Denominations.

"People from every nation and tongue, from generation to generation: We worship You."

Going to different churches from various denominations has always been somewhat challenging for me. Not that I don't believe that we are all brothers and sisters in one body... its much easier for me to believe that when I'm interacting with the people in an atmosphere I am familiar with-- at school, at work, on a church trip, at perkins, etc. When we all seem on the same page, when we overlook our differences and share, most importantly, the love we have for God. I grew up in an Evangelical Free Church, which exposed me to both hymns and modern worship, but overall it was a pretty modern church. We wore nice clothes, maybe khakis and a nice shirt, but it was usually pretty casual. There was worship music the first half of the service, and there was a sermon the second half. We stood when we sang, we sat when we listened to the sermon. It usually wasn't HORRIBLY boring-- the pastor usually had something interesting and meaningful to say. I remember going through a sermon on the end of the world. The service was designed to engage you, but at a comfortable informal level.

Until high school, I had never been to any church from any other denomination. I went to a Calvinist elementary school, but we didn't have chapel and I never went to church with anyone. Otherwise, I was actually pretty sheltered from most denominations. I remember my parents telling me when I was younger and playing by a Catholic school that Catholics weren't Christians. I asked my parents what denomination we would be if we moved to a different city that didn't have an Evangelical Free Church once. They were uncomfortable with the question... MAYBE baptist? Then lutheran. Never catholic. Granted, my parents were very adamant Evangelical Free Church-ers... both of my mom's grandparents were E. Free pastors. They weren't completely close-minded, just very dedicated. However, as a kid my view of other denominations was skeptical.

It wasn't until high school, after I had become a Christian, that I began visiting and becoming close friends with people from different religious backgrounds. My best friend in high school went to a non-denominational "plymouth brethren" church. I assumed that her "nondenominational" church would be similar to mine. It was probably the most unique church I have been to yet. The women all wore nice clothes and head-coverings. There was no sermon... or pastor. There was no structure. We would sit quietly with our Bibles and hymnals open, and various men would stand up and read a passage from the Bible or request to sing a specific hymn, or give a short word about what God had been teaching them the previous week. Women weren't allowed to speak. I have honestly never felt so uncomfortable in my life, particularly because I didn't have a head covering and felt like a heathen. Looking back on it now, while I don't completely agree with the traditions, the church was pretty community-oriented and very Biblical. Rather than having a pastor enlighten them with a word, they primarily
"promoted and equipped" each other, which probably led to a very unified body where everyone was appreciated. And the songs they sang were meaningful and purposeful, sometimes with a message afterwards or before, explaining the message. The songs were used to instruct and equip very purposefully. It was completely different, but I think God valued the praise and worship at their church as much as the worship at my much more informal church.

At St Olaf, where it was difficult to find people that went to church, let alone find a way to get to church, I attended the ELCA (or is it ECLA) church on campus. The church was very music-oriented-- granted, it is a music school, so I didn't think too much of it. We sang a great deal of hymns, we sang responses to a cantor, we listened to piano and organ interludes, and each Sunday one of the St Olaf choirs would trade off and sing about three songs. I had the opportunity to sing in the choir, and to sing hymns with the congregation. The church was much more structured than I was familiar with, with a program that laid out the entire service nearly word for word. The service was very repetitive, singing a lot of the same songs every week. We had communion every week. The sermon was maybe 10 minutes long, versus the 40 minutes I was familiar with, however the scripture readings evened out the distribution. The service was friendly to people who weren't familiar with the Lutheran tradition, probably because it was a college and, at the very least the participating choirs, would have several people who wouldn't know what to do. So in the program, they laid out everything the congregation was supposed to sing and say including the "the word of the Lord" "thanks be to God" chant we said every time they read from the Bible. Like the nondenominational church, I believe the hymn singing had the potential to be beneficial, with very purposeful selection of songs that often correlated with the scripture-reading. The sermons would often be meaningful, promoting and equipping the congregation to live lives of love. It was noticeably much less passionate, however, than any other church I had been to. And, with beautiful choirs and cantors that were studying to be opera singers, it was very easy to be engaged in the music before the words.

It wasn't until last summer that I visited the ("dun dun dun") Catholic Church. I had learned that Catholics could be Christians long before, actually, I had just never gone to church with them. In fact, some of the closest Christians in my life are Catholic and are very dedicated to God. One of my best friends went to pre-seminary to study to be a priest. I had the opportunity to go to church with my friends when they asked me to chaperone their high school youth works trip to South Dakota. It was a unique experience, because most of the trip we sang modern worship songs with them that they and I were familiar with, actions and everything. On both Sundays we were gone, however, we went Catholic mass. I was fortunate enough to go with people I knew. With a Catholic friend on each side, they flipped through the readings for me, showed me where the hymns were in the hymnals (even though they knew all the hymns they were singing, even at a church from a different state.) The sermon was about transubstantiation, was made me a little uncomfortable. However, the songs were meaningful, the scripture readings were meaningful and it was very very reverent. The people I was with I know have hearts for God, and it was interesting to share the experience with them.

My second Catholic experience was in Nicaragua this last week, but it was a much different experience. It was Easter Eve, which may have had something to do with it. We started out outside the church at a bonfire that all the people gathered around while the priest gave a long message in Spanish. Then we walked inside, sat in pews (men on one side and women on the other), and sang songs, listened to the pastor preach, sang songs, listened to a child read the Bible in Spanish, listened to the children sing a song in Spanish, listened to the pastor preach, sang songs, for what felt like 3 hours. We didn't have watches, so I'm not sure how long it was. It was interesting, though, because the order was structured, but the church itself was very informal. 50% of the church was the neighboring orphanage, so that may have contributed too. But the songs were passionate with clapping. In rather than hymns, they sang Nicaraguan-style music with drums and a xylophone-ish instrument. There were definitely songs without accompaniment, but there was no organ, and they didn't seem to be anything like the hymns we sing at home.

I also was able to attend about 5 pentecostal services In Nicaragua, which were much different than anything I had ever experienced. The pastor gave a loud passionate message. We sang some songs, which were also in traditional Nicaraguan-style, with a tacky keyboard that played a pre-recorded accompaniment. We danced a few times, for about an hour. Every time, we would pray over them, and every time people would fall to the floor and cry and scream and shake. These people were some of the most genuine Christians I have ever met. They're style of worship was totally different than what I was used to, but it was very obviously God-centered and they were the most unified churches I have ever met, equipping each other in their services and in their lives. The song was passionate and I couldn't understand the words, but they seemed to mean all of them. It was humbling, challenging and beautiful.

Currently, I have reached a little beyond my Evangelical Free Church upbringing and am attending a non-denominational church called Open Door. The church isn't crazy and wild, but it isn't traditional... so maybe I haven't reached out too far beyond what I'm used to. But even in the "modern" worship music and the standing and sitting and singing and raising hands, I believe that in this style of music I have been able to praise God and talk and to God and learn about God, in just the same way every other church I've been to has been able to. With a pure, humble, contrite heart, I believe you could sing a thousand different kinds of songs and it will be pleasing to God.