Cyanea Poon - Church Visit #1

Church name: Iglesia de la Resurrección

Church address: 23W420 St. Charles Rd, Carol Stream, IL 60188

Date attended: 6 September, 2014

Church category: different ethnic / racial demographic

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

There are multiple factors of this church that is different than what I am used to. For instance, the demographic of the church is majorly Hispanics, and the service is a Spanish-speaking one. Also, the church congregation is smaller than I am used to have, with only around 35 people; of which there are a lot more females and children than there are for males.  Last is the formality of the church, as an Anglican church, the pastor is dressed up in a white robe, and he bless the children who are unable to take communion on their own.

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

The most appealing part of the worship service is how the church really comes together as a community. During the worship service, there is a period of time where the congregation greets each other with ‘La Paz’ (peace). In my familiar setting, one would greet the two people next to you, and maybe the ones behind and in front of you; but here in Iglesia, you greet every single person in the congregation. It is a long process, but my heart warms towards the fact that the blessing is passed on to everyone in the community, and we are together a family in Christ. I also especially feel the hospitality of the congregation when no less than 4 people (of which is a 10-year-old kid) offers to translate for my friends and I.

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

The most challenging part about the worship service is the different concept of time. The service is supposed to start at 4:30pm, but when my friends and I arrived, we are the only ones around. (we nearly thought that we got the wrong location or time!) The worship team gradually files in and prepare, and the service did not formally start until 5:15pm. I was taught since small that it is ‘very important’ to arrive at church ‘on time’ for it is an illustration of ‘respect’, so this experience definitely is different.  And now, when I come to think of it, it is refreshing to see that church is non-ceremonial and event-oriented by not starting ‘on time’, but then it remains as a challenge for me to adapt to the culture of 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 know not what they are speaking, singing, or preaching, but then I know that we are worshipping the same God. I come to really see as it is written in Ephesians 2:19-20, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” We are different, but than with our hearts and minds towards the same Savior, the same God, we are held together, built to become the holy temple of the Lord. Yes, the differences are not as important anymore, but instead the similarities holds firm.