Analysis of Catholic Worship Service

Church of the Holy Sepulchre is also known as the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre and the Church of the Resurrection (Orthodox Christians). Originally identified as being outside the settlement of Calvary, it is located in the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel and is considered one of the holiest sites in the world, as well as being a central destination for Christian pilgrims. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was originally built by the Roman Emperor Constantine (272-337) in 330 CE upon the site of a Roman temple. It has since been controlled by Arab rulers, reclaimed by Christian crusaders, repeatedly ruined by fires and conquests, and long been subject to regional religious and political tensions. The Holy Sepulchre is a central Church in

Crap, did I get the days wrong, I really needed to get this assignment done! There were probably 30 or more people standing outside in the gloom of the church hall entrance smoking and talking. I quickly sent a text to my classmate who I was supposed to meet, “Are you here? Are we in the right place?” It had never dawned on me that there would be more than 10 or 15 people in attendance.

After a few games the went back and worshiped and Ryan spoke on Moses. Then the group split up into there small groups and discussed some of the things Ryan spoke about, the girls I sat with were very interested and this gave them time to process the story and understand it. I thoroughly enjoyed the service overall and I really enjoyed the fact that the kids welcomed me and and the leaders as well.

The event is well detailed as well as sequenced. They start with praise and worship to welcome the presence of God. In the process of praise and worship Matthew talks to the congregation to let them know if God did it for someone surely he can do it for you. Times like these it’s good to know that I have a sister in christ that can relate to my situation. They let us know that we are not alone that’s why God created us that we can

There were two striking aspects of the service that stood out in my mind. The first was the amount of standing. I had heard that traditionally Orthodox services do not permit sitting at all. Only some of the

What struck me as beautiful was the way they called out names for those who needed special prayers. I have seen this done before, but not this way. It was breath taking because they paused and took turns speaking there was great order. Now I’m not sure who the worship leader was, if it was the young lady that started off the service, if so she did a great job setting the tone. What I did learn is that there is religious worship service that are not over takin by an individual that makes it a one man show. What I learn that I will take away from this is that it’s not about being in the spot light, it’s about letting Christ shine through

The service itself was very interesting, the priest would speak words that some I wouldn't understand, but some I could. He would say things like thank the lord for this beautiful day and this great opportunity for us all to be together here. He would ask the people to stand then sit and stand again and sit, then stand for a really long time that I actually got tired from standing it was funny, but I didn't sit down just to show signs of respect. As he would speak he would stop and everyone would respond to the priest at the exact same time saying the same words, it was really cool how everyone's words together sounded it created a very powerful voice amongst everyone. Then people would all do that one thing where they make a cross by putting their thumb, to their

Praise and testimony opened day two of the Conference. Even the outside dampness of the rain could not interfere with the warmth and praise in the beautiful sanctuary. Bible study, taught by Rev. Annette Hoskins-Satterfield, Pastor of Pierce Chapel AME Zion Church, was powerful, practical, and soul stirring teaching. In her message, “Stewardship,” she dealt fiercely with the four principles of stewardship: we do not own it, responsibility, accountability and reward. She reminded us that we are seeking to hear God say, “Well done!” As she closed, she shared that stewardship is a place of leadership, not grunt

pastor calling to the alter. Whether in need of prayer or more, he and the elders opened up their

3. Have you sensed any influence or work of the Holy Spirit since our last meeting? What spiritual gifts did the Spirit enable you to exercise? What was the outcome? What fruit of the Spirit would you like to see increase in your life? What disciplines might be useful in this effort?

OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COMPLETION OF THE COURSE MUSC 610 – TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES FOR WORSHIP

Unfortunately, I arrived late, and thus the service had already begun. What was most intriguing about the service to me was the fact that it was bilingual, as it was done in both English and Hebrew. I was also impressed by the manner in which music corresponded into the service. Many of the prayer were chanted, and were accompanied by a hand-beaten rhythm that was provided by the cantor who was performing the service in the absence of the Rabbi, as was explained to me later. Many prayers were done, both out loud and solemnly in the silence of the parishioners’ hearts, and passages from the Torah were also read aloud in both English and Hebrew. Men and women sat together in the small place of worship, as no clear separation was in place as far as I could tell. I sat in the back and merely observed, along with rising and sitting when I was told as well as reading and praying what was asked of me.

In Both Islam and Zoroaster the belief of one true God is highly favored amongst the two and both acknowledge God as transparent, but they differ in their reference to God. The Zoroaster religion refers to God as Ahura Mazda (The wise Lord) along with twenty other names. It is understood that Ahura Mazda is an invisible and intangible creator. However, the Islam religion recognizes the supreme High God as Allah, who is separated and unapproachable by human beings. In contrast to Islam and Zoroaster, the Hinduism religion contradicts this belief and practice devotion to three major Indian gods. All three faiths worship their God or gods in different forms, yet all three are share similarities regarding worship and sacrifices.

When the service started it began with prayer, during the service there were moments of prayer, and the service ended with prayer. Something that I found very entertaining was the form of worship that they used which was singing. They sang a lot of different songs that worshiped God. You could tell who went to church a lot because they knew all the songs by heart. For those like me that didn’t know the songs, the words were projected on to the wall so you could sing along with everyone else. There was also a live band that played the music to sing to. This part of the service was really entertaining to me and I really enjoyed it.

Reflecting upon the readings of Torrance’s Worship, Community, and the Triune God of Grace and White’s Introduction to Christian Worship will deeply shape how I look at worship in the churches I now order worship for the congregations. I used one of the churches in which I serve to do the Order of Worship assignment. It is a blue collar, small membership church located in a rural, retirement/ vacation area of North Carolina, Lake Gaston. It is also predominately Caucasian. Torrance’s focus is on trinitarian worship, participating in Christ’s communion with God, the Father and Christ’s life, death, and resurrection through the power of the Holy Spirit. And White’s focus is to look at how the forms used in worship give worship its meaning. These forms include but are not exclusive of, time, space, music and art. There are implications for both focuses in the order of worship for the congregation used for my order of worship.