Church Address: 1825 College Ave. Wheaton, IL
Date attended: 21, September 2014
Church Category: Different Ethnic/racial demographic
Describe Worship Service:
Nueva Esperanza is a church for native Spanish speakers. The church meets for two services on Sunday mornings at the "Scripture Press" building of Wheaton's East properties, so it was well within walking distance. When we walked in to the front of the building we could hear the starting chords of the guitar starting worship in the sanctuary area. We were immediately welcomed by Maria who shook our hands and asked if we spoke spanish; when we replied, "un poquito," she said to be sure and ask if we didn't understand what was going on. And this sort of framed my experience: I was very welcomed but at the same time very challenged to fully participate because of the language barrier.
The service itself had a very familiar liturgy, comparable to many evangelical, nondenominational services I have attended. Many families in what we would consider "typical church dress" gathered in rows of folding chairs, facing the stage. After musical worship (contemporary in style--many songs simply Spanish translations of American-composed songs), we prayed together, gathered tithes and offerings, listened to a passionate sermon and concluded with announcements and benediction.
Nueva Esperanza is a church for native Spanish speakers. The church meets for two services on Sunday mornings at the "Scripture Press" building of Wheaton's East properties, so it was well within walking distance. When we walked in to the front of the building we could hear the starting chords of the guitar starting worship in the sanctuary area. We were immediately welcomed by Maria who shook our hands and asked if we spoke spanish; when we replied, "un poquito," she said to be sure and ask if we didn't understand what was going on. And this sort of framed my experience: I was very welcomed but at the same time very challenged to fully participate because of the language barrier.
The service itself had a very familiar liturgy, comparable to many evangelical, nondenominational services I have attended. Many families in what we would consider "typical church dress" gathered in rows of folding chairs, facing the stage. After musical worship (contemporary in style--many songs simply Spanish translations of American-composed songs), we prayed together, gathered tithes and offerings, listened to a passionate sermon and concluded with announcements and benediction.
Interesting, appealing:
I found it very interesting just how similar the service was to my church "norm." Coffee and doughnuts were served in the lobby area while adults chatted with children ducking in and out of legs. Even with my little Spanish, I was able to sing along to all the songs, following the words projected against the back wall, especially because many of the melodies were familiar tunes I usually sing in English.
I found the most appealing aspect of the services was the high congregation involvement with each part of the service. With smiles and hugs individuals greeted each other, and you could tell they were involved with one another. When the pastor came to speak, he was greeted by salutations from the congregation and they expressed their supportive listening and affirmation throughout his message by clapping, cheering and occasional dialogue between the pastor and a member. The congregation was comprised of active worshipers and active listeners.
I found it very interesting just how similar the service was to my church "norm." Coffee and doughnuts were served in the lobby area while adults chatted with children ducking in and out of legs. Even with my little Spanish, I was able to sing along to all the songs, following the words projected against the back wall, especially because many of the melodies were familiar tunes I usually sing in English.
I found the most appealing aspect of the services was the high congregation involvement with each part of the service. With smiles and hugs individuals greeted each other, and you could tell they were involved with one another. When the pastor came to speak, he was greeted by salutations from the congregation and they expressed their supportive listening and affirmation throughout his message by clapping, cheering and occasional dialogue between the pastor and a member. The congregation was comprised of active worshipers and active listeners.
Disorienting, challenging:
The most disorienting and challenging part to the service for me was, obviously, the language barrier. Though I have studied Spanish, my skills are still rudimentary so it required a lot of energy and attention to participate. While musical worship was quite familiar and I was able to understand much of what we sang, it was tasking to listen and try to understand the pastor during prayer or the sermon. It was very rewarding when I was able to follow what everyone else was doing (moments of laughter or searching out a passage in the Bible). It was also very encouraging when members of the congregation welcomed us in Spanish, and affirmed us with a, "Very good; we are so glad you are here!" after we informed them we spoke only a little Spanish. Even in my biggest challenge, the people encouraged me and made me feel welcome.
The most disorienting and challenging part to the service for me was, obviously, the language barrier. Though I have studied Spanish, my skills are still rudimentary so it required a lot of energy and attention to participate. While musical worship was quite familiar and I was able to understand much of what we sang, it was tasking to listen and try to understand the pastor during prayer or the sermon. It was very rewarding when I was able to follow what everyone else was doing (moments of laughter or searching out a passage in the Bible). It was also very encouraging when members of the congregation welcomed us in Spanish, and affirmed us with a, "Very good; we are so glad you are here!" after we informed them we spoke only a little Spanish. Even in my biggest challenge, the people encouraged me and made me feel welcome.
Aspects of Scripture or theology the worship service illuminated that I had not perceived as clearly in my regular context:
The passage of scripture that the pastor spoke on was from Romans 14 about not passing judgement on one another. The pastor continued to elaborate in his message on a biblical way to resolve interpersonal conflicts and not coming to one another with pride in our hearts. This was right in line with the aspect of the whole service which struck me most: the harmony of the people. Through their welcoming spirit, their treatment of one another and their affirmation of the challenging, passionate words of their pastor, I saw just a little more clearly what it looks like to live in harmony with one another as the church.
The passage of scripture that the pastor spoke on was from Romans 14 about not passing judgement on one another. The pastor continued to elaborate in his message on a biblical way to resolve interpersonal conflicts and not coming to one another with pride in our hearts. This was right in line with the aspect of the whole service which struck me most: the harmony of the people. Through their welcoming spirit, their treatment of one another and their affirmation of the challenging, passionate words of their pastor, I saw just a little more clearly what it looks like to live in harmony with one another as the church.
No comments:
Post a Comment