I entered the church not knowing what to expect because it had been so long since I have even stepped foot into a church. I sat on a bench and observed before the service and after the service to see how people act toward each other and how the priests are when they are not preaching.
I noticed that the church is a very social place. Every one is very friendly, even if you have never met the person before you are greeted with a hug or some sort of form of touch; a hand on the shoulder or on the back or stroke to the arm. Many different ways of showing friendliness were apparent. Everyone feels welcome here it seems like it is home to many different people. Children are running around playing with each other. Parents are chatting, the priest is running around meeting with each family. Even I who has barely ever been in a church, was being bombarded by many different people introducing themselves and trying to get to know me.
I noticed that the unwritten rules in the church, which are obvious, are no swearing( One teenage kid swore when he was talking and he was given a harsh look by a few people who happened to walk by at the right moment.) When the priest is talking during the service pay attention, all your attention should be on him. Cell Phones must be off or on silent. Know your prayers. Do not say God's name in vain, etc.
I felt a bit awkward at times because of a few different reasons. One being that every one in the place recited all these prayers in sync and with the priest and I had no clue what was going on so I mumbled so people wouldn't look at me weird. Another reason I felt awkward is because the priest came up to me and asked me a lot of questions about if I had let god into my heart and asked if he could help me let god into my heart, and of course I couldn't say no. This was all just a very new and different experience for me.
All in all it was a very uplifting place to be where affections goes around like a flu, and everyone is friendly and happy. The behaviors of each person were quite similar but you could tell instantly who were the ones that were being forced to be there. There were certain people that stood out from all the rest and these were the people that did not want to be there. They would not socialize with the rest of the jolly people, they kept to themselves, and sat quietly during the entire service. Everyone that was a regular church goer was getting into the things the priest was saying and was very energetic and lively when it came to the music and the prayers.
Question: These unwritten rules and behaviours are very obvious when attending a church, What do you suppose would occur if everyone in the church was not fallowing these unwritten rules, how would this effect the entire act of going to church and what people think of church?
First of all I think this was very good and you did well for having attended church in awhile! For your question... I believe that if swearing occured often people would probably be very mad and be vocal about it- especially the pastor, if it were that horrible I think the person would be asked to leave. If a sermon was interupted by someone of a reasonable age, I believe the pastor would stop talking as dismiss the person, while having the whole congergation staring at them as well. (When I say reasonable age, babies cry all the time in church and nobody stops they simply seem to dismiss themselves.) I think you did a great job with this and it's interesting to see your perspective of church after not very often going- in fact maybe it'll bring you back again?!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I find your perspective on church very interesting. I've been going to church my whole life and still feel uncomfortable when people randomly hug me. (I don't like being touched by people I don't know well.) And for someone who isn't used to that it's good to hear you say they are friendly. As for the unwritten rules, if they were eliminated, church would be chaos. I'm sure that many people who attend church turn off certain behaviors once they set foot in the building, such as swearing. The people who are there not by choice would not pay attention and would probably have something to say about everything that is being said. I feel like church would lose a lot of its holiness if everyone could just do and say as they do in their own homes.
ReplyDeleteI see we both had same idea for this activity. It seems that we focused on different areas so it is interesting to see the different perspectives each of us took on this experience. I’m glad you had very uplifting time as I did too. If the unwritten rules that we observed in church were not in place, I think going to church would lose some of its scared and holy aspect. People would be talking whenever they wanted, cell phones would be going off, and people would be swearing. I feel this would cause people stop coming to church and they would celebrate their religion in their own way.
ReplyDeleteI think the discussion all depends on which unwritten rules of church are being broken, and just as importantly, what kind of church it is. For instance, I think that if people began to swear in church, then any church congregation would be offended. But, if one is considering a slightly more obscure unwritten rule, such as dressing appropriatley, I think the response would depend greatly on the formality of the church. For instance, I have been in churches where people have given me "looks" for wearing a pair of jeans. So, I guess I think that the consequences of breaking some unwritten rules in church depends partly on the type of church one is attending.
ReplyDeleteChurch is a place that should be well respected because one slip up could really affend someone. I feel that it really depends on what people are doing, but if everyone was not following the unwritten rules how would you really know what the unwritten rules are because then they would completely be changed and would church even be church then?
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