Essay On Church Reflection

I chose to do my religious ethnographic study at my home church, Tabernacle Baptist Church in Youngstown, Ohio on Sunday, May 8, 2016. Tabernacle is an 112-year-old historic Black Baptist church located on the lower Northside of Youngstown surrounded by a mixed income housing development, homeless shelter, Youngstown State University, and St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. I would say the average age of a Tabernacle member is 55 years old. About 70% of the members at this church are “middle-class” families. Until about five years ago, its membership was almost exclusively middle class. There has seen an influx of membership in working class individuals and students since the arrival of Tabernacle’s young, vibrant pastor, Rev. Christopher McKee, Jr., three years ago. The church is attentive to the needs of this demographic but remains true to its historic Black Baptist church roots. The church previously struggled with this conundrum until it came to the reality that an exclusivist mindset around worship is detrimental to the body of Christ when it did not have a pastor for over three years. The church was dying because no one was welcome to it and it did not have a leader. Though it was difficult, this reassessment was beneficial in making Tabernacle more relevant and welcoming to the community it is blessed to serve.

In my experience at first progressive Baptist Church I was very much out of my comfort zone because not only did I not feel as welcomed but it was a little awkward because of all the looks I was receiving. I felt I was not dressed as they were and felt as if I didn't fit in and right away I just didn't feel appropriate with my attire. While I was there I actually had people wanting to shake hands and asking me questions about me coming and there was one man who just stared at me and so it was uncomfortable and didn't know how to react. While I was there I started to notice that there is a little difference from the church I go to and the music was way different as well, everyone will talk back with amen or thank you Jesus. The difference

The process by which Scripture has been preserved and compiled is one whose history is worth noting. The early church had many opportunities to share the Good News of Christ via word of mouth, but from the time of Christ’s resurrection until the mid-second century, there had not been a single culmination of writings considered to be essential for the purposes of

Black churches today are becoming more diverse, and a great place to worship for all people regardless of ethnicity. However, for some people of Caucasian decent it can still be confusing understanding the traditions of the Black church. Here is a brief guide to non-African Americans understand the church.

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

A.) The mission chapel is beautiful. The beauty of this chapel can compare to the Santa Barbara one. They both are bright in color. When in the chapels I get a warm feeling. Old artwork. Kind of built like an ancient style building. Candles light up the room.

Next, going to a baptist church had some similarities and difference compared to going to a synagogue. The similarities were that they are both places where people in the community come together to pray and worship God. Another similarity is that there are parts of the service where there are readings from either the torah or bible that are long and boring. There are also parts of the service where there is standing and singing. Furthermore, there’s also the similarity of there being one person who leads the service, in a synagogue its a rabbi, and in church it’s a pastor. The rabbi or pastor speak and the community listens or participates when asked. A final similarity that I noticed is that at both synagogues, and African American baptist churches the services discuss topics that are culturally significant.

The three of us arrived at the church about 30 minutes before the service started. I noticed as I waited for everything to start that this church had a phenomenally diverse range of attendees. There was your typical grandmother with her

The church we attended was a traditional African American church and far from open-minded. That is why I chose to observe Expressions Church. Although, Expressions Church and my church is of the same religion, I knew it would be different. My experience at Expressions church was interesting, not because of the religious things that was mentioned but just about everything else. The church is not in a traditional chapel, it is located in a building on the North West side of Oklahoma City. After arriving I immediately noticed flyers on the front door for free HIV testing and dates. Upon entering the church I quickly felt like an outsider but still tried my best to be as open as

On 11/05/2017 I went with my three children to Calvary Baptist Church which is about 2 miles from my house. At 10:00 am we reached at the church and parked at the church’s parking lot. The church was planted in 1878. As we entered inside the church building ushers welcomed us. We sat in the third row and started fellowship. Most of the people in the congregation were African Americans of different ages.

Over the past years of my life I have seen many changes, some for the good and others not as good. Change can be demanding and also crucial. The early believers would encounter this. One can see that significant change happened, when reading through the gospels and the book of acts it is obvious to the reader that the believers who followed Jesus would never be the same again.

What concepts, principles, or ideas that you have learned, do you think you will remember the most after you leave this class?

The four marks of our church are what we believe as Roman Catholics our church to be. We state these beliefs in the Nicene Creed and they are also shown in many other parts of our faith. Only the Roman Catholic Church reflects the fullness of these marks. It is through these marks that salvation can be achieved. These marks include One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostalic.

The aim of the reflective essay is to highlight my own personal development skills that I have developed during first semester of my module. However, in this report I will make sure my learning ability phase and what this module has allowed me to work and understand in improving my personal skills and purpose. My major aim is to develop and assess an in depth range of my personal traits as a student in order to endorse my future development plan.

Christian Tradition course exposed me to the Christian Tradition based on Biblical and church history. The course taught me the differences and similarities of Christian Tradition from other major world religions. I learned about the significance of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the Trinity based on the teachings of the Bible. The course also briefly covered 2,000 years of church history but with emphasis on the impact of the Council of Nicea, Council of Chalcedon, and John and Charles Wesley on Christianity. The professor emphasized the importance of the reformation that sparked a revolution in the church.