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Sydney C. Coffman

Professor Katherine Englefield

Western Religions 1112 section 5B0

26 April 2019

Religious Service Report

I decided to attend a Catholic church in Middletown called the Holy Family Parish or

know as St. John Catholic Church with my Aunt Amy. I was excited I had a family member to

go with to make me feel more comfortable and give me the details in advance on what to expect.

My aunt has been working hard for over a year to convert to be a catholic and I asked her if I

could go with her to experience this religion and service. My family and me are Pentecostal,

which is very different from being Catholic. What makes Catholics different from Pentecostals?

Well the answer to that is culture.

Culture is a way of living, behavioral norms, styles of communication, beliefs and values

of a group. Culture can be where any group of people expresses the same values, concepts, and

assumptions about life. When asked to immerse myself in another culture’s events, I was

skeptical. I am very happy with my everyday surroundings and I don’t like to be put into

situations in which I don’t know the customs. This assignment asked me to step out of my

comfort zone and get a taste for what other types of cultures could be like. In attending this

church I got a feel for how different the world is outside of my everyday routine. I got to

experience the way people interacted with each other and how they reacted to me being there. I

also got to be a part of what happens in their environment on a day-to-day basis including rituals,

values, and the way they express their cultural identity.

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St. John’s Catholic Church was a great experience for me, as soon as I arrived for the

service the building stood out immediately to me. It was so big and beautiful a lot different from

my small hometown church. When looking at the design of the church I noticed a bell tower with

a clock and a huge elegant archway with big doors as I was walking in. This church also had two

detailed stone angels on each side of the door and an elegant circle window with multiple glass

designs. As I walked in with my aunt I was overwhelmed, the church was beautiful and full off

color. Not only could this church fit over five hundred people but also the building was covered

in white, marble, and gold. The Alter had a stone figure of Jesus and Mary very detailed in color,

and many flowers surrounding the inside of the building.

As my aunt introduced me to her friends I noticed that everyone was dressed casual, just

as if we were at my church. There were people wearing jeans and nice button-up shirts and there

were other people who wore long dresses, covering the knees, with white gloves on. As we

approached the entrance to the sanctuary, what they call the area with the pews, my aunt stopped

me. She told me that before they go into the church sanctuary, you have to dip your fingers into

the holy water and trace a cross from your head, to your chest, then shoulder to shoulder. This is

what sets Catholics apart from Pentecostal because I typically don’t do that before my church

service. After we did the cross tracing, we were able to sit anywhere. We chose a spot where my

aunt usually sits and she introduced me to the people around us. They were very friendly and

welcoming to me. Before the service started every one started to kneel and pray. Catholics do a

private prayer while kneeling down in front of their seat; I thought this was interesting. This is

the time to ask the Lord to open your heart and ears for the service. While kneeling, the music

begins to play and the Priest, alter boys, and lectors come out from the back of the church and

walk up the center aisle to the Alter. This is when the Priest opens with a prayer and everyone
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stands. At this point, I can tell the people around me knew I was not a catholic because I was

delayed with the actions of everyone else. This made me feel a little bit uncomfortable because I

assumed people were judging me. Father John preached about sin and how it can affect out lives

deeply. He also talked about how if we accept the lord in our hearts and do the right thing, life

will become more clearly for us. When he was done, the lectors read the old and new testaments

weekly readings. One thing I was happy to see and hear were the songs the people sang. This

church had a huge choir and they sang like angles it was amazing to hear. I tired to follow in the

hymnbook but I was causing more attention to myself flipping through the book to try to find the

song. The priest finished up with his homily and the prayer intentions, which is what you would

like for the Lord to help you with during the week. There was a Eucharist minister who stands

right beside the priest during communion and hands out the wine. My aunt explained to me that

to have this title you have to go through training in order to assist the priest with these actions.

When we all left our seats to drink the wine I got lost in the huge crowd of people. I started to

panic a little bit because I felt out of place, and I was unfamiliar with what was going on.

Fortunately, a nice woman who was sitting behind me knew I was new there and helped me

through this process. She thought that it was great that I wanted experience this new religion and

she guided me through the steps of communion. I meet my aunt back at our seat and we waited

for everyone else to finish, she told me to kneel on the pedals again. When everyone makes it

back to his or her seats the priest dismisses mass and we end with one more song. As we left the

church, we dip our fingers once more into the holy water and trace the cross over our chest and

shoulders to bless us.

I am very happy that I took this opportunity to learn more about a different culture and

religion than what I am used to. One thing I learned is that even though there are many different
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ways to practice your faith, no way is the right or wrong way. I always heard that Catholic

services are very long and I was expecting to be there for four hours but I wasn’t. In comparison

to this experience and my church, they both lasted about the same amount of time.

Communication between the people at this church was not very different from what I am

used to. Before the sermon, people engage in casual conversation as well as after. During the

service it was very unlikely to see people talking the same as my church. They were all paying

close attention to the priest word. As we were walking out of the church my aunt introduced me

to a family that she talks with regularly. They were very welcoming and interested on how I

thought my experience went at their church was. The woman began telling me about home-life

groups and other activities outside of the services on Saturday and Sunday that I could get

involved with in I was interested. I thought this was very kind and made me want to come back.

As I said my goodbye to my aunt I thanked her for taking me to her church and allowing me to

experience this wonderful service. I may not be catholic but I understood what Father John was

preaching about and he had good explanations on how to be a better catholic and person, it was

easy for me to follow.

This was a great experience and I’m happy I got to do this with my aunt. I definitely was

out of my comfort zone at first but the people who attended this church were more than happy to

help me. I would suggest to others to branch out from what they are used to and meet new

people. I learned a lot about Catholics and I can’t say enough how warm and welcoming they

were to me, they welcomed me with open arms. Getting out of my comfort zone allowed me to

see a different environment and culture and I can honestly say it was an experience I will never

forget.