Ethnographic Report: Holy Cross Perish In San Jose

The rabbi began the service fairly casually, greeting the congregation in English. After the English greeting came a more traditional greeting in Hebrew, and then a song to greet the Sabbath, or Shabbat, which is the word that was used at the synagogue. The Hebrew might have been strange to me, but there were English translations for just about everything in the prayer book, along with the prayers and songs written out in Hebrew. My personal favorite part of the service was the singing. There were two singers, one male and one female. All of the songs were beautiful, and caused me to consider the fact that many religions use songs and music in order to convey their messages. I believe that this is a good practice, because music is a common language, one that everybody can understand regardless of whether they speak Hebrew, or any other tongue. Although I’m

For me it was a heartwarming experience but also a very clustered one. It made me elated to see the names of the people being remembered in such a grand way

As the only white individual entering the church on Sunday I felt extremely out of place and very uncomfortable, at first. Upon entering the church, before I could even find a place to sit, the pastor came to welcome me and showed me a place to sit for the service. The pastor was very kind and so welcoming that my nervousness and worry started to vanish. Once I was seated and more people entered the church, I was treated as if I had always been there and was part of the group. Although I was the minority at the service I did feel very comfortable with my surroundings and with the people in attendance. The whole experience was very interesting and broadened my perspective on the African American culture.

The people there were very welcoming and kind. The shook every single person hand and greeted them genially when they walked in. As I sat down, there was a countdown till when it begins. There were seats all around and in the center they had a stage, where there were people preparing to sing. They began their ceremony exactly at 8:30 with singing 3 songs. When we sang, everyone stood up for respect. Followed by that, the pastor recited a prayer with everyone to make this week better than the last. He welcomed everyone, including the people who are new, and told them more about what they do at Kennedy Road Tabernacle Church. The priest then talked about the Provision of Vision from the bible. There was a sheet that was handed out so as you listen you fill in the blanks. ( I attached the sheet I completed) I thought this was very convenient because it makes you pay attention and have something to do other than sitting down. He was reading about the Provision of the Vision and relating it to financial difficulties and how God is always there for you. After, I talked to one priest to get a better background of Christianity. I related what he said to the reading of ‘Christianity’ we did earlier in September. When he spoke to me, he said that they believe in one god, but that includes the father, son, holy spirit, He said Jesus died for us on a cross for the sins of the

My classmate and I managed to find each other in church parking lot and made our way through the cloud of smoke and into the building. We entered a large hall filled with people of all ages. There were at least 50 people there; sitting, standing, hugging, talking and laughing. A couple of people were running a raffle in a corner. Coffee brewed in the small kitchen. I grew up catholic and this had the distinct feeling of being a church function.

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

This show is presented in December around Christmas time. All of the songs sung, and reading that were read had to do with the Christmas season and Christ. Many familiar songs were sung and played by the orchestra such as “I Saw Three Ships,” “Carol of the Drum,” “Miniature Overture” from the Nutcracker, “We Three Kings,” “Holidays at Home” and more. Rolando Villzon sung song from his culture. He sang “Cancion para la Navidad,” Il eat ne, le diving Enfant,” “O souverain, O juge, O pere, from Le Cid,” and more. He is a christen but is not a Mormon. It was neat to see the two different, but very similar cultures unite and mesh so well together. There was a huge choir made up of men and women that sung along with him. A part from the singers there were many talented musicians. There were drums, violins,

I first thought the concert would include full band, background singers, different lightings and costume changes. My thought was quickly changed when I saw that there was one drummer and the artist with his two guitars. It was very different from the other concerts that I’ve been to. He was really laid back and speaking about his life openly to us. He shared with us about his life as an artist, a husband, father and a follower of Jesus. The concert was very energetic, with a lot of dancing, shouting and sing along. The songs he sung were from his old and upcoming

The two churches I attended were First Baptist and Frazer Methodist Church. The experiences I had were not too far from each other meaning they weren't really all that different. The First Church I went to was Frazer. When I first got there I was a little confused because I didn't really know anybody at first. But as I got in to the church and started to meet more people I felt very welcomed like I was meant to go the church. When the service started the first thing that happened was the Youth Minister came and spoke to us. He was telling us about the mission trips they are currently doing and also what they had been learning about in the weekly service for the past few months they had been talking about being spiritually fit for God. After he talked to us about that he sent us all off and we went to Sunday School. At Sunday school there

The music took up a good amount of time of the service and it really kept me engaged, mainly because I really enjoy music. The lyrics were projected onto the screen. I really enjoyed the lyrics being projected, it was very convenient and nice that I was able to follow along even though I am not an active member of the church, being able to follow along with the lyrics made me feel more comfortable. I wasn’t expecting there to be a live band and lyrics projected as an easier way to follow along. I really enjoyed that experience though because it kept me engaged. I used to attend St Paul's Lutheran in Kankakee and I remembered a choir so ultimately that is what I was

I have not attended a service, but I have been welcomed into their social events, which are fairly synonymous with their worship. Social events and worship flow seamlessly together. I have been impressed by the vibrancy of the community and their dedication to developing relationships – both with Christ and each other.

I felt like they talked a little more in English than in Hebrew which was good for me to try and understand what was going on. From then on it felt like a normal mass the Rabbi would read from a book, people would rise a little. As I looked around a lot of people were deep in prayer and very focused. The experience there was grateful and enthusiastic entwined with tradition. At the end of the service there was some food at the end and I think grape juice. This denomination of the region was much more open than the more conservative view that I had about

Perhaps it was because I’m Catholic and not Pentecostal. Everyone in the sanctuary was moving around and socializing. Members of the church walked to the front of the altar and praised by the means of the Holy Spirit. It was a lot the different than my church but it was really a great experience. The members of the church raise their hands, kneel to god, and speak in tongues. Speaking in tongues simply means speaking to God in a way that they don’t understand themselves because the Holy Spirit fills their body. Another thing that was different about this church was the choir. Their choir was amazing and every selection they sung made me feel good inside. I got chills from some of the notes they hit. This church was very prompt and orderly. It started with a prayer from one of the Deacons of the church. The deacon openly asked the congregation for prayer requests and testimonies. One young lady gave a testimony about how she wanted to thank God for letting her see another day and healing her from cancer. It was also a special service honoring the Olive Branch Police Department. I’ve never seen anything like that during a church service, it was really amazing and touching. Another thing they did that was uncommon to me was an altar call. Towards the end of the service Elder Shannon called for an altar call. Altar call is when the members of the church go up to the altar for prayer.

The service was an experience like no other. From the opening anthems of “Ode to Joy”and “A Mighty Fortress is our God”, to the Benediction, the convocation service was a fantastic experience. So why was this event so special? What made it what it was? Well, I’m glad

     Another part of the service that I did not get to witness was the actual baptizing part. In the English service they do not have a pool to baptize people in. They only baptize people in the Spanish service so I was not able to see this happen. The rest of the service was all about the preacher preaching. His sermon was not right out of the bible. He talked about real life situations that are related to what the bible talks about so I found it better to relate to what is going on in your life. It got pretty boring though when he kept on talking for around thirty to forty-five minutes. The whole service was around an hour and forty-five minutes to two hours.