St. Jerome Catholic Church

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.

“We are a church transformed by grace, connected through relationships and committed to service” is their mission statement and as is everything down in Texas, they are big! They have a large campus with several buildings surrounding the main sanctuary and a visitors center that can be accessed with one of their many golf carts. I must say, as someone who works with youth, I was impressed as to their commitment to a separate building for kids, especially those in middle school and high school. At a time when autonomy is so important for a young person, (and budgets are limited), having their own space is quite impressive.

For as long as I can remember, St. Johns Lutheran Church has been like a second home. It is the church where I was baptized (for a second time), took first communion and affirmed my faith through confirmation. I belonged at St. Johns. I was a member of St. Johns.

The Ascension Catholic Church is located in 2950 North Harbor City Blvd Melbourne Florida. The close proximity of the church from my home enabled me make a visit to the church last Sunday for the morning mass at 9.30 am. My neighbor who is a member of the church had earlier invited me to visit the church with him on Wednesday evening. He further informed me of the church's dressing code and even suggested that I accompany him to the church. However, since I wanted to get more exposure I declined this offer. Instead, we resolved to attend the Sunday service since it had higher attendance from the congregation (Ascension Catholic Community1).

Soon after I had arrived at St. Timothy’s, Reverend Fran introduced me to the incumbent choir leader, Barb Knotts, and her husband Frank who was a Parish Councilor. I was hoping Barb would help me usher the choir through the upcoming reforms; however, both she and Frank were about to go on a two month vacation at their lakeside cottage. Until she returned home I had to work alone.

The St. Anthony Catholic church is located in Camdenton, Missouri. The church is not very large, but there are still many people that attend this church every Sunday. The word catholic comes from a term of “all-embracing.” Catholicism is also are another form of Christianity. However, Catholic worship services are set up differently. The St. Anthony Catholic church, be that as it may, still has its own interesting beliefs about God.

St. Timothy’s, like St. Christopher’s, was an aging and dwindling numerically parish that celebrated the Eucharist only bi-weekly and worshiped in Elizabethan English once a month. Many of the elderly parishioners had met me before because of my many previous visits to the parish, at the request of Reverend Fran, to introduce new music. They genuinely liked the new hymns I had taught them, but on Sunday mornings they were still stubbornly clinging to the same old Elizabethan metrical styles they had been singing for decades to pipe organ accompaniment.

They had purple clothes with white cross on each side of the aisle as well as the altar. I was surprised that I did not see any candles or sculptures during the communion. The priest did all the readings on the powerpoint instead of the scripture. Because the church was much smaller than Catholic churches, the music was more effective and shocking, though they did not have any pianos or guitars. I found the choir later on the second floor. There was a lot of singing throughout the service, and usually people sang with the choir. During the congregation, I found that most people were in a group of much older age, and they were all friendly and faithful. The sermon was similar to the Catholic ones, for the priest talked about grace, sins, and resurrection. However, it seemed that they did not believe the power of confession. Communion was offered afterwards, and they were willing to let visitors receive blessings. Food and coffee was even provided after the service, and we had a great time chatting with people

Those singing are colloquially referred to as monks, though such nomenclature is incorrect; they are simply volunteers. However, the vernacular reflects the ancient mysticism of the liturgical practice presently occurring. The choir is entirely acoustic yet the sounds produced require intentional listening. They sing or chant passages of scripture, using their voices to create imagery through the rising, lowering, and elongation of words. The interpretation of the text is implicit as contrasted with the explicit interpretation one might encounter during a church service of denomination not liturgically based. As the service progressed, a sense of stillness emerged. Visitors settled into comfortable positions; heads fixed forward had now bowed and interlocked hands had now opened in a display of reception. Several visitors remained in such positions after the service ended despite the rustling of those

The neighborhood of which the church is located is classic Central Florida with what appears to be higher middle class at one address and immediately next door, what would appear to be someone under more economic oppressive circumstances. The senior pastor has said he wants the neighborhood to be involved in the church.

Service was on a Sunday at 9:00, much like many other churches in town. It is a small church with a modern look. Upon entering there are friendly people gathered in a small space off to the right chatting and drinking fairtrade coffee. Everyone was very courteous and took the opportunity to say good morning and introduce themselves.

Firstly to start with, entering into the church the ushers was very welcoming and respectable, especially when they were told that you are not from this country and you came to visit for a class assignment, they made sure that I had a great seat and also gave me a little history on there ministry. Looking around, there were thousands of people attending the church from all different ages and gender. The congregation seemed to be very diverse with race ethnic but there were mainly African Americans. In the parking lot there were a variety of expensive and affordable vehicles.

The Metropolitan Community Church located in New York area is founded in 1971. At a first glance, with the limited sight I have, I thought the outside seemed to look like a nursery school with different colors and a flag hanging by the door. However, once someone pay more attention, the building was actually painted with Christian symbols using rainbow color paints, symbolizing gay pride. As soon as you entered the door, on your left was a narrow wooden stairway. On the first level, on the right was an entrance, where they conduct the ceremony. By the door, there were ushers waiting and greeting everyone with a smile, shacking everyone's hands and handing out the program for the month of November until the first week of December.

This organ was installed in the original All Saints’ Church in 1864 and transferred to the present church in 1869. Built by Thomas Jennings of London, it originally comprised a single manual and pedals, although the addition of a Swell manual was envisaged from the outset. The instrument was enlarged to two manuals by William Davidson of Sydney in 1875, at which time it was moved to the south-east corner of the church.

a) The current Our Lady of Victories, Catholic Church of Glenelg was built in place of a previous church in 1869. The present church was opened Sunday 20 November 1927 midday, built years after the settlement of the first Christian priests that arrived in Australia as convicts in 1800. They were encouraged to promote Christianity, encouraged to hold masses.