Ariana Damaske Church Visit #2

Church name: Immanuel Anglican 

Church address:  900 W Wilson Ave, Chicago, IL 60640

Date attended: 8/21/16

Church category: liturgically different

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

The worship service was different than what I am used to. When entering the building you were greeted by people and were directed into a sunken square auditorium, initially being in this new seating arrangement disoriented me a little, but in the end it made the service feel a bit more intimate, as the majority of us were not sitting on chairs. We started worship by singing hymns, which I am pretty used to, and really enjoy. However, I was thrown off by the frequent amount of call and response, and felt that I had to pay more attention to my leaflet than what I was signing or praying. During the praise part of the service we read many pieces of scripture Isaiah 58:9-14, Psalm 40 (which the sermon was on), Hebrews 12: 19-29, and Luke 13:10-17. In Churches I usually attend there is usually a scripture reading at the beginning of the service, and then there is the reading of the passage that the sermon is on. I really enjoyed the amount of scripture incorporated into the service. It truly made me reflect on the richness of the scriptures, as we read form the old testament, the psalms, the epistles and the gospels. Thereafter, the sermon began, and it was followed by the reciting if the Nicene creed, a time of confession, the passing of the peace, communion which ended with a time of signing and a final benediction. 

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

Really enjoyed the worship and the setting we were in. Sitting on the ground gave it a more rustic and familial feel to the service, that was contrasted by the high amount of liturgy. The hymns were beautiful and since I knew a few of them already I was able to really mean what I was signing. I really enjoyed the amount of scripture that was incorporated in the service, and made me realize how much scripture is lacking in some churches. 

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

I grew up in a Roman Catholic country and always felt a bit unconformable in Catholic services because I considered myself a Protestant. The liturgy in this church reminded me a little of the liturgy in the Catholic services I attended, but it was done in a way that did not make me feel uncomfortable or unwelcome. I was a bit disoriented by the set phrases that we had to use, and I felt like I needed to pay more attention to my leaflet, than to what was happening around me, or what I was saying and doing. 

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 based on Psalm 40, and the main theme was waiting.  The speaker spoke about how he and his wife had felt called to minister in the city, but how in the development of their family, it had become hard for them to continue living in the city. They still felt called to live and minister in the city, but circumstances did not seem bright. They thought about leaving, but instead they waited, to see how God would lead them. Waiting was not easy, but in the end they were able to stay in the city.  I think the highly liturgical setting helped me understand more clearly this concept of waiting. During the worship service, many times we had to wait for the officiant to start the new section of the service, even if we felt like doing something else, there was a time to speak, a time to listen, and a time to reflect.