Elise Lopez - Church visit #2

Elise Lopez - Church visit #2

Church name: Chinese Christian Union Church

Church address: 2301 S Wentworth Ave, Chicago, IL 60616

Date attended: Sunday October 9

Church category: Different ethnic/racial

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

I went to Chinatown for this church blog. What was most interesting to me was how contemporary the service was, I was expecting something a bit more liturgical, I am not sure why I assumed that it would be that way. Obviously there were many more Chinese people than are normally at my church but I also saw a few of my friends from high school, which I also was not expecting. I found the worship to be very contemporary and the pastor was very engaging. Also it was the second Sunday so they had communion. I also enjoyed walking through Chinatown to get to the church; it was cool to see all the little shops and what they sell.     

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

What I found most interesting was the families that were in the service. They were all pretty young, with children or mostly youth as well. Since the church is located in the middle of Chinatown I thought more elderly people would be there but there weren’t too many when I was there. I liked that I knew most of the songs they sang, it made me feel very comfortable and I felt like I could relax and worship God without worrying about the words. I also really enjoyed seeing how close all the members are to each other, I could really see that the church community was very strong.

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

The mostly difficult thing was feeling like I couldn’t raise my hands because no one else was. I go to a very expressive church so it felt a bit weird when no one really raised their hands for praise but I also think that has to do with the Chinese culture and not being too outwardly expressive. It was also challenging to feel comfortable because I just felt out of place since I was the only Hispanic there, that was probably more of my own perception than what anyone else was thinking but I did feel out of place. Also there was no welcoming part of the service, which felt a bit out of the norm, but it was a guest speaker so I think maybe they might have skipped over it.

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 really thought about how God made all these different cultures and how beautifully his character is expressed in every culture through different actions or inclinations. I thought of the Tower of Babel and how God instantly made all those people speak different languages and they created communities where culture was cultivated. I know that’s a bit extreme but I do see how confusing it must have been at first. If I only knew Spanish or English and everyone around me started speaking Chinese or Korean it would be very confusing and even a bit scary. Going to this church really illuminated how the difference of culture and ethnicity can influence who we are and what we love.