Parker Samelson Church Visit #2

Blog title: Parker Samelson – Church visit #2

Church name: St. John Cantis

Church address: 825 N Carpenter St, Chicago, IL 60642

Date attended: November 30

Church category: Roman Catholic

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?

I greatly enjoyed attending this mass service, and it was certainly different from my traditional church experience. Beauty of the church was the first aspect of the church that I noticed upon walking in.  Huge vaulted ceilings showed massive murals and icons of Christ, the disciples, and the saints.  There was an intense choir coming from the balcony behind and above where we were sitting.  I was also taken aback by the entire service being in Latin.  The other congregants in the church followed along with books to chant alongside the priests and the choir.  We asked a priest for an explanation of statues on the sides of the church that ended up being a memorial for saints in the past who had exemplified great faithfulness to Christ amidst persecution.  This is something that certainly doesn’t exist at my church at home, and it certainly made me wonder why not. 

How did the worship service illuminate for you the history and contours of global Christianity?

This church service illuminated a view of the wonderful ways that the catholic church gives honor to Christ.  The Christus Victor idea was exemplified by the massive mural of Christ illuminated by light breaking out of the tomb in which he was laid to blind Roman soldiers by His light.  Matched with the intensity of deep bellows of the choir and traditional Latin chants, I felt like I was part of an army that was giving glory to Christ as a commander and leader.  I must admit I loved joining into this form of worship as a dynamic form of praise.  Surrounded by beautiful images of the saints, I felt like I was joining alongside the saints into a community that is both united horizonally on earth while also being united vertically through time.  I also loved how the catholic church place such an importance on the Eucharist as a central element of the entire service rather than a sermon from a pastor.

How did the worship service illuminate for you your personal identity as a Christian?

This service effected me to consider the ways that I worship.  As a protestant that attends a non-denominational church, it can be easy for me to think that Christianity is closed off to my own personal world and the rest of the world is blind to the glories of Christ that I have been blessed by in my life.  This church service paired with learning about the catholic church reminds me that in worshiping Jesus, I join the eternal voice of the disciples, Mary, Aquinas, Tertullian and believers across the world.  This is certainly a viewpoint I can take into the future with me as I have a passion for youth ministry and pastoral ministry.