Ariana Damaske - Church Visit #3

Church name: Church of the Beloved 

Church address:  Northwestern University, 375 E Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60611

Date attended: 8/28/16

Church category: ethnically different

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

The service at Beloved was both similar and different to what I am used to. Before the service you encounter many greeters and ushers who help you find your way to the auditorium where the service is held, and direct you to a seat they want you to fill. Service started with a prayer, and then we entered a time of praise and worship through song and prayer. This was followed by the sermon, a time of prayer and reflection. And finally by more praise through song. The format was very familiar, but the context was very different. Every person on stage that Sunday was Asian or Asian American, and was younger than 50. I had never attended a church with this type of demographics, but none the less I felt very welcomed.  

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

It was interesting to see a church that mostly belonged to one or two generations, and it made me wonder how this church would mature and grow in the future. Will attendees continue coming to this church as they grow older? Will the church try and reach people form other generations as well? However, the thing I enjoyed the most about the service was the teaching. The pastor seemed genuine and caring, and also was able to bring his sermon back to the gospel.

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

Oddly enough the most disorienting thing in the service were the greeters and the ushers, although they were very helpful in finding my way, I felt obliged to follow their instructions and not get familiar with the space or the people around me.  

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 relationships, and it compared relationships before and after the Fall in Genesis 3. It was interesting to hear the pastors perspective on how we are living in a reality of brokenness, but many times we seek for perfect relationships, that this side of heaven are not possible. However, through Christ, and the church we can start experiencing a little bit heaven through shameless fellowship with others. I think that by being a racial minority at the time I realized how isolating we can be sometimes when entering relationships with others, and I was thankful to be welcomed and accepted into this new church.