Essay About The Family

Although the small group of church goers were mostly elderly Caucasian people, they were diverse and friendly towards new individuals. Those who wore the traditional, elegant attire of a Sunday worship service greeted with a firm handshake and a gentle smile. On the other hand, those who preferred to wear casual outfits greeted with tight hugs and hearty laughter from seeing a new face. After talking to more than half of the attendants, it was evident that everyone knew a lot about each other. It was nice to hear that most of them had overwhelmingly positive words to say about the church itself. Then, I finally met the middle-aged pastor who was glad to see someone new and introduced me to his wife. She had a stoic expression and had nothing to say. Honestly, the wife’s silence struck me as surprising considering how the other people were talkative, but it is nothing to be overly concerned about. After all, it was almost time for the Sunday service to

The Service in which I attended was at the Holy Cross Perish in San Jose off Jackson street and North 12th Street at 6:00pm. It was still day time so I was able to get a good glimpse of the area in which the church was in. We parked across the street from a park that was called Backesto Park where it seemed that some people from the church would wait there until the service would start, because when I was waiting outside the church I was able to look over at the park and noticed a good amount of people coming toward the church. The experience was pretty interesting. I am a Latino and it was still a bit hard to understand what the priest was saying. The church seemed to look like a regular one with rows of benches

“I’ve really gotten to know some of the people who come in there on a regular basis,” she said. “I’ve had some amazing moments and I’ve been able to pray with people and pray for their needs and just share on a personal level.”

     The 1950’s were a decade of growth and expansion. Growth of the middle class, expansion of religion and a growing economy kept Americans on the move- literally. Families were moving from the cities and into the suburbs. “This massive shift in population from the central city was accompanied by a baby boom that started during World War II. Young married couples began to have three, four, or even five children (compared with only one or two children in American families during the 1930’s) (The American Story, pg. 729). This style of living began making the immediate

The visitors are greeted with a warm smile and a firm handshake. When you walk in the three doors, there is a person greeting you at each with a welcoming personality. The majority of the people there seemed to be between middle and upper class. There was a mix of Asian Americans as well as the majority being Caucasians. There were African Americans here and there. There was a huge percentage of women there compared to men and the average age was thirty five and up. This Sunday, there were approximately two hundred and thirty people. It was a very packed service that afternoon.

As I walked into St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church, I was welcomed by everyone I passed by. There was a pleasant odor filling the halls that a fresh cooked meal was being prepared making me feel like I was at home. As I walked into the hall members of all ages were there to attend the Wednesday Night Recharge ranging from cute little infants, to

The service itself was much laid back and relatively small. There were 25 people at the church on that Saturday, and they were all very friendly. The pastor was very enthusiastic and welcoming to us. At the beginning of the service, he introduced us to everyone in the church and he encouraged us to research as much as we wanted to. In my opinion, this service was very similar to a catholic worship, or similar to the service that I used to attend when I lived in Venezuela. There was a lot of sitting, reading, standing, and singing. As we learned in class and in Williams’s Religion in America, music is a very

On February 26 I attended the Sunday worship service at Powerhouse ministries in Marshall, MO. Powerhouse is a Baptist church. As I walked through the doors of the small one story building, two elderly gentlemen with a handshake greeted me. The members of the church were very welcoming although they had never seen me before. They greeted me with a smile and welcomed me into their place of worship. Except for the wooden pews, Powerhouse did not look like any church I have been to before. The building was small and run-down and did not have any symbols such as a cross. The building had regular windows and did not have stained glass like those found in Catholic churches. Powerhouse ministries’ structure seemed humble and made me feel at home. It seemed as if money is not a priority for Powerhouse. Powerhouse is only concerned with bringing people together to worship Jesus Christ. Powerhouse did

Anne Henning Byfield called the three women down to the front. Individuals, and perhaps total strangers, came alongside of the women and supported them. I have been apart of several services were the preacher asks everyone to bow their heads and close their eyes. He then proceeds to ask questions, and asks the congregation to raise their hand if the question applies to them. It’s anonymous, and then prayer concludes the exercise. In this service, there was no mystery. The struggles were presented, and dealt with. They were not just swept back under the rug. There was no suppression. Church is about bring everything and trying to diminish the problem(s). Many people, and myself included, in the church have perfected a façade. To a bystander we seem fine, when in all actuality there is brokenness. No facades were present in that church service. People were genuine, and they radiated Him. People were saved during that service! One of the main takeaways for me was that church is a place for the broken; it’s not a building for “perfect

Determining family structure and dynamics as well as defining the family is a complex process. Personally, I come from a very traditional family. Much like the assumptions made by the students in the article Defining Family: Young Adults’ Perceptions of the Parent-Child Bond by Mellisa Holtzman (2008). This is what comes to mind when most people define family; a nuclear family, with married parents, and biological children. However, a family is a complex system and can take on many different forms.

Michael Halloran (2004) proposes that culture as a diverse and complex system of shared and interrelated knowledge, practices and signifiers of a society, provides structure and significance to groups within that society which subsequently impact the individual’s experience of their personal, social, physical and metaphysical worlds (p.5). Halloran (2004) theorizes that cultural maintenance is key to increasing the health and well-being of Aboriginal Australians whereby he suggests that culture provides collectively validated ways to think of and value oneself, further arguing that culture helps to suppress fundamental human existential anxieties about social isolation produced by our mortality awareness. Emile Durkheim (Marks, 1974) identifies anomie as being without law or norms, similarly, D.J Spencer (2000)

To the right of the bed, my grandmother sat hunched over, head bowed, fumbling with the small beads on her rosary that she clutched in her shaking hands. Her sullen eyes glanced at her daughter’s face, waiting for a miracle and never looking away.

The Difficulties in Defining the Family The Oxford Dictionary gives the meaning of 'family' as 'parents and their children, sometimes including grandchildren and other relations'. Murdock's definition of the family is: 'The family is a social group characterised by common residence, economic cooperation and reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship, and one of more children, own or adopted, of the sexually cohabiting adults.'

The woman was very happy with those within her community of the synagogue because they gave good insight to those around that were interested. Dorothy loved their Rabbi because she was open to anyone asking questions about what they followed.

No one can’t meet a family like mine’s. My family is well diversified. Every family member plays an important role in all my family’s lives. In my family, there are four people: my father, my mother, my little brother and me. My father is one who brings money home and is also responsible for organizing and planning family trips. My mother is the one who is in charge for making meals and makes sure everyone eats at the appropriate times. My little brother is the pet of the family. He actually doesn’t have any responsibilities, for he’s the pet. I am the rock of support in my family. I always go beyond my parents’ expectations. I also support my younger cousins and little brother, by being a role model that they can look up to. Another