Peculiarities in Church Practices - Essay Example

I have been to many other churches in the past but this church exudes a certain level of peculiarity in terms of church practices. Upon my arrival at the church, I was met by an usherette who greeted me blissfully and guided me to my seat. The solemnity inside the church is just the same as many other churches but what you will observe is that Adventists do have this very welcoming spirit: they would smile at you and ask you where are you from, they would enlist you in their rolls of Sabbath visitors, etc.

For me, that was unusual because this is the first church that really recognized my presence to this level. Their church services are different from many other religions because the morning services are divided into two: the first half is the Sabbath School program and the second half would be the Divine Service. I was captivated by the nature of their class discussions: the church is divided into many classes and each class has its own teacher. Everyone in the class, and that included me, tackled issues on the Bible.

The leader even asked for my opinion and was very open-minded about the possibility of my answers. Seventh-day Adventists are very conservative, at least based on my personal experience with the church during my visit, especially when it comes to their music. They do not use drums and electronic guitars; instead, they are only using a piano or an acoustic guitar. One person told me that they refrain from using “loud” instruments because they believe that it would shift the congregation’s attention to worldly things and they would decrease the level of the solemnity of the services.

I also noticed that Seventh-day Adventists do have peculiar grooming. They do not wear earrings, necklaces, or bracelets. The majority of the members I have seen and met during that visit look very simple in their grooming. There is not much embellishment in the body; only watches and marriage rings. By and large, they are the simplest people I have met in my entire life. There is softness and cordiality in the way they talk: I mean, for me, everyone can be as nice as possible whenever they meet someone from another church but I found this attitude from almost all of the members of that church, which is quite definitive of their collective attitude.

In a nutshell, I am amazed and overjoyed by the kind of experience I had with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. I was also stunned by the level of peculiarity that the members have shown not just to me but to themselves and to their co-believers.