Maxwell Boyd - Church Visit #2

Church Name: Saint John Cantius Church

Church Address: 825 N Carpenter Street Chicago, IL

Date Attended: March 20, 2016

Church Category: Tridentine Mass (Palm Sunday)

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

The service was drastically different than my tradition, not only being Protestant but being a self-identifying charismatic Christian a part of the Assemblies of God tradition. Just like Greek Orthodox, the first thing that hits you is the drastic difference in building structure. The grandiose nature along with being architecturally beautiful is something that one does not see in my church. In my church, you might be surprised at the size, but it looks like one could hold movies to be played with a few misplaced crosses. Iconography is again something that was huge inside this tradition. The pictures of Jesus, Mary, and others on the windows and walls was something surprising and beautiful. Of course, the most shocking difference, even if one was prepared for it, is the language barrier of Latin for the whole service. This coupled with the direction of the priest and many other traditions that one just kind of had to "go with the flow" is something I am so not used to. Understanding when to repeat, when to sing, when to bow, when to accept and nod at the priest are all things that threw me off. The priest would scatter incense, speak with his back turned, and visually emulated the walk that Jesus walked on Palm Sunday. The only thing that seemed familiar was the sermon in English, even if it was all about Mary which made this Protestant a bit uncomfortable.

How did the worship service illuminate for you the history and contours of global Christianity?

Understanding, again, the scope of tradition is something that I was taken by and not only that, but like the Orthodox visit, reminded me of the need for tradition to be re-infused into our Protestant (and all too modern-minding) churches. To understand that the hold to tradition and what the church has done for so long is not only admirable, but also understandable from the perspective of preserving history and the "right" way to relate to God. To also understand that the service I was sitting in was practiced throughout the globe is also humbling. It gives one a sense of pride in the umbrella of Christianity, even if there are many divisions including my "uncomfortableness" in this mass, and moreover gives an indication of how the Holy Spirit has led the church and God has not just left his people (and the church) at the book of Revelation and left them to figure it out. This mass was a little unsettling theologically and traditionally, but that's alright because of what is important to this ministry. It also is a beautiful reminder of who we are all chasing, and how diverse of people, minds, and cultures that Jesus joyfully welcomes into his kingdom. 

How did the worship service illuminate for you your personal identity as a Christian?

I think for me, what it did most is call me back to the understanding of tradition and practice as not evil and empty of heart, but rather a way to preserve the relation of the church to the world and to God. These things are not in the traditional way, "bad" as Protestants sometimes look at them. (Things like Latin, the bowing, the same rituals, etc, etc). These things add to the faith if one allows them to, and I think that is the biggest eye-opener for me in both of these church visits. These are not meaningless ways to go to church that only relate someone who goes out of habit, but rather these are practices that continually allow someone to reach back into the past with millions of believers and praise God with them. It allows one to be with the "cloud of witnesses" and it allows one to connect to God through constant repetition and constant transport to the past. Not at all to say God is ever bound by time, but to relate to the church and to take a different route that can sometimes illuminate things previously hidden to someone. For example, in my life, bowing is not something I would normally do in a service. I mean, I have done it before in my prayer life, and maybe a few times in worship services, but most of the congregants bow in certain parts of the service always. This gives one a constant reminder of the posture of humility before the living God. These things are not devoid of emotion, nor just simply out of habit, but from habit and repetition, themes are implemented in the participant, just like me.