Church Name: Saint John Cantius Parish
Church Address: 825 N. Carpenter Street, Chicago, IL 60642-5405
Date Attended: 9-21-14
Church Category: Significantly More Liturgical, More than 10mi from Wheaton
Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?
Since I normally attend All Souls which is an Anglican church I tried to go extremely liturgical, and boy did I achieve my goal. I attended the Latin service at Saint John Cantius Parish in Chicago, which is Catholic if that isn’t implied. The building of this church is something that I had ignorantly categorized as impossible for Chicago, it is beautiful, ornate, acoustically remarkable, and generally awe inspiring. The worship during the service consisted of an orchestra and choir that sounded so amazing that when I first arrived I assumed it was a recording until they stopped mid song to correct a mistake. At the introduction of the service there was music from this orchestra that was in the balcony behind us, as well as scripture reading, and call and response for the congregation. There was plenty of call and response that occurred throughout the service, which was guided by printed books (not just pamphlets) that had services from August through October within them. All of this was in Latin, while the announcements and sermon were mercifully in English for those of us who were stumbling through the Latin, which despite its significant likeness to English I still managed to struggle with following. The most significantly different thing from my context (besides the amount of formality, latin, and ornateness of the building) was probably the incense that wafted from the back of the building when the service started, and then the procession that came down the aisle with plenty of smoke that made me wonder about their fire safety procedures.
What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?
Honestly, the beauty that surrounds you at St. John Cantius is astounding and very spiritual. From the moment I walked in I felt turned towards God through beauty. The architecture, paintings, statues, and music gave me a feeling that only art can really give a person, and it was all God centered which was amazing. While I was tempted to wonder if this was the best allocation of their funds, I also felt throughout the service that I was constantly refocused and appreciative of where I was no matter how much my mind or sight wandered. This is not to say that it is necessarily the best allocation of their wealth, but I certainly understood and felt its purpose. I also really appreciated the people in the orchestra and choir who were obviously gifted musicians that dedicated their time to bring some genuine beauty to the service.
What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?
I feel that calling it challenging will belittle how much I actually appreciated the amount of tradition and reverence that goes into it, but I found that participating in the Latin service was very challenging for me. Not so much in that reading or pronouncing the words was difficult, or even translating because they have it right next to the text! The thing I struggled with was finding where we were in the service, there wasn’t a lot of clarity as to which book you were supposed to be following in (there were several) and even when I found the correct book, you had to find where in the service it was, which is hard when you’re only understanding every few words. Although I was very proud when I heard “Et cum spiritu tuo”, knew it meant “and with your spirit”, and found my place. The Latin itself really added something for me to the service, but it was certainly the most disorienting aspect of my experience.
What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?
Honestly, when I heard the scripture that was used during the service was Matthew 20 (the parable of the workers in the vineyard), I thought to myself “how many times have I heard this one”. And honestly the sermon in and of itself was not entirely different from what I have heard before, whether in my non-denominational church from home, or from All Souls here. What struck me from this, while the message was not what touched me, was the ultimate truth that behind all of our traditions, resides the same truth. As cheesy as it sounds, it is wonderful and beautiful that regardless of the background of these people, they would derive the same meaning from the same passage in the Bible that we all read. I feel that sometimes I think of more traditional churches as stuck in their ways and having nothing to really discuss about scripture, but really they are interpreting and growing from scripture just as everyone else is.
(Seriously guys, this place is beautiful)
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