Church name: Immanuel Anglican Church
Church address: 4619 N Ravenswood, Ste. 303B Chicago, IL 60640
Date attended:
Church category: more liturgical
Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?
I grew up in a Baptist Church pastored by my Father. Though there is a liturgy to every Church service, the tradition of call and response by leaders and the congregation was very present in our worship and it wouldn't be until I went to a Lutheran Church in Wheaton that I experienced pronounced liturgy. Immanuel, like my church, sang a mix of hymns and contemporary songs, but also left space for specific times of corporate spiritual disciplines like collective scripture reading, corporate confession, reciting of the Nicene creed, and thanksgiving, and greeting one another. These practices are expressions of faith and praise that involve the congregation as a whole together. The script and symbolism of everything that occurred in service was a distinct departure from what I grew up in.
I grew up in a Baptist Church pastored by my Father. Though there is a liturgy to every Church service, the tradition of call and response by leaders and the congregation was very present in our worship and it wouldn't be until I went to a Lutheran Church in Wheaton that I experienced pronounced liturgy. Immanuel, like my church, sang a mix of hymns and contemporary songs, but also left space for specific times of corporate spiritual disciplines like collective scripture reading, corporate confession, reciting of the Nicene creed, and thanksgiving, and greeting one another. These practices are expressions of faith and praise that involve the congregation as a whole together. The script and symbolism of everything that occurred in service was a distinct departure from what I grew up in.
What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?
One of the most interesting things about the worship service to me was the scripture reading. While I had been in services where the word was opened and one person read aloud to the congregation from it, Immanuel had members of the congregation stand and recite from memory the day's scripture. The first man stood up, recited from Habakkuk chapter one and two, and then walked to the front of the congregation kneeling before the offering table. In a highly visual and symbolic move, another man in the congregation rose and recited God's response to the lament, walking over to the crouched man and speaking over him. This was a very unique way of envisioning the scripture and the reality of what was being spoken/prayed. I was grateful overall that the church had readings not limited to the New Testament. They read from the minor prophets, Psalms, and Revelations.
One of the most interesting things about the worship service to me was the scripture reading. While I had been in services where the word was opened and one person read aloud to the congregation from it, Immanuel had members of the congregation stand and recite from memory the day's scripture. The first man stood up, recited from Habakkuk chapter one and two, and then walked to the front of the congregation kneeling before the offering table. In a highly visual and symbolic move, another man in the congregation rose and recited God's response to the lament, walking over to the crouched man and speaking over him. This was a very unique way of envisioning the scripture and the reality of what was being spoken/prayed. I was grateful overall that the church had readings not limited to the New Testament. They read from the minor prophets, Psalms, and Revelations.
What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?
While the "theatrical" reading of scripture wasn't distracting to me, if anything it prevented the reading from simply going past my ears, I still am used to someone rehashing what was just spoken. Instead, the reading was just a part of the overall liturgy. I am still trying to understand what lament looks like on a corporate, let alone individual, basis so perhaps a congregation that is more used to hearing lament in service can process it quickly. Even now rereading the selections from Habakkuk in the program I realize that the language isn't always easy to understand.
While the "theatrical" reading of scripture wasn't distracting to me, if anything it prevented the reading from simply going past my ears, I still am used to someone rehashing what was just spoken. Instead, the reading was just a part of the overall liturgy. I am still trying to understand what lament looks like on a corporate, let alone individual, basis so perhaps a congregation that is more used to hearing lament in service can process it quickly. Even now rereading the selections from Habakkuk in the program I realize that the language isn't always easy to understand.
What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?
Immanuel clearly has a specific vision for being a church in service of the city and the weak of the city. Though the church remains ethnically homogeneous, there mission and message should challenge the idea that predominantly white churches only preach an indvidualized gospel. On the contrary, guest speaker, Pastor Matt Woodley preached on Matthew 18:1-14 and framed the passage in a way that caused me to reevaluate how I saw the message. Who are the little ones, "the children", as it were, around me that demand our welcome, our protection, and our discovery? While I had always been preached to that I was that one lost sheep and a child in God's kingdom, and Pastor Woodley affirmed that we are in God's eyes the lost one sought after, it is important to see how the passage in its context finds relevance for our relationships to others as a church and as individuals. We are called to welcome, protect, and seek out the least of us. Christ exemplified that for us already.
Immanuel clearly has a specific vision for being a church in service of the city and the weak of the city. Though the church remains ethnically homogeneous, there mission and message should challenge the idea that predominantly white churches only preach an indvidualized gospel. On the contrary, guest speaker, Pastor Matt Woodley preached on Matthew 18:1-14 and framed the passage in a way that caused me to reevaluate how I saw the message. Who are the little ones, "the children", as it were, around me that demand our welcome, our protection, and our discovery? While I had always been preached to that I was that one lost sheep and a child in God's kingdom, and Pastor Woodley affirmed that we are in God's eyes the lost one sought after, it is important to see how the passage in its context finds relevance for our relationships to others as a church and as individuals. We are called to welcome, protect, and seek out the least of us. Christ exemplified that for us already.
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