Various services... info please?

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Loki

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Please excuse my ignorance. I am very interested in religions and plan on doing a concentration in religion, specifically Christianity.  As 99.99% of my religious experiences are related to R.Catholicism, I figured it'd be a good idea to get some hands-on experience.  A friend and I are going to "church-hop" a bit and check out different services. 

However, I'd like to go in with some knowledge as to customs, etiquette, etc.  Would you all mind describing from what denomination you hail, and what your services are like?  And if there are special little things that might trip up a newbie?

All contributions are much appreciated. 
 

AngelAmidala

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Wow...church-hopping sounds great...a good way to get to see a variety of denominations and services! :)

I'm a Methodist and our service is rather traditional (though this may not be the case in all Methodist churches). We have an Opening Praise, followed by our Call to Worship (usually a responsive reading printed in the bulliten), followed by a hymn. Then we have an opening prayer, prayer of confession, and silent confession which is closed with words of assurance. Then we have a few Bible readings (generally from a set 5-year rotational lectionary) and a responsive Psalm, followed by another hymn and the Gospel lesson. Then there's the sermon, which is followed either by reciting a creed (Apostles, Nicene, etc.) or a short hymn. This is followed by the offertory, intecessory prayer, a final hymn, and a benediction.

In my church, and I'm sure it's the same in others, there is an indiction when you should stand and when you can sit for various parts of the service. (At my church, it's an * to the left of the item you'd have to stand for.) Also the participants in the service (reader, liturgist, pastor) vocally indicate when things should be done ("Please rise for the Call to Worship." "Remain standing for the Opening Hymn." etc.)

What might trip you up is if the church has communion. Generally Methodist churches celebrate communion the 1st Sunday of each month. We do practice "Open Communion." That means that anyone who professes Jesus Christ as their Savior is invited to participate in Communion. However, you stated that most of your experiences are related to Roman Catholicism. I know that there are some Roman Catholics who would still feel uncomfortable participating in Communion whether it was an open table or not. That's a personal decision, and you will not be forced to take it or passed over if you do want to take it, but you're a visitor.

I hope that's kind of what you were looking for. If you have any questions, feel free to ask! :)
 
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EJO

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I attend a Calvary Chapel church in Seattle(www.calvarychapel.org).
It is a non denominational church.
It is a very open, and un-traditional church (in the cathlic sort). It is a come as you are, so there is no"dress code".
We are basically bible believing, bible preaching church. We try to keep it pretty simple and basic.
If you check out the website, you can probably find a calvary church in your area of the U.S..
The worship music is pretty upbeat, no organ- guitar, drums, piano(at times) The style is like the band Third Day "Offerings" type worship.
the majority of the people that come to a Calvary Chapel church is people who have had a negative or bad experiences with the more "traditional", or main line denominations.

God Bless
 
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AngelAmidala

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Originally posted by Loki
Wonderful, thanks so much for the info. What type of Methodist church do you attend? I'm vaguely aware of different types: First, free, United, at least according to my roommate.

I'm part of a United Methodist Church.  :)
 
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Blessed-one

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i go to an Evangelical church. We have the holy communion once a month, and the church choir singing one a month (twice a month counting the children's choir).

we've a little quiet time before service begins. Hymns first, then reading the verses for the day, prayer led by pastor, sermon, a hymn reflecting the day's sermon, offering, announcement and welcome to newcomers, and a closing song which we sing every time.
 
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TruelightUK

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I currently attend (mostly) and Anglican congregation, which is probably not that different from many RC churches. Our main service most weeks is the 10am Parish Communion (fairly traditional, using the new 'Common Worship' liturgy, with formal prayers biddings and responses etc. - ministry of the Word > eucharistic celebration, interspersed with hymns and/or choruses from books; members of the congregation read the lessons (normally and Epistle and a Gospel reading, on feast days also an OT lesson) and lead a short time of intercession). We are slighlty freer about when to sit/stand/kneel than some congregations, and also tend to be invited to join in with the priest in reciting parts of the eucharistic liturgy.
The kids start off in the service for the first hymn, then leave for their 'Sunday School' groups, returning to come up to the altar for a blessing when their parents go up to recieve Communion. (It's usual to kneel at the altar rail, tho' some prefer to stand, the clergy give out the consecrated bread (wafers) while licensed lay people pass round the chalice - normally the communicant takes this in their own hands). And at the very end, the vicar invites children to come up and share something of what they have done in their classes. Once a month, we have a non-Eucharistic 'Family Parade Service', attended by all the Scouts and Guides etc., and centred on ministry to children and families. On those days, a slightly less formal Communion Service is held in the evening, oin place of the usual Evening Prayer. There's also a smaller, quieter communion service at 8am every week.

I also attend a Pentecostal Chruch, which is very different; the service starts with about 30 or 40 minutres solid praise and worship (mostly modern choruses on an overhead projetor) which is normally quite loud and energetic - it's usual to stand for this (some people raise their hands or occasionally dance - there are also some coloured flags at the front which folk may come forward and wave), tho' folk are free to sit down if they prefer. The morning services (held at 9.5 and 11.15) usually include communion - this is quite informal; a brief work/prayer from the pastor, then the ushers pass bread and grape juice (in individual glasses) around the congregation, seated in their pews - which normally comes near the beginning of the service, but could come at any point. Apart from not including communion, the Evening Service follows a very similar format. After notices and another hymn/chorus (maybe a traditional one from the hymn books), the climax of the service is the preaching of the Word - which normally lasts at least 20 minutes, often considerabley longer. One major difference is the amount of chatter in the church, particularly before the service (whereas in the Anglican church this is usually a time for quiet reflection) - and there's usually a 'meet and greet' time, when people wander all over the church chatting with friends and visitors until the pastor calls us to order (which is rather different form the more sober sharing of 'the Peace' in the Anglican church , which is normally limited to a formal "Peace be with you" (tho' folk may spend a few moments moving to greet those in other parts of the building). The service, altho' quite 'free' in many ways (there's no written liturgy, or set order of service - tho it is all quite well planned in advance), is very much 'platform led', with one or more of the pastoral team leading from the front throughout (except when the praise team take the stage at the beginning), and doing the bulk of the reading, praying etc. - tho' the congregation may join in with the occasional spontaneous 'Amen' or a spot of praying in tongues. Occasionally, someone may come forward to give a word of prophecy - tho' it is good practice to ask permission form the presiding minister first.

Anthony
 
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I've done a little church hopping myself over the past couple of years. You will find that not only do the worship styles in different churches vary greatly from one another but also the fundamental beliefs do. If you really want to see the differences and similarities. go beneath the surface and ask questions of the congregation and leadership. Also, keep track of how often they use the bible or teach scripture. You'll find that many churches have fallen away from their original purpose of teaching from the scriptures and put their own agenda in it's place.
 
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shout2thelord

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I go to a baptist church.
Its not traditional at all, we dont have a choir but we have a band and around four worship leaders and a couple of other who lead kids worship in the 11.15am service.

we have 2 morning services the second is the family service with lighthouse (sunday school)

we also have an evening service which is usually longer than the morning service and there is usually more time for worship but we usually respond to what God is saying to us. During evening worsship if anyone has a picture or word of knowledge or scripture then they tell one of our pastors and share it with the church.

communion is once a month at each service, if that makes sense. I usually go to the 2nd morning service and the evening so i would have commuion twice a month.
 
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