Field Inventory Assignment - Essay Example

Field Inventory Assignment Introduction I attended a church service at St. Monica Catholic Church. I selected this church because of its proximity to my resident and because I do not know about Catholic and how they conduct their services. I find the church appropriate for this assignment because it allows me to know how different denominations among the Christians conduct their services. The session I attended was the main weekly worship service, and it was not aimed at any segment congregation. Nobody provided me with information and I realized the existence of the church from the signboards. Location and Affiliation The church is located along Michigan Road in Indianapolis, and its surrounded by commercial buildings and homes. The exact address of the church is St Monica Catholic Church, 6131 N. Michigan Road, Indianapolis, IN 46228 (St. Monica Church). One of the nearby churches are Saint Mary Catholic Church, 311 North New Jersey Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204 (Saint Mary Catholic Church 1). Another one is Crosspoint Baptist Church located on the west of Indianapolis 220, Country Club Road, Indianapolis, IN 46234 (Crosspoint Baptist Church 1). The congregation was old and comprised of people from different social backgrounds. The population attending the church was made of all demographics, and everybody seemed happy with one another and ready to offer any needed assistance. I believe the church has stayed for longer since its inception, though I did not go much into its history. Moreover, the surrounding community affiliates to the church for many reasons ranging from a source of inspiration to the teacher of morality and support. Many members seem to have a stronger tie with the church because of the assigned responsibilities such as helping conduct the mass and providing support to other members attending the church services. The church is part of the larger Catholic denomination, which has its headquarters in Rome, Italy. I believe so because it shares the name Catholic, and the building structure resembles that of Catholics since they have almost same architectural design. Social Context From my experience, it was difficult to determine the socioeconomic class of the congregation. Many people came to the church walking and at the same time; others were driving. The cars were of different classes ranging from low to high social class. Everybody appeared well groomed in decent clothing, which also made me think that the congregation was more of well-off people. The use of English was prominent among many people, though there were some who were speaking Spanish. However, the priest spoke English throughout. The age and gender representation was almost uniform. There were as many women as men. People mingled freely and sat at the same place making it hard to distinguish or to know the number that outweigh the other. Despite the gender balance, the number of young ones was less compared to adults. The age distribution was not uniform since not all parents came with their children but a few. I believe a number of factors such as economic conditions contributed this since many Americans do not want to have more children. Moreover, the aging population might have played a role in the age distribution I witnessed in the church. The majority of the congregation were whites with few Indians and blacks. Material Dimension At St Monica Catholic Church, the church is divided in a way that makes it easy for one to know where to sit. I believe so because they want to distinguish the sacred space from the rest. The space was divided into almost four sections with the most visible ones being the altar and where the congregation sits. The altar is recognized and regarded as a holy place where only the priest and his helpers sit and it is situated a distance from the congregation. The buildings and ground are arranged to facilitate a sense of the divine because sacred places are lit with a candle as opposed to other places. The places that are lit and raised are more holy than places lying low. I think so because people bow down when going to these holy places including the priest. Moreover, different activities happen in this holy and secular places. For instance, the altar is holy, and it where the priest stands when presiding over the mass and all the Bible readings take place there. On the other hand, the unholy place is used for sitting and no serious activity takes place. In addition, in the altar and other holy places are religious objects, including crosses and sculptures of martyrs. These religious art objects to play different roles in the congregation and the Catholic Church, in general. For instance, the arts of martyrs remind the congregation the importance of faith. The cross reminds them of the death of Jesus Christ, who is also their Savior. The church is very big and can house up to four thousand. Approximately three thousand attended the sermon. Social/institutional The people organize themselves from the rules that govern individuals conduct in the church. The priests have the authority over the congregation, and the Bishops who form the dioceses choose them. The church has a parish council that controls the money and all the property acquired belongs to the church. The congregation is part of the church and affiliates to it as well as other institutions the church works with. A priest heads the Catholic denomination I attended, and there are lower personnel who assist in the daily running of the church. Anyone, priest or congregation who breaks the laws is suspended or disciplined as per the rules. The clergy also plays a different role because they are trained and ordained by bishops or cardinals who holds higher ranks in the hierarchy. Moreover, the congregation also has a role to play such as attending weekly prayers, visiting the sick and volunteering in different projects. Rituals/Practical The service kicked off with a procession led by few members of the congregation as the priest followed them. The procession then stood by the altar as the priest climbed the stairs and stood facing the congregation. The sermon was divided into different portions which each lasting about four minutes. The sermon was tied to the theme of faith being that they were looking into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The congregation also prayed for different people among them youths, the sick, nations at war, and world leaders among others. The priest also prayed for others as a request by reading some prayer books. I noticed other practices such as choir singing hymns using musical instruments and lasted for about 5 minutes. Experiential/ Emotional People present displayed different emotions, but they seemed sorry about situations in war-torn nations. During the service, people sat, stood and bowed in different times. At times, people greeted one another, danced and clapped hands happily. Verbal expression was when praying or singing. Narrative/ Mythic When at the church, the priest told different stories touching on Jesus and his work on earth. This was connected to the assigned duties of the followers of Jesus since they are required to finish what Jesus did not do hence acting as a challenge. Similarly, the stories link to the central narrative of Christianity because they believe in Jesus as their personal savior. Christians have the firm belief that Jesus will come again to take those who followed his teachings, as well as the righteous. Different artworks within the church also told the story such as cross where Jesus was crucified. The church also has classes where essential narratives are told, for instance, children classes where they are taught about Jesus and his mission in the world. Legal /Ethical Members of the congregation are expected to sing with others, pay attention and quiet as well as to keep a distance from holy places within the church. These rules come from the Catholic doctrine formed a long time ago at the beginning of Christianity. They are presented to Catholics through an initiation process known as catechism. During my time at the church, the priest discussed singing as an ethical principle as he encouraged people to sing. Doctrinal/Philosophical The Catholics believe in forgiveness and unity of the church, and they emphasize on them. The way it conducts its services is different from other Christians because of its divisions. They use apostolic creed, which binds them together and remind them of the promise they made to Jesus. Similarly, they convey their doctrines to members or potential members through the bulletin they produce. Storyline Where do they believe they come from? They are creatures of God Where do they want to go? They want to go to heaven What obstacles must they overcome? Temptation How do they plan to overcome them? Having a strong faith What help do they hope to get? Spiritual nourishment Distinctive features and comparisons They pray by calling the name of Jesus Christ. They also request God through Jesus. They believe spirits of God is among them, and the righteous will go to heaven on the second coming of Jesus. They understand salvation as accepting Jesus as the Son of God, and this is evidenced through the practices such as the artworks with Jesus on the cross. The worship in this congregation is different from others where people do not kneel and sing. Subjective Reaction The most surprising thing was the ways of conducting the service. I am not used seeing people kneel, stand, and sit in a worshiping place. I was happy, and the priest, and sequence of event provoked this. What I liked most is the distinction of sacred places from the rest. The least liked was the offerings since it should not be part of the sermon but distinct. Conclusion The project affected my understanding of Christianity and the society I am part because people do not pray the same. There are different forms of prayers as evidenced it the church I attended. Therefore, I have come to realize that we are different in terms of the way we conduct prayer services even though we come from the same society. Work Cited Crosspointe Baptist Church. Where we at. 2015 Online Saint Mary Catholic Church. Welcome to Saint Mary Catholic Church. 2015 Online St. Monica Church. About St. Monica Church. 2015 Online http://www.stmonicaindy.org/im- new/about-st-monica-church/ Read More