Remembrance Day Case Study

Years later in this process of growth, I was blessed with a summer internship at a larger congregation in Dallas, Texas. Although I grew from my relationships and from the mentorship I received, I also observed that the bulk of the ministry meetings focused on changing and adapting our church’s corporate worship to be more and more “seeker sensitive.” The thought was that corporate worship was something malleable that could be altered into something more like the culture of the surrounding neighborhood, so people would want to come. “After all,” so the thinking went, “scripture provided only a rough guideline as to what the church is to do when coming together and there is little-to-no reason to keep intact what past generations did or passed down.” In essence, we sought to form our corporate worship for the purpose of evangelism. I believed that the important thing to focus on is love of God, love of neighbor, and piety. Something in the line of reasoning that insisted on changing the community worship ritual to reflect the world didn’t feel right to me, yet I could not articulate what it was. Several months later I visited an Eastern Orthodox Church as part of a course on Christian spiritual development and after a didactic

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 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

The date is May 30th, 2016; Memorial Day. I, along with some of my friends, are participating in a scavenger hunt that has lead us to the cemetery in our hometown. After finding the item hidden in the maze of gravesites, I cannot help but notice that the two flags next to the military memorial stone are in disarray. Immediately, I run to the flags and begin to fix them on their thin wooden rods, slowly but surely returning them back to the state of honor they once were in. After I finish, I stand back to look at the small flags flapping in the wind and I cannot help but feel pride in the country I am so lucky to call home.

Remembrance Day is a time to celebrate the life and death of our fallen heros. This is a somber day, but for many it is a day dedicated to the their loved ones, who fought and died or fought and survived. World War Two claimed the lives of forty-five thousand Canadian soldiers and left over fifty-four thousand wounded, mentally and physically. It is a great honour to serve your country and those who have should never be forgotten now or a thousand years from now. They should be remembered everyday, not just one day a year. Without their sacrifice we would not bed able to express ourselves the way we can now. So please do not let their ultimate acts of bravery go in vain.

The things I did over the summer was fun and exciting. Memorial Day weekend we went camping with Mark and Erin, my parent's friends, and their two boys, Brock and Dylan. It was a blast. We went hiking,fishing,and played baseball and mini golf .The things I did in June where play outside, ride bikes, and walked to the gas station. I got a new tablet it is called the amazon fire seven. My brother’s friend Hayden got a car,and we went out to eat for almost every meal. I use to have two ducks, but one of them died. We went to the beach to go swimming. I had so much fun in the month of June

Christian ideals embrace the inclusion of everyone, no matter their race, beliefs or colour. However, Ort and Alice’s experience at church is not a very positive experience. They are seen as outcasts by the others attending the church as they are new and they are not entirely welcome into the church. They feel targeted, as they are skipped when the baskets are going around and when the man is shouting and praying, Ort and Alice feel as though what he is saying is directed at them. “You don’t have to shout.

Men and women all around the world put their life on the line just to make sure our country is safe. Memorial Day is the one time throughout the year when we honor veterans who died for us. When I think about all the sacrifices that veterans have made for us, I feel we all have to appreciate them more than we do. Memorial Day means a lot of things but to me it is a day which we honor all of the people who passed away while serving. They should be remembered for their good service because they kept us safe.

In the religious project I choose to attend a church of a different domination. While I grew up Baptist and the Baptist culture are very familiar to me. the church I decide to attend was Holy Ghost Catholic Church. The reason I choose a Catholic church was because I have always been curious of their worship service. Right away, I noticed the pulpit and as in the Baptist culture this too seemed to be sacred. As only the priest and his helpers were allowed in it. The next thing that stood out to me was the church pews. That I thought all had foot rest. I soon realized that it was for their knees for praying. My experience was very eye opening as I went there not knowing what to expect. I didn’t find the music or choir selection as fun or energetic as in the Baptist

Memorial Day is held in honor of the brave soldiers whose lives were lost while serving the US military. This normally falls on the last Monday of May and is considered the start of the summer season.

Sunday mornings in Honey-Dale County was what those untraveled in the “inferior” corners of the world may have stereotyped little towns down South, which although accurate in this case, is nonetheless unwarranted to pass judgement on what one has not seen. Yes, the devout and ostensibly devout would awake early, dressed in their finest whites and yellows, the latter not minding that a few moments upon arrival at church they would break the commandment against envy, scorning the Harper’s frivolous and new car yet clandestinely wishing it was theirs. At times, Morning Prayer in these nooks of the world was more of a social critic than a communal worship. An honest outsider, as I hope my dear readers will come to view myself as, will come out of the experience with a greater amount of respect for the pious than solely feed their disdain for the impersonators while a truly honest one would have to acknowledge that the disdain stemmed for having seen oneself reflected in such people.

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, the Commonwealth nations stop to pay tribute to those that have served and died during military services. That day is called Remembrance Day and is celebrated with solemn services in many cities and towns. Hundreds and thousands of people crowd to pay their respects, many with a bright red poppy pinned above their hearts

From the moment I walked into St. Mary’s Cathedral, I felt out of place. I thought that I would know what to expect since I have gone to Lutheran churches my entire life. To start with, I was unsure what to do with the font of holy water when I walked to into the cathedral. I later found out that people who enter are supposed to dip their fingers in it, and they are to make the sign of the cross with their fingers. Then as I saw others approach their pews they did some sort of one-legged kneel before sitting down, which I unsuccessfully attempted. Once the service started, I became increasingly lost. I have grown accustomed to following along to the liturgy in either a bulletin or a book, but there were neither to be found. The priest would say phrases from his service book, and then everyone in the congregation would respond with what I assume to be memorized responses. The only times I absolutely knew what was going on was during the hymns and the readings due to both of these being in the hymnals in the pews. To make matters worse, there were various portions of the worship service such as the Apostles’ Creed or the Lord’s Prayer where I thought I knew what to say, but the wording would end up different. Finally, I had heard before that Catholics kneel a lot during services, but I was not prepared at all for the length of kneeling that occurred once the priest started the part of the service related to the Eucharist, better known to me as Holy Communion.

The children are important parts of our congregations. And even though they are cared for through our budgets, there is much more to their hearts and hands can transform. Jerome Barryman struggles through generations of theologians to detail what the church’s approach could be as reflected in the history of Christianity’s greatest minds. Is it any wonder then that children continue to disengage from church life as they grow older? As with the Black Liberation Theology, the White church has prescribed their cures. As the children’s voices need to be heard in this generation, perhaps we should look to them to teach us their theology. Barth believed that children are “…apprentices entrusted to adults, who as elders in the church should lead children as God leads them.” Another theologian, Joyce Ann Mercer, believes that when children are thought about as “doers of the Word” instead of receivers of knowledge and as passive learners” they become central to the ministry, worship, and theology of the

Reflecting upon the readings of Torrance’s Worship, Community, and the Triune God of Grace and White’s Introduction to Christian Worship will deeply shape how I look at worship in the churches I now order worship for the congregations. I used one of the churches in which I serve to do the Order of Worship assignment. It is a blue collar, small membership church located in a rural, retirement/ vacation area of North Carolina, Lake Gaston. It is also predominately Caucasian. Torrance’s focus is on trinitarian worship, participating in Christ’s communion with God, the Father and Christ’s life, death, and resurrection through the power of the Holy Spirit. And White’s focus is to look at how the forms used in worship give worship its meaning. These forms include but are not exclusive of, time, space, music and art. There are implications for both focuses in the order of worship for the congregation used for my order of worship.