Churches, Churches, and More Churches

This week in class we gave oral reports on the churches and synagogues we visited and wrote papers about. We also finished up the last of the case studies that were being presented as well. It was interesting talking about my experience, but it was even more interesting to hear about other peoples’ experiences. A lot of them talked about how friendly and welcoming the people were when they showed up for the services. This was similar to what I experienced. Some went to more traditional churches, others went to more modern ones, and two or three people went to synagogues that were pretty modern too. Some places had a lot of members, others had fewer members. Everyone also talked about what the services were like. Once again, some were done in the more traditional style, others were more informal, less Bible-based, and modern. The most popular church that a number of people went to was the Methodist church down the street. One could argue that these trips were kind of like the case studies we read about and presented in class. In both cases, we were each able to get a glimpse into these other worlds and what they were all about. For instance, the final case study that was presented was about one of the rare multi-ethnic churches that can be found in America. (A Mosaic of Believers, Marti) The book was about what this church was like and how it was able to achieve this in some new and innovative ways. (A Mosaic of Believers, Marti) This case study revealed possible ways in which other churches could become more diverse as well. (A Mosaic of Believers, Marti) In the end, these projects were all about getting a new point of view and a new understanding about different groups of people.