Joy Lutheran Church - Essay Example

Evaluation of Church Service

Introduction

A careful examination of the human civilization will reveal that humans are likely to develop a certain relationship with the forces that they consider to be divine. On the one end of the spectrum, some might reject the very possibility of any supernatural forces and remain skeptic about religion and faith. On the other end of the spectrum, fanatics will claim that they are able to interact with the divine forces on a daily basis. The Golden Mean will feature believers that have a strong faith and are able to incorporate it into their social environment. That is why religion plays in important role in the lives of the people in one way or another. This paper will feature the account of my personal experience of going to Joy Lutheran Church.

A brief background

On October 30, 2016, I went to Joy Lutheran Church located in Palm Bay, Florida, to listen to the sermon of Rev. Carsten Judd Ludder. It may be beneficial to spare some forms about this denomination. Joy Lutheran Church as one can easily guess from its name is a Lutheran Church which makes it representatives of Protestantism. The latter is one of the major denominations of Christianity. If compared to Orthodoxy and Catholicism, it emerged relatively late, as a result of the movement called Reformation. The fundamental element of the system of beliefs of this denomination focuses on the importance of faith and personal relationship with God. Lutheran churches are relatively rare in the South West of the United States.

Description of the church

Joy Lutheran Church is located in the very center of Palm Bay, Florida. It can be easily reached since it was built on the intersection of two roads. Speaking of the reasons why I decided to go to this particular church, I might mention several. First of all, I liked the name of it: I know that Christian churches often have names that feature their saints or something similar, but the name of this church was simple. I was curious why people decided to call their church "Joy". Secondly, prior to visiting it, I knew nothing about Lutherans. Of course, I heard the name of this denomination, but it was strongly associated with the Medieval Germany for me.

Speaking of the place of worship, I must admit that it does not look like a conventional Christian Church either. As I approached it, I noticed that it resembles a hotel which a nice exterior and a cross placed on the roof. What I noticed at the very first moment is that the architecture of the building features a lot of white colors and it was being smart: I could not see any unnecessary elements in it. As for the interior, it was also very appealing. It did not resemble a place of worship: it looked more like a room where numerous people meet together and exchange ideas. There was a big room that featured a small stage, a projector screen and a lot of places to sit.

Description of the service

It may also be important to pay attention to those people who came to the service. I must admit that there were different people present and I could not find any category that would unite them all. Thus, there were middle-aged people, senior, teenagers, and young children. They all were willing to attend it. Furthermore, I noticed that in front of the church there were expensive cars parked together with bikes. Therefore, people of different income levels were attending the Church. Finally, I could not say that the congregation was all-white: I noticed several African Americans and Latinos as well. All this leads to the understanding that people of different demographics were drawn to this church to worship God.

If one considers the symbolism which was used during the service, one should point out the following element. First of all, I was surprised by the fact that there were songs during the service, but they were not performed in a conventional manner: they were sung as usual songs, but the lyrics were about God and Jesus. It is obvious that the use of such songs showed that Joy Lutheran Church wanted to talk to the congregation in their own language. Secondly, I noticed that there were no other religious symbols, only a cross. I think that the fact that it was so simple and elegant reflects the cultural idea that faith should be simple and genuine. The same can be said about the physical environment: there was a lot of space inside the church and this can be interpreted as a sign that anyone could join the worship.

I must admit that the service moved me in several ways. First of all, I did not know that it would be so fun. Indeed, I had a great time among other people and sometimes I did not even realize that I was present in a Christian church. Secondly, I liked the fact that the preacher was talking about historical events that were particularly important for this church in a very simple and engaging way. It was as if I was present at a history class. Finally, I really moved is the look on the faces of the people: they were extremely happy that they come to the service and shared their positive emotions.

As it has already been mentioned, the language that was used during the service was modern English. I was surprised at first since I thought that Christian churched used Latin or at least some sort of Old English, but I could see that the language that the preacher used was not different from the one everyone used. I think that this fact has had a significant impact on my experience since it allowed me to feel the unity with other people and avoid any cultural or religious barriers. There is no doubt that it was quite interesting for me and I got a chance to feel what I rarely feel.

It is obvious that at every stage of the service I understood what was going on since the believers announced their further actions. For example, when they were about to pray, they said: “And now let us pray”. I knew that something was about to begin. When they wanted to sing songs, they say: “Join us in this song” and I was prepared to sign. Speaking of the latter, the lyrics of the songs were projected on the screen and I could sing along if I wanted to. Moreover, when the preacher was talking about the Reformation, he announced it and I knew that and important part of the service was about to begin. That is why though I was for the first time in this church I could understand everything.

It is difficult for me to say what should be improved in the church since I have been to it only once and there was nothing that I found terribly wrong. However, now that I think about it, I think that there are several points that could be improved. For example, I believe that I would be great if the preacher acknowledged the presence of new people in the audience and paid a little bit more attention to them. Although everything was clear for me, I think I could use the explanation of different elements of the service. Of course, I do understanding that that would make certain inconvenience to other people but it would improve the overall experience greatly.

Finally, I must admit that the reflections that I have about the worship service are positive. Indeed, as I have mentioned before, I noticed that people were having a good time and it did not seem that they were conducting a service: everything was so simple, so genuine, and so positive that I could hardly call it a service. In addition to that, I was surprised that the spirit of this service was so modern: the preacher talked in modern English and used available equipment. I thought that it was very progressive since it allowed people to combine Christianity with their daily life without making their sacrifices. Furthermore, I believe that the message of the service was particularly powerful and it has a significant impact on me.

Having examined all the points that were mentioned in the paragraphs above, I believe that I might suggest that experiencing service at Joy Lutheran Church was extremely interesting for me. Indeed, I have never been to a church like that I did not know what to expect. Furthermore, I also learned that some Christians are able to combine their faith and their daily lives effectively. I believe that this is a rather interesting approach since it shows that religion is not something that should be seen as a burden, but it is able to become the driving force of the life of a person. With all this in mind, I think that visiting Joy Lutheran Church was an important element of my exploration of world religions.