Harvest Valley Baptist Church

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.

The A.A Meeting took place in the Church Notre Dame of Mt at Cedar Knolls. When the meeting started, I ask myself “where are the guys seeking for help”? When I realized that they all were seeking for help. They did not look like they need it help, they look like you and me. When the meeting started first they when in to “The twelve traditions” and then to the events that they have each week, at the first I could understand what was going on they were laughing one another. When an old man when to the front to introduced his self. At the end of his introduction he asks everyone (except us) to give money to him, because he has things to pay, when he pasted the pot all around the room, everyone started to give something. I thought it was a joke but

I attend Gospel Light Freewill Independent Baptist Church in Thomasville, NC. It’s a relatively small church, with about 50-70 people on a Sunday morning. My grandmother, my aunt, and my uncle attend this church as well. I consider myself to be a child of God and a true “born again” Christian. Being “born again” means that one has accepted God into their heart and has been changed on the inside. I accepted him into my heart on October 9th, 2012. Growing up strictly in an independent Baptist church, I didn’t know that other churches were different, at least not until I visited my boyfriend’s church which is Southern Baptist. My pastor preaches heavily on hell-fire and brimstone. He walks up and down the altar, yelling and jumping. There are

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

While walking out of the building, I found myself walking the same path as a classmate who was also leaving. “What did you think of that, Taryn?” With a smile upon her face, she looked up and said, “I just love how great it is to have that time to fellowship and have with God during a stressful week.” Her answer summed up my feelings perfectly. “Have you joined?” Not

For this assignment the group that I observed was the Churches Touching Lives of Christ Bible study located at W Ave G Temple, TX 76504.The bible study group was small, it consisted of six adult group members in total. Each individual person had their own uniqueness about themselves and their contribution to the group. The leader of the group was a slender Asian male in his late forty’s who was well spoken and maintained order in the group while still delivering a short sermon to the group. Whenever a person would speak out of turn he would let them speak and when they were done he would publicly correct them and tell the other adult group members that they should wait their turn to speak and if they have a

For the house of worship visit I went to Congregation Etz Chaim which is a Reformed Jewish synagogue. I have been though many different Christian church so going to a synagogue is a different experience than what I have grown up with. This should an interesting experience. For this paper I will describe my visit and go over things I thought were important, interesting or things that I couldn’t get out of my mind. When I first stepped into the building it didn’t look like what I expected it to look like. I thought the synagogue would be plain and nothing in there, but I was wrong. The synagogue looked somewhat plain, but I could tell this plainness was for prayer and services. The synagogue didn’t have any windows or elaborate decorations like a Catholic church would have, but if you looked up, there was window or whole in the middle which you could see the clouds through. When I sat down I saw there was a small piano and a closet in the back where they put the Torah and other important things. I did see some older folks that were serious about the service compared to some of the younger generation that were just talking amongst themselves. The people there were very friendly and welcoming as I sat and observed service.

By the end of the meeting there were twenty-five people sitting, facing each other in silence. After an hour, the shaking of hands finally broke the stillness. Then a man stood up and provided everyone with the opportunity to share joys, concerns, and announcements. After about another twenty minutes the meeting was adjourned to fellowship. We walked across the hall to the library where there was some cheese and crackers. The library contained a wall of books that pertained to the Quaker religion, but there were no scriptures. Many people came up to me to talk to me about their religion, and asked if I had any questions. One man explained to me that the idea of the meeting is to sit in the room with the Divine and feel His energy moving through your body. He also explained that Quakers were a Christian mythic branch and shared the same basic beliefs as Christians, with the exception of scriptures or rituals. The community of friends was extremely kind and welcoming and I enjoyed the hospitality

After the desert, I thought we were going to pray or sing some songs before the Bible study. But I saw two seniors were chatting loudly. Soon after, the whole group joined the conversation and all chatted loudly. The leader of the group gave me an embarrassing smile, after he failed to stop the chats. He comforted me that situation was totally normal. Soon after, I realized the topic they were talking about. They were discussing where should they go for their next outdoor activity. After several suggestions, they decided to postpone their

Today I attended Rios de Agua Viva Christian Pentecostal Church to say this church was different from mine would be an understatement. It was nothing like what I had anticipated and was everything I was hoping not to experience. Like every church it had its good and it’s bad. All in all it was perfect for those who go to church there. Being that it was not my religion, I felt extremely uncomfortable and out of place. I did however feel that what they were doing was making a difference for those few people in attendance. They were talking about God and that for me was great.

On Monday the 22nd, I went to the local Crossroads Baptist Church, located close to home at in Leesburg, VA. This was my first time experience as I am Hindu and my parents never exposed me to any churches. Dr. Kenneth K. Baldwin was the pastor at the time I went. Luckily, I got the chance to speak with him after the service. After our discussion, I realized that he had a great vision for his church and is doing a great job leading it to in the right path. I sensed his passion for preaching as they were evident during the service through his tone and demeanor. Despite this being my first visit to a church, I learned a lot of interesting things about churches and Christianity.

This past weekend, I asked a friend if I could join him in church to see what it was like to attend a Baptist service. He happily agreed to bring me along and told me that he would answer any questions I had. This experience was not only new, but opened my eyes to a whole new religion. Before this past Sunday, I had no clue how the Baptist faith celebrated their Sunday, nor knew anything about the faith. Through this experience I have learned quite a bit of differences between my faith and his. The three differences that stood out to me the most dealt with communion, the way the church was set up, and the baptismal ceremony.

I love my time with the group, and time just flies away so quickly. I feel like I really am making a difference in each individual’s life. I try to listen attentively to add some therapy into the lesson and every time I do, the group just “feeds” off of it, and starts really conceptualizing the material. One gentleman said, his life has been change from coming to group, and he does not use any stuff we teach him. He verbalized his testimony and subconsciously listed six of the eight topics. I said you may not say it like the way we do, but you said it in a way you understand. All the group members clapped, and I was really proud. No matter the prior struggles I had with Mary, it does not matter when I hear victory in someone’s life.

When I first walked through the doors of the facility I was immediately bombarded with noise. Mostly it was the pastor shouting at the residents from his place at the front of the room. It took me a moment to fully realize that most of the residents were at least partially deaf and shouting was a necessary part of his message. I watched and processed from the back corner and listened to the softly spoken, slightly croaky amens and saw the shallow nods of the residents as they agreed whole heartedly with the words the pastor spoke. None of these people (from the back at least) seemed to be discouraged, in fact most were joyful as they praised Jesus with their fellow residents. The room was sunny and filled with a quiet joy that didn’t shatter when the message ended and we were introduced. As we walked to the front and their faces

While home for Thanksgiving break I went to Sunday mass with my family. We have been members of Salem Lutheran Church since before my dad was born. When after entering the church, my family and I sat in our usual pews. The pastor gave a passionate sermon focusing on motherhood and childbirth. After service, everyone gathered in the gymnasium for coffee and snacks. I first spoke with Wayne, a soft-spoken Caucasian man in his late 60’s who was mildly brain disabled. Wayne dressed in baggy pants and a Hawaiian shirt that barely covered his belly, and wore an old school camera around his neck. Then I talked with Jackie, Collin, and Zach; all young Caucasian students who are all part of an art program at Whitworth University. All three were dressed in nice formal dress. After that I spoke with Jake Jacobsen, our church president, in the line for snacks. She wore slim straight slacks and a plaid shirt that was tucked in. She spoke will clear and distinct articulation.