Church Name: Lawndale Community Church
Church address: 3827 W. Odgen, Chicago
Date attended: November 2
Church category: Lower income, farther from Wheaton
Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?
The first thing I noticed was that the seating was placed around the stage in a circle. I really appreciated this set up for a church service, although it did take me a little while to get used to. Having the stage in the center of the congregation encouraged a community feel and it felt like we were all worshiping together as opposed to just watching a worship team perform on stage. The worship style a bit different from what I'm used to at my home church. The church I attend is primarily white and we sing the traditional contemporary worship songs heard on KLOVE. In contrast, the service at Lawndale was composed of mostly African American individuals and the worship style was more of a gospel style. Overall though, they had a worship team and band just like my home church, although this one was much more racially diverse. I also noticed that there were a lot of men present in the congregation and not many college aged people or children.
What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?
One thing that really stood out to me was the way the offering was conducted. At the end of the sermon, the pastor was explaining that last week, the church had asked for money to send to West Africa for the Ebola crisis. This week, they were asking for money for supplies for individuals who were flying to Africa the following week. I'm not sure if this is something that is usually done, where each week a different cause is the recipient of the weekly offering, but I liked the idea of having something concrete to support rather then just giving money to the church. I also really appreciated how the prayer was conducted. Instead of one pastor leading prayer the entire time, the congregation was incorporated quite personally. Members who had either a praise or a request to share formed a line behind a microphone and took turns sharing. To close, a moderator led everyone in prayer together but also read off each thing the members of the congregation had said. I thought this was a really unique and beneficial take to prayer. Its easy to get lost in a congregation and feel like your needs are lost among the hundreds of others, but this was a very effective way to bring these out. Also, taking the time to hear praises was great. It served to help the congregation focus on the positive things God is doing in people's lives as opposed to just asking Him for things.
What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?
To be perfectly honest, I didn't find anything too challenging about the service itself, but more so with how I felt while I was in attendance there. It was obvious to me that I was coming from a different socioeconomic background then most members of the church. This already made me uncomfortable and I'm not quite sure why. When individuals shared testimonies and prayer requests/praises, it became apparent just how blessed I truly am, but also how disconnected I feel from part of the body of Christ. The realness of the members of the congregation was inspiring. They were a living example of what it looks like to rely on God everyday for even little things, something that I often forget or don't think I need to do. I felt guilty for having been so ignorant to the very real suffering that is going on in the church and as this was good to feel, it did serve to make me uncomfortable.
What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly as in your regular context?
I was shocked when the pastor made the comment that it had been five weeks since the last murder in Lawndale. This is definitely something that is not talked about at my home church, most likely because it is not a problem. He then went on to talk about the prayer meetings they have every Wednesday that they fast for and encouraged the congregation to give up their lunch on Wednesdays and join them in praying for an end to violence in their community. This is just something that I could never comprehend. Having violence that prevalent in everyday life is unimaginable to me. But something came of this everyday struggle for individuals in this area; it forced them to heavily rely on God for the things they could not control. I don't have to worry about violence in my everyday life so I often forget that it is a very real problem that I need to be aware of and I also don't remember to thank God much for this provision. These individuals were very real with God and relied on Him on a day to day basis for their safety and to provide other things they needed. They also tangibly showed that they truly know prayer makes a difference and the importance of joining together to corporately ask God for something. I loved being able to see this side of the church body and wish that it was something I experienced more of in my home church.
As far as the sermon goes, the pastor focused on grace and the free gift it is. He used the example of John Newton being the owner of a slave trade ship and the story of his coming to write Amazing Grace. It was a good reminder of grace being a free gift for us from God. The pastor at one point asked a member of the congregation to come up and he gave him a free book in order to illustrate what God does for us. I appreciated this participation from the audience and the visual example.
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