Payden Carter- Church Visit #1

Church name: St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Church
Church address: 300 E Army Trail Rd, Bloomingdale, IL 60108
Date attended: February 7, 2016
Church Category: Orthodox

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from you regular context?
The service was focused on being liturgical as most of the service included the reading of the Ukrainian Bible. The readings were primarily lead by the priest at the front of the sanctuary. Throughout the service the congregation was standing and actively responding to the call to worship as work. In regards to my regular worship context the Orthodox Church was very different primarily due to the heavy emphasis on the reading of scripture. Also the awe of the congregation was unlike any worship ceremony that I have been apart of. The emphasis of Biblical text throughout the service, and the ability of the congregation to respond to the reading in reverence was admirable. The congregation at the Orthodox Church entered the sanctuary with a mindset that was evidently focused on being for something other than this world. My Church does a lot of things well in terms of having a sound Biblical theology of worship. However, it was nice viewing worship through the lens of another form of Christianity.

How did the worship service illuminate for you the history and contours of global Christianity?
The worship service at St. Andrew Church was able to illuminate the nature of global Christianity for me in multiple ways. Initially, when entering the building there is a large mosaic of the trinity surrounded by the saints. Also inside the Church, at the front of the sanctuary there is a painting of Jesus with six disciples on each side of Him. From these depictions I was able to feel humbled by the fact that there have been a lot of influential people in Christianity besides Jesus. Through the emphasis that St. Andrew Church placed on the role of Saints and apostles, I felt like I was more equipped to understand the contours of global Christianity. Also by participating in a worship service that was different than mine, and still being able to identify with those around me as brothers and sisters in Christ, I was able to more fully understand that the power of Christ to establish unity throughout the globe is me powerful than I previously knew.

How did the worship service illuminate for you your personal identity as a Christian?
Personally, the service at St. Andrew Church was able to directly reveal that the worship background that I come from is not very diverse. It was a privilege to be able to worship with a group of people as they sought to give the triune God glory in a style that was not natural to my worship style. My personal identity as a Christian was illuminated through this experience because as I worshiped with the Ukrainian people I felt included in their congregation, and I realized that as I Christian I am called to embrace my vocation as a disciple of Jesus to help others see that they also can be included in the body of Christ. The most important aspect of my life is that I am a Christian, and that should be core of my identity. Even in the midst of diversity people who have the same core identity as established by Christ, are strengthened to come together in unity.