Church Visit #3 Low-Income Danny Puknaitis

Church Name: Naperville Korean 1^st Presbyterian Church  

Church Address: 23W550 Hobson Rd, Naperville, IL 60540

Date attended: November 2nd, 2014

Church category: Low Income Church  

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

Last Sunday, I attended the Naperville Korean 1^st Presbyterian Church for my low-income category church blog. I decided to choose this specific type of church because for one, this church physically looked a lot smaller than the other churches in Naperville. Secondly, I knew this Korean church had a much different culture than I am normally accustom to, and I was right. I first encountered this different culture in the parking lot. As I was trying to figure out where to park, I was interrupted and directed by a Korean man, who worked for the church. Directly after he pointed me in the right direction, he proceeded to bow at me. I was shocked because I have never been bowed to before. And that’s when it hit me how cultured this church was going to be. Although I was smacked in the face with their culture, I also noticed really quickly how different the parking was compared to my normal economically well off church. We had to park in the grass. This is not a big deal, but it’s different. This was the beginning of the aspects I saw that made this low-income church different than every other church I have attended.

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

            I absolutely love the hospitality of this church. Right away we were greeted, and we meet the pastor. Directly after being swarmed by a mass group of Koreans, we were specially shown to our own seat, and well attended for. I felt like a king in this church and I truly felt special. To be honest, I just wanted to blend in and hide away from the fact that I was visiting a new church. That was not going to happen with this small church. The visitors were recognized to the whole church 10 minutes before the service is over. This made me feel very awkward but it showed they truly cared for their new people and noticed us.

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

            The most disorienting or challenging aspect of this low-income church was the band that was playing. The church I attend at home is a massive church, with a huge full band, a large chorus, and an amazing stage with added light effects and fog. The church I went to on Sunday had a very basic band. Which included drums, guitar, and bass. The choice of music to play was played very basically. There were not any solos. It was a basic cord progression that held a steady beat but was never over the top. This was challenging to me because I was so use to a huge concert like service. When I saw this band, I did not “feel” God as much. I found it hard to hold my thoughts back from wondering, as well as wanting to pull my iphone out to check anything because of how boring the musical aspect of that church was like.

What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?

            Although I could not completely understand everything because of the quality of the translator device, I did understand what passage they were referring to which was John 9:25. However, nothing in John 9:25 knocked me off my feet in terms of hearing something new. I did however notice how many times this congregation prayed. This aspect of my faith has been lacking in indefinitely and this Church reveled for me how important it is to pray on a regular basis. This opened up my eyes and I realized what I have to incorporate in my own life. I need to work on having a better relationship with my father. That can be solved through prayer.