My Intention For The Porch

The cultural norm for domestic relationships in our society is that women tend to be the caregivers and stay home, while the husbands provide financial support for the family. Cultural norms are ideas or rules about how people should behave in particular situations or toward other people. According to Beckham, "While virtually all-American porches owe their architectural being to forms developed in other cultures, the American front porch is a peculiarly American institution. […] The widespread use of the domestic front porch in the United States came at a time when the functions of the male heads of household and of their female counterparts were being redefined." (TAFP p. 68-69) This was the norm in that era. It was not uncommon for women

For the worship service, I visited one of the Quaker's Friends meeting houses. Since my family's religious background is Catholic Christian, This offered interesting views and different perceptions. Quaker's history and believes were especially brought me interest.

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.

Running social events again make us more torable to others and there needs to adapt opening new churches for mixed

The vast amount of windows illuminated the inside of the sanctuary which is aligned with plenty of wooden pews for around 800 people. The art displayed is inside the stained glass windows/panels. One of the windows was inspired by Revelation 4:7. There is a rather large stage for live music and worship and a stunning wooden cross on display hanging above the altar. There is another building located across from the sanctuary with adequate classrooms for all age groups. The children’s playground is massive and filled with fun outdoor activities. The congregation started in 1975 and there is over 500 multiracial members. I attended the Sunday 10:00 am service, but prior to service IPC offers an “Education Hour” that focus on a variety of topics to help you engage in Scripture and look for life applications in a more intimate setting. All worship services are spoken in English. After the service, the IPC offers coffee, tea, and donuts to its members so they can enjoy fellowship time on the patio. The bulletin includes weekly interactive ministries such as: music and the arts, Wednesday night refuel, spiritual mentoring, men’s, women’s, youth, young adults, and seniors. I had the opportunity to briefly speak with Lead Pastor Scott Bullock who informed me that the PCA is one of the faster growing denominations in Orange County. He also specified that all members of IPC are entitled to vote on the electing of their congregation officers, but neither women

I’m sitting on my front porch, and it is quite a cold today, but I nonetheless sit out on the porch looking at my front yard looking for something that interests me. But all I can see is the front porch in which I grew up in and it reminds me of my past, running around and playing in the front yard with my brother and father. The grass is dead, and patchy, but my parents like it that way for some reason I never found out. I look closer into the grass and notice that are many insects and bugs crawling about deep inside of the dirt, millipedes, pill bugs, and the like, I was never fond of these creatures as a child because they would crawl up my leg while I was playing with my brother; I always thought it was just an inch at first, because that’s

The Samaritan’s Purse is a “nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world...” (Samaritan’s). Not only does this charity provide aid to the destitute people of pagan countries, but it also provides the love and nurture of Christ Jesus to the lost souls of the world. For this reason, the Samaritan’s Purse is favored among Christians around the globe, although the Christian faith is not a requirement to donate to the cause of one’s choice. There are over twenty ministry projects one can donate to or even volunteer to be part of, including the following: Operation Christmas Child, The Greatest Journey, US Disaster Relief, and Children’s Ministries. Imagine

In Maria Byrd’s second letter to her son she specifies the churches recent worship schedule: “Mr. Thomas Davis preached at our church on Sunday last & is to give us a sermon again Thursday & has published giving the Sacrament this month.” (Tinling 1977, 689). Mrs. Byrd also notes the church’s attempt to book attract other pastors to preach to the congregation. It is important to note that in spite of the new responsibilities taken by parishes, worship of the assembly was maintained as the primary function of the

For an observation of an AA meeting my classmate and I made arrangements to go to an open meeting at Our Lady Star Of The Sea Church, which was held in a basement during a Tuesday afternoon session at 4:00 p.m. I first looked up the sessions online on a website where it held all the meetings on Staten Island and this one fit my schedule well. Its not unusual for me to be attending or visiting churches but for this assignment it did feel a little out of my comfort zone, because I didn’t know what to expect or what others would think of me. I chose a seat in the back corner that wouldn’t be too obvious yet it seemed like a typical seat for a newbie to sit at. The room was fairly large and I was surprised at how big the crowd got at least 30 plus people attended.

One sparkling sunny mid-summer afternoon I was sitting on the back porch with my loving family. The back porch was so beautiful it sparkled like sunrays dancing on top of the warm clear water in the sunset. My mom, aunt, my grandfather, and I were enjoying the horses prancing around in the field passing by the porch. Full of excitement, the dogs sitting on the porch bolted like thunder in a tornado when they saw a golf cart drive by. My mom whistled at the dogs and they stopped in their tracks! Startled, they scampered around and ran full speed back. Suddenly my heart filled with excitement because I realized I must learn to whistle! I begged my mom to teach me how to whistle and she finally said yes! So the first thing she taught me is how

This analysis will begin by reviewing the obligations stated in the HRC covenant. The HRC covenant mentions that as a community the people must “commit [themselves] to being a community of faith seeking understanding” (Covenant & Expectations). In committing to this statement, the people are asked to open their minds to new ideas and to put aside old prejudice. In saying that the residents of the community must commit to seeking understanding, sharing, and loving one another, they are in effect giving up their freedoms to not do these things. Additionally, HRC residents are expected to participate in discussions, prayer, service, and live in good will continuously while living as a member of that community. Indeed, they must “devote [themselves] actively” to providing a friendly, warm atmosphere (C & E).

57% of Dakotas’ churches have fewer than 50 weekly attendees (and 16% of the conference’s total weekly attendance) while 13 churches contain 36% of the conferences total weekly attendance. In comparison to other conferences, a large portion of the conference’s membership is concentrated in large churches. Since 2005, attendance has declined by 584 attendees-per-year, while the overall population has barely

There was a tiny home invader on my porch. I came home from school to find a very large and intimidating spider spinning a web on the side of my porch. Naturally, I quickly ran inside, i was about to get a tissue to deposit it far, far away, from anywhere near me, but I stopped. Why was there a large spider on my porch? It was just sitting along the side of it, completely exposed. It was probably a good place to catch flies since it was near the trash can, but it was left completely exposed. The side of my back porch was right by the door to go inside, Wouldn’t it build a web somewhere safer? Why here? Curious, I went out to look again, staying well apart in case it tried to jump. The web stood out, a gossamer orb against the pale yellow of my porch. In the center the spider- a she, I suppose- rested.

The Open Table is an alternative thought provoking event that happens on the second and fourth Sunday’s of the month at my church Second Presbyterian. The alternative service began in January of 2015 and has since thrived with people from all walks of life. The worship leader who organizes each Open Table Nick Pickrell, advertises it in the newsletter as; “A community where hospitality and conversation happen.” I can corroborate his statement by sharing about my last time at the open table.

The objective of this report is to contrast and compare the culture of the Calvary Church with Catholicism, which is the religion that I practice. A field trip was taken to the Calvary Chapel in Rancho Cucamonga On February 12 of 2013, in which a clear observation of its services was