I was raised Baptist, when I came to Vanguard I never heard of the words “Assemblies of God”, or “Pentecostal” ,moving states and going to a school with a completely unknown denomination I felt really uneducated in my religion, especially because I went to private schools my whole life. My Church background was extremely conservative and for the past 2 years now at Vanguard I have been thrown into a charismatic school/church, so for this church report I wanted to find a middle ground. I attend St. John the Divine Episcopal Church on Bay St..
I enjoyed the way service was set up. First there was a simple worship portion and the worship leader read a passage, and then the pastor spoke about the passage and opened up the floor for everyone to ask questions, add commentary, clarify biblical passages and anything else the congregation needed in regards to that sermon. I never heard of a church doing this, I often have questions in sermons but no way to get answers, I really appreciated how Pastor (Priest) Phil DeVaul wanted to listen to us and how willing he was to answers questions. A man in the church asked a question about end times and Phil didn’t have an answer. I’m not sure if that has to do with just him, or the Episcopal denomination, but I like the fact that the leader of the church isn’t viewed as flawless and all knowing and its ok that he doesn’t have an answer to each and every question.
A time of prayer, the Eucharist and a closing blessing over the church was how the service ended. Only two passages of scripture were read, but it was said that normally they read much more, the service I went to was the beginning of the Ephesians series they will be going through so it was kind of an introduction to Ephesians. The scripture was read a few times and the pastor made a genuine effort to back up things he was saying with passages. Candles were lit in the church, I’m not sure if it was due to a traditional factor or for ambiance/decoration. The church was relatively simple and older looking, very small and a cross was on the center wall and that was all the art except for the stain glass windows, but those didn’t have pictures or symbols on them just various colors. A prayer book was used before the Eucharist was taken, and the blessing at the end of service was out of the book I thought both prayers were beautiful and effective so I did not mind it came from a book. The laity were just people from the community so the church felt very inclusive.
The reading from prayer books as well as an open floor discussion during church was new to me, it seemed a little unusual but only because I have never heard of that being done before in a church only in bible studies and things. I was surprised at how well the church was blended, normally the night service is meant for young adults or “Cool people”. There were several older church goers, families and college age students. The church did a great job at making service applicable to all members; there were traditional values in the prayer book and Eucharist, the worship wasn’t modern but also wasn’t hymns which I feel catered to the families and everyone and the open floor discussion I feel was targeted to the younger more outspoken generation. I have never seen a church blend into the community so well.
I wasn’t bothered by anything at this service. I’m actually a little bothered I don’t know more about this denomination, I am going to research more about this because I really enjoyed this church. We have not gone over this denomination in class, but I think the defining factors` of this church is the use of prayer books and bishops, also women can be in leadership. I really enjoy this christian tradition, I felt very comfortable and at home, I want to research more about their church doctrine to see if it matches up with scripture and what their beliefs are about things before I decide whether or not this denomination is right for me, or right in general. I learned a lot about community, their church “slogan” was “Grace Abounds” and I think Grace is really important in a Christians walk. The community made an effort to welcome me and know my name. I learned even more about 1st century Christians because he talked about the historical accuracy of Ephesians, I learned about Holiness and acceptance and how we only need acceptance from God and we already have it. Phil also talked about Saints and the difference between Catholic Saints and how Christians are saints, he used historical evidence and talked about the great schism and how that changed the meaning of certain words.
I really appreciate this class because things in the sermon about the great schism and historical accuracy would normally go right over my head, but now I know what people are talking about when they mention the Catholic church traditions or talk about the differences in the Eucharist. I will attend this church again. The pastor Phil offered to meet with me to discuss more about the church and what its beliefs and traditions are. I am glad that I learned more about what church is, and why I am attending it. I look forward to understanding more about the Episcopal faith.