Running head: ETHNOGRAPHY 1

Ethnography

Kassandra Sanchez

ENG 101

Kandice Kardell

Arizona State University

November 5, 2018
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Ethnography

The sanctuaries of the Glendale Seventh Day Adventist and Evangelical Christian were

observed. Despite the fact that both of these religions can be denominated as Christian faiths,

several differences were noted. For both of these faiths the sanctuary is a place where prayer,

preaching and praising occurs. A sanctuary is considered a sacred place where the members

connect with Christ. Observations were done by attending both sanctuaries during a weekly

service. After the sanctuaries were observed, it was concluded that there is a minority of teenage

members at the Seventh Day Adventist church.

The Adventist sanctuary is a room with a vast roof, it has large windows along the entire

east wall. Natural sunlight comes into the sanctuary from the windows, which makes the room

very illuminated. Although, on one of the days the space was observed it was cloudy and rainy.

On this day, the room was dark despite the ceiling lamps that were illuminating the room. The

lighting in the space cannot be controlled, since it is dependent on the amount of sunlight of each

day. There are no windows in the Evangelical Christian group, that said, sunlight does not affect

the lighting of the sanctuary. The lighting is controlled with light switches. It was noted that,

during the song praising the lights are dimmed down. Once the pastor goes up to preach the

lights are turned up and the room becomes bright. It was concluded that, the lighting in both

sanctuaries had an effect on the mood felt. For example, when the day was cloudy at the Seventh

Day Adventist church, the mood was gloomy. When it is bright and illuminated, the mood in

both spaces is happy and uplifted.

At the Seventh Day Adventist church, there is a room on the west side connected to the

sanctuary. The wall that connects with the sanctuary is a glass wall. This room is designated for

the younger children. They can be seen by the other members who are in the sanctuary. It was
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concluded that the glass wall is soundproof, because the children could not be heard. In contrast,

the children in the evangelical Christian have a designated room that is separate from the

sanctuary.

The layout of the sanctuaries is very similar for both faiths. There are several church

benches organized in rows. The benches face a podium at the front of the room, the podium is

used by the pastor to preach. In front of each bench a bible and brochures with announcements

can be found. Seventh Day Adventists gather for service in the sanctuary every Saturday at

11:00am, on the other hand, evangelical Christians have their service every Sunday at 1:00pm.

The length of both services is two hours. The objects in the sanctuaries are always in the same

place and the services occur on the same day at the same time. This provides the members with a

feeling of stability and familiarity. It was also noted that the people who attend each service have

been members of the community for several years. Attending the services on a regular basis for

several years, allows the members to feel a sense of stability and belonging because they become

familiar with the space. A common bias for both of these communities is that the pastor is

superior to the other members because he stands in front of the sanctuary. The members of both

sanctuaries claim to attend the services because they want to receive guidance and learn about

the bible. The setup allows for this feeling because the pastor whose job is to teach, stands in

front of the other members who are there to learn.

The structure of each service differs slightly. In the Seventh Day Adventist church, after

the praise a reading of the bible is done by the pastor. Then a prayer is said, tithes are collected

and then the pastor begins to preach. At the end of the service all the members in the community

hold hands and say the same prayer every week. The members holding hands shows a sense of

community within them.

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After the song praising at the evangelical Christian service the lights are turned on and

the members are encouraged by the pastor to greet at least two people around them and tell them

words of encouragement such as, “I am glad you are here today” or “you look good today”. The

pastor encourages new members to raise their hands. When a person raises their hand members

of the church stand up and greet them. The new members also receive a “new members” packet

which includes dates and times of events and classes that are offered. It also includes a card that

should be filled out with the information of the new members. The new members are contacted

by the greeters to return to a service again. This makes the non-members feel welcome and

accepted. After this, the tithes are collected, and the pastor begins to preach. There is a defined

structure for each service in the sanctuary. The members of the church are accustomed to the

structure. They always know what is going to happen next, and they know what to expect. This

provides the members with a feeling of stability, since the same things always occur at the same

time each week.

The evangelical Christians believe they are all brothers and sisters in Christ. They call

each other brother and sister respectively. This allows the members to feel a sense of community.

Stained glass windows are observed in both sanctuaries, as well as a podium at the front which is

used by the pastor and three fabric posters with bible quotes. The sanctuaries are not restricted,

which means everyone is allowed inside. Both churches have greeters at the entrance. Greeters

are members of the church who stand at the entrance of the sanctuary welcoming everyone that

enters. The greeters make both members and non-members feel a sense of belonging.

As for the number of members in each church, a significant difference was noted. The

choir of the Seventh Day Adventist church consists of forty people, and at least seventy more

members were sitting on the benches. Which means that there are at least one hundred and ten
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members in this church. The number of members of the Christian evangelical church is

significantly smaller, there are no more than sixty members. In Phoenix, there are less than ten

Seventh Day Adventist churches. However, there are over twenty Evangelical Christian

churches. That said, the larger number of members at the seventh day Adventist church could be

because there are less churches available for them.

The Seventh Day Adventist church that was observed was an English service, therefore

the majority of the members were Caucasian. It was also observed that the majority of the

members were adults. A minority of youthful members was observed. The Evangelical Christian

church was a Spanish service. The majority of the members are Latinos. In both spaces the male

to female members observed were proportional. However, it was noted that there were several

youthful members in the Evangelical Christian church.

The seventh day Adventist sanctuary is characterized by a large choir. As mentioned

before, their choir is composed of at least forty members. They have a designated area which is

at the front of the church. They remain in the front for the entire duration of the service. They

wear maroon choir gowns with the seventh day Adventist logo. The members of the choir are

females and males, most of them are adults between the ages of thirty and fifty. Along with the

choir members there is a choir leader, who is an older man. He stands in front of them and guides

them with his hands while they are singing. The songs that are performed during the service

come directly from the Seventh Day Adventist Hymnal book, which is located at the front of

each bench. Along with the hymnal book a copy of The Bible in the King James Version can

also be found.

The instruments that played music to accompany the forty choir voices were, two pianos

and a violin. The songs played are gospel hymns. Alternatively, the Evangelical choir is
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significantly smaller, it consists of two young women who sing. The instruments played are an

electric piano, an electric guitar and drums. These instruments are also played by two young

men. The songs that are performed are considered modern and contemporary praise songs. Both

sanctuaries begin their services with musical praising and singing. During both services, while

the songs are being performed the lyrics corresponding to them are shown in a projector at the

front of the sanctuary. The members of the Evangelical Christian choir play instruments and

songs that are modern and more attractive to younger members. This could be one of the reasons

why there were more youthful members observed in the Evangelical Christian church.

Seventh Day Adventist have a set dress code for their members. A formal dress code is

required for everyone who wishes to be in their sanctuary. Violation of the dress code is

considered a disrespect to their faith. Women must wear knee length skirts or dresses and the

shoulders must be covered. As for the men, they must wear dress pants, button up shirts and

dress shoes. A suit is optional for men. The dress code applies to children and adults. In contrast,

the Christian evangelical church does not have a specific dress code. The majority of female

members wear dress pants or black jeans with a blouse and flats or heels. The male members

wear jeans and button up shirts, although some wear t-shirts. The dress code for seventh day

Adventist is formal for all members, and the dress code for evangelical Christians is less formal.

Youthful members prefer a less restricted and formal dress code, which could be another reason

why there is a minority of youthful members in the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

The seventh day Adventist and Evangelical Christian are similar faiths, yet several

differences exist. After observing the sanctuaries of both faiths, it was concluded that there were

two reasons why there was a minority in youthful members observed at the Seventh Day

Adventist church. One being the formal dress code requirement for the Seventh Day Adventist
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members. Younger people prefer a dress-code that is less formal. Another reason could be that

the modern songs that are played during the Evangelical Christian church create an environment

that is more attractive to youthful members.