Joshua Lee: Church Visit #1

Church name: St. Joseph Orthodox Church

Church address: 412 Crescent St, Wheaton, IL 60187

Date attended: September 21^st, 2014

Church category: significantly more liturgical than my regular experience

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

I attended St. Joseph Orthodox Church, which was liturgical in its style. What a blessing it was to attend the church! I received much welcome as I entered the church, and I left the church with a feeling of warmth in my heart (and a gift of a Korean Orthodox liturgical book!).  

The worship style was very different. We stood much of the time and sang a lot of hymns, to the point that I thought we would end the service without a sermon. But the Father delivered the sermon at the very end, after the communion. The communion itself was very different. Instead of using wafers, the Fathers fed each member by scooping elements from chalices with a spoon. In a Western culture where spoons are not shared even among the family members (if shared, with reluctance), it was so humbling to see the eagerness of the worshipers to receive the Communion, without much concern for the repeated usage of the same spoon…

Although the church was different, it was nevertheless beautiful and holy. I witnessed the same Triune God during the service as I did in my church. Perhaps this is a foretaste of the heaven, where people from different nations, tongues, and traditions would worship the Lord with one, multifaceted voice.

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

I found these two factors very appealing: reverence and community.

The worship carried an atmosphere of reverence. This atmosphere was achieved primarily through the liturgical nature of the service. The carefully structured pattern of hymns and readings added weight to the worship. And it was not just a dry reading, either. It was accompanied by actions, including crossings and kneeling towards the cross. The kneeling especially reminded me of the reverence I must have as I approach my Lord. Also, the congregations showed much respect to the Fathers. As the Father swung incense and blessed the worshipers, each section reciprocated by bowing back to the Father. From this reciprocity I felt the tender and reverent relationship between the congregation and the clergy. If the contemporary worship style helped me see Christ’ personal nearness to us, the orthodox’ liturgical veneration reminded me of God’s sovereignty, priesthood, and kingship.   

And I was amazed by the sense of community in the church. The Father personally knew each member of his flock. At the end of the service, people called out prayer requests and birthdays, to which the Father addressed each person with name and guessed his or her age. I was so touched by his commitment to know each individual. Moreover, I witnessed this sense of community when we celebrated 40^th anniversary of a couple during the church service. The Father blessed the couple in front of the congregation with much endearment, and the whole church joined in celebrating their marriage. Finally, he even addressed me at the end—and welcomed me as a student from Korea. It was so touching to see such strong sense of community and welcome in the church.

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

The most challenging part of the worship service was the icons. As I surveyed the various icons in the sanctuary, I wondered if they could not be idols. So I drew back a little when the worshipers kissed the icons of Jesus, saints, and Virgin Mary as they entered and exited the church.

At the same time, I reminded myself that tradition is one way to know God. Iconography is passed down by saints and fathers who devoted themselves to Christ. If they have approved this tradition, it must serve a purpose as a valuable tool of worship. Perhaps I am not used to this style of tradition enough to see these icons as reminders and gateways to God, not objects of worship in and of themselves. 

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 liturgical nature of the worship taught me more about the doctrine of worship. The constant singing, crossing, standing, and bowing down reminded me that worship is an active participation, not just passive listening. In my regular church context, sometimes I find myself entering the sanctuary with the heart to receive the message, but I rarely think about actively participating and reciprocating in the service, aside from short singing and responses. After this experience, I want to approach my regular worship with more engaging attitude.

 Also, the emphasis on the congregation's participation taught me about the doctrine of community. I often entered the church service as a personal time to meet God. That is certainly true, but I realized through the service that worship is just as communal as it is personal. I wish to see this more in the typical, Presbyterian church setting. I wish the pastor can interact with the congregation and solicit its participation during the worship.