphone about unknown subjects. Conversely, my pastor at NFT is a very energetic young man in his early thirties who runs around the church, jumps on pews, reenacts things from certain experiences, and tells personal stories and encounters to capture the attention of the audience in a pleasing and meaningful way. This difference is the largest between these two churches and was the deciding factor when it was time for me to find my new…
I found out when I went there, that this church has multiple locations scattered across the world; the other location is in Hong Kong, China. It was difficult to attend this church service, because of the fact that it's different from the usually church service that I'm more comfortable being around. I have been Catholic for an 8 month, but been attending a Catholic mass for 2 years. The ways I found it different then a Catholic Mass was that the church service only have communion once a month, they don't believe that Jesus is alive in the Eucharist, and they…
With time, every young adult comes closer to God and the duties as a Christian. The youth of both the charismatic and conservative churches tend be similar. They like to be close friends with each other and appear quite religious in services. In their daily life, modestly is not always key and they don’t see a necessity to attend more than once or twice a week or even have a close relationship with God. Of course this is not what all the youth is like.…
“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us (blueletterbible.org).” The apostle Paul wrote these words in Romans 8:18 (KJV), words that apply to the present state of the Black Church. African-American’s, as a people in America, have suffered, bleed, and died over the course of history fighting for freedom, and equality. However, as stated in the aforementioned scripture, the suffering endured by African-Americans will not compare to the magnificence that will be brought out in us.…
In my ethnographic trip I headed to a Non-Denomination Hispanic Christian Church. They hold services every weekend so I specifically chose Sunday night to hear their message. I chose this church because I have a grandmother who attends here and I felt comfortable to have someone I knew guide me. My initial thoughts prior to visiting this church was the same as the other churches I had visited before. I expected to walk in and sit down with no one really paying much attention to me.…
The project I choose was to attend a worship service of a different religion. I choose to attend a Catholic Church called Holy Name in San Antonio Texas. My parents have been attending that church since I was little. I never wanted to go to church with them because I thought it was boring and couldn’t keep still. My parents let me stay home since the church was only a block from my house.…
My project is about attending a worship service different from my own religious tradition, which is Catholic. I chose this project because I want to learn about other religions, other traditions, how they worship and what is involve in their ways of doing things. Experiencing a religion other than mine, will expand my knowledge. I believe that we always learn something new everyday and that we have to be open to receive what life offers by being here in this world that God created.…
Both the 2013 historical novel, ‘Burial Rites’ by Hannah Kent and the 2003 independent film ‘Lost in Translation’ directed by Sofia Coppola explore the ways in which isolation can be shown through more than just the protagonists eye. Kent and Coppola create a harsh setting that works to alienate protagonists from their surroundings. Combined with dissimilar social statuses and the overarching effects of sound, a sense of separation within the two texts is developed. The implementation of film and literary techniques support the conveyance of these ideas which ultimately fashion the ever-present theme of isolation.…
After they have left everyone else is allowed to exit. One interesting thing that takes place as the individuals leave the church is that they get Holy water and make a cross on their forehead. Everything that was observed during this mass helped me to understand the Catholic individual’s way of Christianity, which will help me with the final for this course (hopefully). There are a few similarities between my Baptist Christianity Religion and Catholicism. For instance, both religions have the “same number of New Testament books” (Sjoberg).…
Before I stepped into St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, I thought that attending Catholic Mass would not be all that different from the Protestant services I grew up attending. However, I felt out of place as soon as I walked through the front doors. Everything felt foreign to me; from the way the building was set up, to the way people behaved during the service, to the way everyone exited the church. As an outsider, I felt lost and almost lonely as the masses around me moved in unison and I was left trying to follow along as best I could. I did not feel that Mass was welcome and open as the services of the Protestant churches that I am familiar with.…
Religion and culture teaches rituals that family must follow for the preparation of the body for the burial and the funeral service. In some cultures, the wake and time for mourning is a quick process, in others, it can take several weeks before they bury the body. Death is the end, some cultures rejoice others mourn, but between all cultures and religions, it is a time to remember the one who died. The Chinese, Hindu, and Jewish cultures have special requirements guaranteeing the deceased a peaceful passage to the afterlife.…