January 25, 2009 9:00 pm
St. Ignatius Parish, 255 Stafford Street Winnipeg
I cheated a bit on this one. Back in grade 9 Christian Studies class we were given the assignment of going to a church of a different denomination than our own; I chose St. Ignatius. I can't remember which of the five Sunday services I attended (or maybe I went to the one on Saturday...), but I thought it might be interesting to go back.
I chose the Sunday night service for two reasons: one, I wanted to sleep in and two, it's touted as the "contemporary music" service, which always catches my eye when it's advertised in a church setting. I've said it before and I'll say it again, churches need to start getting with the times and looking at alternative means of worship.
St. Ignatius is a beautiful, old-style building with an arched ceiling and a great, cathedral-like atmosphere. The place was full, which surprised me. Probably 300, 350 people there. The age range was also impressive; the younger generation was very well-represented, there were lots of families and the older folks were out in force too.
The service followed what I assume was a traditional Catholic mass format, except the musical interludes were played by a small band up at the front. A guitarist, a keyboard player whose left hand was patched through as a bass and three female singers led the music. It was good stuff, not really what I'd call "contemporary" but it the songs were meaningful and the lyrics were displayed on a large projection screen so everyone could follow along.
Something I distinctly remember from my visit in grade 9 was a whole lot of spontaneous call-and-response (eg. 'the Lord God be with you' 'and also with you'), of which I caught about a quarter. And naturally there were apparently standard cues that had everyone crossing themselves. I missed them all.
I'm not sure which Pastor was presiding, but I'll assume it was Pastor Gerry McDougall, St. Ignatius's senior pastor. He was an older guy and opened up with an anecdote about baseball in his youth that left me scratching my head a bit. He actually managed to tie it in to the story of Jesus and the apostles, particularly Saul/Paul, and then spun it around and made it relevant to us today. The gist of it was that the apostles were ordinairy people like us, called to serve God and one another. Therefore each one of us can also do amazing things for the glory of God. Cool message, well delivered.
After offering and communion the band closed things off with a couple nice tunes. One in particular caught my eye, called "Seize the Day." The internet tells me it's by a gal named Carolyn Arends; give the lyrics a google. They're kind of neat, and (again, excuse my prejudice) not really what I'd expect kicking around a Catholic church. Definitely contemporary.
Anyhow, I'd be interested to see what the Sunday morning "Organ" service is like at St. Ignatius. And it's clear that they're onto something with this Sunday night thing; not too often a church (with five different services!) pulls in a full house on a normal Sunday in January.
http://stignatiusparish.ca/
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Oxford Bible Church
January 18, 2009 11:00 am
Oxford Bible Church, 621 Oxford St. Winnipeg
My Grade 6 Graduation was held in this church, probably the only reason I know it exists. It's nestled in the heart of River Heights, a little building that has an apparently varied history that I've now forgotten.
The front door doesn't open into the sanctuary, unless I magically missed it; instead you have to climb a flight of stairs. Just sayin'. It's a smaller building, done up in a general wood-paneling kind of scheme. The lobby had about twenty people in it when I arrived. After standing around looking lost for about three minutes an elderly gentleman introduced himself and told me a joke about his last name. He introduced me to another man, probably in his thirties. After they headed off to sit down I was alone for about a minute before a woman approached me and started talking about how her family had joined the church a year ago, and that though it was a simple church it was a great blessing on their family. She introduced me to two younger men (twenties), who in turn introduced me to a man, his wife and their two young children. The man invited me to sit with his family.
The point of that block of text is this: though I suppose it's easier to spot a visitor in a smaller congregation, I don't think I've been to a church yet where such an overwhelming number of people have introduced themselves and made friendly conversation, without me actively getting anything going. There was no formal usher and no bulletin; it was a very casual, friendly atmosphere. I'd say there were about fifty, maybe sixty people attending the service.
Interesting note: they didn't take an offering. First time that's happened too.
The format of the service was interesting as well. Since there was no bulletin I have no idea who was leading the service, though according to the man next to me the speaker was a new grandfather. He welcomed us there, paying special attention to include visitors in his welcome. Then we proceeded to sing four hymns in quick succession, broken up by a prayer and a soloist who sang a beautiful hymn of her own. There seemed to be an organ up there but it wasn't used; the accompaniment was piano.
Then the children left and the speakers changed. Did I mention that for such a small church, the ratio of young vs. old was actually pretty impressive? Not a ton of children, but the bulk of the church was twenties-to-forties, young family types. Interesting.
Anyhow, for the sermon everyone in the place pulled out a bible (I guess I could've figured that one out... Bible Church...). The sermon was on Psalm 73, a short psalm about doubting and despairing in God after seeing the 'wicked and arrogant' prosper. On a second reading at home I actually found it extremely relevant, but the way that it was picked apart in the sermon line-by-line really made its message out to be a bit different than (I feel) it was . Sitting there I had a hard time figuring out exactly what was going on.
There was one more hymn that brought the service to an end. Afterwards I ended up in a lengthy discussion about various Biblical messages with a the man whom I was sitting beside, who really knew his Bible. We chatted about all kinds of things (though often I didn't know enough to really respond to his points. As an example of our conversation, he explained to me how the existence of the concept of evil fundamentally supports the existence of God. I must admit that that idea is still causing my brain some grief. Anyhow, he extended an invitation to meet up for coffee and chat more. I might take him up on it.
Friendly church. Simple church, but a friendly church. I would easily consider going back.
http://www.oxfordbiblechurch.net/introduction.htm
Oxford Bible Church, 621 Oxford St. Winnipeg
My Grade 6 Graduation was held in this church, probably the only reason I know it exists. It's nestled in the heart of River Heights, a little building that has an apparently varied history that I've now forgotten.
The front door doesn't open into the sanctuary, unless I magically missed it; instead you have to climb a flight of stairs. Just sayin'. It's a smaller building, done up in a general wood-paneling kind of scheme. The lobby had about twenty people in it when I arrived. After standing around looking lost for about three minutes an elderly gentleman introduced himself and told me a joke about his last name. He introduced me to another man, probably in his thirties. After they headed off to sit down I was alone for about a minute before a woman approached me and started talking about how her family had joined the church a year ago, and that though it was a simple church it was a great blessing on their family. She introduced me to two younger men (twenties), who in turn introduced me to a man, his wife and their two young children. The man invited me to sit with his family.
The point of that block of text is this: though I suppose it's easier to spot a visitor in a smaller congregation, I don't think I've been to a church yet where such an overwhelming number of people have introduced themselves and made friendly conversation, without me actively getting anything going. There was no formal usher and no bulletin; it was a very casual, friendly atmosphere. I'd say there were about fifty, maybe sixty people attending the service.
Interesting note: they didn't take an offering. First time that's happened too.
The format of the service was interesting as well. Since there was no bulletin I have no idea who was leading the service, though according to the man next to me the speaker was a new grandfather. He welcomed us there, paying special attention to include visitors in his welcome. Then we proceeded to sing four hymns in quick succession, broken up by a prayer and a soloist who sang a beautiful hymn of her own. There seemed to be an organ up there but it wasn't used; the accompaniment was piano.
Then the children left and the speakers changed. Did I mention that for such a small church, the ratio of young vs. old was actually pretty impressive? Not a ton of children, but the bulk of the church was twenties-to-forties, young family types. Interesting.
Anyhow, for the sermon everyone in the place pulled out a bible (I guess I could've figured that one out... Bible Church...). The sermon was on Psalm 73, a short psalm about doubting and despairing in God after seeing the 'wicked and arrogant' prosper. On a second reading at home I actually found it extremely relevant, but the way that it was picked apart in the sermon line-by-line really made its message out to be a bit different than (I feel) it was . Sitting there I had a hard time figuring out exactly what was going on.
There was one more hymn that brought the service to an end. Afterwards I ended up in a lengthy discussion about various Biblical messages with a the man whom I was sitting beside, who really knew his Bible. We chatted about all kinds of things (though often I didn't know enough to really respond to his points. As an example of our conversation, he explained to me how the existence of the concept of evil fundamentally supports the existence of God. I must admit that that idea is still causing my brain some grief. Anyhow, he extended an invitation to meet up for coffee and chat more. I might take him up on it.
Friendly church. Simple church, but a friendly church. I would easily consider going back.
http://www.oxfordbiblechurch.net/introduction.htm
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Calvary Temple
January 4, 2009 7:00 pm
Calvary Temple, 400 Hargrave St. Winnipeg
Pastor Trevor Meier
I will freely admit how I ended up going to the 7:00 pm service at Calvary Temple: I slept through the morning service. However, it ended up being a really interesting experience. Calvary Temple is one of the largest churches in Winnipeg. The place is huge. The 7:00 service, called "Beyond," is held in the main sanctuary (because there are more than one). Their website bills it as the "multimedia-heavy" service, which naturally intrigued me.
When I walked in at twenty-to I was one of only about ten people there (later I discovered this was because everyone was at a pre-service prayer). The stage was set up for a band and there were three cameras and countless tv-screens warming up around the place. By ten-to it was brimming, with at least 150 people present. The age demographic was shocking compared to any other service I've attended: the 25 and unders outnumbered the 50 pluses. There was a huge spirit of camaraderie before the service as people dashed around the sanctuary hugging each other and talking animatedly.
I must admit I had to raise my eyebrows as a young man marched to and fro across the stage before the service, wielding a full-size Israeli flag. I won't mention my feelings about the issues facing Israel and Palestine, suffice it to say that I didn't feel it was appropriate to be waving any flags in church, Palestinian or Israeli. As Christians I feel it is our calling to support both parties in coming to a peaceful resolution, not to get behind one particular group (whether or not we may consider them "in the right.")
Onwards. The service started with music. Lots of music. Almost an hour of music. Guitar, bass, piano, drums, vocals. The female vocalist had a set of lungs on her, but (similar to my experience at Grant Memorial), she was trying waaay to hard to sound like a pop star. On a side note, I never imagined that I would have needed earplugs at a church service. But there you are. The band played seamlessley and their sound was quite good. The songs were all pretty generic, "uplifting" Christian rock and though there were a lot of people in the front really getting into it (a few men were dancing in circles in their pews, and at least half the hands in the room were outstretched towards the ceiling), I must admit I was a bit bored by the time Pastor Meier bounced onto the stage.
Pastor Meier is an animated speaker, really engaging, really easy to listen to. His sermon started off with a distinct sense of direction as he spoke about "opening our sails to the wind of God" in the new year. Basically his main point was that instead of trying desperately to make things "work," we should simply listen for what God has to say and be influenced by what we are called to do at a specific time.
Good stuff, but it was downhill from there. Suddenly he was pulling scripture passages out of nowhere and somehow stringing them together, but everything was out of context. I really lost him for a while there. At one point (I apologize, I've forgotten the exact passage), he was meditating pretty heavily on a particular passage. After reiterating and tying it into the idea of listening for the "wind of God," he added, "but everyone! This is definitely not an excuse to be weird or flaky! I see all kinds of people read this passage and use it as an excuse for being weird and flaky." Weird and flaky? I almost walked out. What kind of sermon labels and then attacks people for being or acting a certain way? Acceptance this was not.
I'm rambling. But you get my drift.
The service ended with more music, and I had to run out upon realizing that two hours had just passed, instead of one. When I left the music was still going on and people were congregating at the front to be prayed with.
I must say I enjoyed the contemporary musical aspect of this service. More churches need to look into alternative methods of worship, because comparing this congregation to most others its obvious that it's hard to attract youth with the old formulaic service. I'm getting bored, what about you?
If it wasn't for Pastor Meier's sermon, I would've left feeling a bit better than I did. His sermon was a classic example of talking a lot, but saying very little. And using disjointed Bible passages to say very little. Hmm. I will definitely consider going to one of Calvary Temple's morning services; it will be very interesting to contast the two.
http://www.ctwinnipeg.com/
Calvary Temple, 400 Hargrave St. Winnipeg
Pastor Trevor Meier
I will freely admit how I ended up going to the 7:00 pm service at Calvary Temple: I slept through the morning service. However, it ended up being a really interesting experience. Calvary Temple is one of the largest churches in Winnipeg. The place is huge. The 7:00 service, called "Beyond," is held in the main sanctuary (because there are more than one). Their website bills it as the "multimedia-heavy" service, which naturally intrigued me.
When I walked in at twenty-to I was one of only about ten people there (later I discovered this was because everyone was at a pre-service prayer). The stage was set up for a band and there were three cameras and countless tv-screens warming up around the place. By ten-to it was brimming, with at least 150 people present. The age demographic was shocking compared to any other service I've attended: the 25 and unders outnumbered the 50 pluses. There was a huge spirit of camaraderie before the service as people dashed around the sanctuary hugging each other and talking animatedly.
I must admit I had to raise my eyebrows as a young man marched to and fro across the stage before the service, wielding a full-size Israeli flag. I won't mention my feelings about the issues facing Israel and Palestine, suffice it to say that I didn't feel it was appropriate to be waving any flags in church, Palestinian or Israeli. As Christians I feel it is our calling to support both parties in coming to a peaceful resolution, not to get behind one particular group (whether or not we may consider them "in the right.")
Onwards. The service started with music. Lots of music. Almost an hour of music. Guitar, bass, piano, drums, vocals. The female vocalist had a set of lungs on her, but (similar to my experience at Grant Memorial), she was trying waaay to hard to sound like a pop star. On a side note, I never imagined that I would have needed earplugs at a church service. But there you are. The band played seamlessley and their sound was quite good. The songs were all pretty generic, "uplifting" Christian rock and though there were a lot of people in the front really getting into it (a few men were dancing in circles in their pews, and at least half the hands in the room were outstretched towards the ceiling), I must admit I was a bit bored by the time Pastor Meier bounced onto the stage.
Pastor Meier is an animated speaker, really engaging, really easy to listen to. His sermon started off with a distinct sense of direction as he spoke about "opening our sails to the wind of God" in the new year. Basically his main point was that instead of trying desperately to make things "work," we should simply listen for what God has to say and be influenced by what we are called to do at a specific time.
Good stuff, but it was downhill from there. Suddenly he was pulling scripture passages out of nowhere and somehow stringing them together, but everything was out of context. I really lost him for a while there. At one point (I apologize, I've forgotten the exact passage), he was meditating pretty heavily on a particular passage. After reiterating and tying it into the idea of listening for the "wind of God," he added, "but everyone! This is definitely not an excuse to be weird or flaky! I see all kinds of people read this passage and use it as an excuse for being weird and flaky." Weird and flaky? I almost walked out. What kind of sermon labels and then attacks people for being or acting a certain way? Acceptance this was not.
I'm rambling. But you get my drift.
The service ended with more music, and I had to run out upon realizing that two hours had just passed, instead of one. When I left the music was still going on and people were congregating at the front to be prayed with.
I must say I enjoyed the contemporary musical aspect of this service. More churches need to look into alternative methods of worship, because comparing this congregation to most others its obvious that it's hard to attract youth with the old formulaic service. I'm getting bored, what about you?
If it wasn't for Pastor Meier's sermon, I would've left feeling a bit better than I did. His sermon was a classic example of talking a lot, but saying very little. And using disjointed Bible passages to say very little. Hmm. I will definitely consider going to one of Calvary Temple's morning services; it will be very interesting to contast the two.
http://www.ctwinnipeg.com/
Bethel Mennonite Church
December 25, 2008 6:30 pm
Bethel Mennonite Church, 465 Stafford Ave. Winnipeg
Christmas eve, and there was a lot of debate over which church to go to in our family, since it was the first time in a decade that we weren't attending our old home church. Bethel was eventually settled on and so began my first visit to a Mennonite church since I started my project.
Bethel is a large church and I think it's a really beautiful building. Not traditional by any means, but certainly not a Death Star (see previous post about that). It was packed on Christmas eve with all kinds of people, young and old. The place was full, I'm not sure how many people it holds at capacity but it was definitely at it. 500, perhaps?
The service began with the church darkened except for the lights held by choir members, who surrounded the congregation on the sides. They processed to the front while singing (wonderfully), and as the lights came back on the service began. The format was simple, but effective. The service alternated between congregation-sung hymns, readings by small groups at the front, reflections by Pastors Lisa Enn-Bogoya, Reynold Friesen and Rudy Baergen, and anthems from the choir.
Towards the end was one of the most involved children's stories I've ever seen. At least twenty little ones were up at the front for it, as Werner Wiens read an arrangement of Jesus' parable of the poor woman (who donates her last coin and therefore has given more than the rich who simply square out a fraction of their thousands). Great story. The choir got in on the action and there were a few youth actors as well.
The music was great, the readings were great, the reflections were great. The atmosphere was wonderful. I sincerely enjoyed Christmas eve at Bethel Mennonite, and I wouldn't hesitate for a second to go back. I'm very curious what their weekly service is like.
http://www.bethelmennonite.ca/
Bethel Mennonite Church, 465 Stafford Ave. Winnipeg
Christmas eve, and there was a lot of debate over which church to go to in our family, since it was the first time in a decade that we weren't attending our old home church. Bethel was eventually settled on and so began my first visit to a Mennonite church since I started my project.
Bethel is a large church and I think it's a really beautiful building. Not traditional by any means, but certainly not a Death Star (see previous post about that). It was packed on Christmas eve with all kinds of people, young and old. The place was full, I'm not sure how many people it holds at capacity but it was definitely at it. 500, perhaps?
The service began with the church darkened except for the lights held by choir members, who surrounded the congregation on the sides. They processed to the front while singing (wonderfully), and as the lights came back on the service began. The format was simple, but effective. The service alternated between congregation-sung hymns, readings by small groups at the front, reflections by Pastors Lisa Enn-Bogoya, Reynold Friesen and Rudy Baergen, and anthems from the choir.
Towards the end was one of the most involved children's stories I've ever seen. At least twenty little ones were up at the front for it, as Werner Wiens read an arrangement of Jesus' parable of the poor woman (who donates her last coin and therefore has given more than the rich who simply square out a fraction of their thousands). Great story. The choir got in on the action and there were a few youth actors as well.
The music was great, the readings were great, the reflections were great. The atmosphere was wonderful. I sincerely enjoyed Christmas eve at Bethel Mennonite, and I wouldn't hesitate for a second to go back. I'm very curious what their weekly service is like.
http://www.bethelmennonite.ca/
St. George Crescentwood
December 14, 2008 10:30 am
St. George, Crescentwood Anglican Church, 168 Wilton St. Winnipeg
Reverend Lyndon Hutchinson-Hounsell
WOW.
So this morning I realized I'm three posts behind. I will try to rectify this situation with a blogging onslaught this afternoon.
First up is St. George. I used to drive by this church a couple of times a week, on the way to and from things. I was always a bit intrigued by its architecture; from the outside it looks... square. Symmetrical. Not particularly church-y. Finally I got to see what it was like inside, and I must admit I didn't take to what I saw. The inside of the church is square. And gray stone walls, ceiling and floor. The only color comes from the stained glass window, which is excellent, and also square.
I couldn't help but think, this is kinda like worship in the Death Star.
It took a while for the place to fill up and my final tally was no more than 150 people. Generally older folks and a few families (one of which sat behind me and chatted about pregnancy and goldfish, among other things, throughout the entire service. Nice.) Just like when I visited Saint Margaret's Anglican, there were more "participants" at the front than I could find names for. (Deacon, Lectors, Intercessor, etc.)
The choir was in a loft behind and above us, which meant their sound projected great out through the church. I always like to watch the choir so by the end I had a crick in my neck, but the choir was great anyways. The organ was up there too, smooshed unceremoniously into a corner.
The service itself was very nice. Lots of singing, lots of praying, all in the traditional format. Rev. Donald McKenzie did the sermon. Predictably he talked about keeping Jesus in Christmas in among all the holiday hustle-and-bustle (read: shopping and consumerism). He kept it really fresh, bringing new arguments to the table and presenting everything really nicely. Rev. McKenzie was a fine speaker.
A note, and anybody who knows more about this please let me know: at the beginning of the service during the lighting of the advent wreath, a group of elderly ladies stood to recite the "story" of the candles, as is done in most churches, I believe. They spoke clearly and well and then sat down. Thing is, they were billed in the order of service as the "Dragon Ladies." What??? A quick traipse through Google told me that "Dragon Lady" is an offensive stereotypical name generally applied to East Asian women, and that there is a description in Revelations 17-18 of a woman riding a beast, called a "Dragon Lady" on some translations. Neither of these seem like nice names for the elderly women of a congregation. Clarify, please.
But I digress. Without a doubt I enjoyed the content of this service; it was a relaxing, traditional kind of service. I just had trouble getting into a mindset of worship in such a cold, unforgiving building.
http://www.stgeorges.mb.ca
St. George, Crescentwood Anglican Church, 168 Wilton St. Winnipeg
Reverend Lyndon Hutchinson-Hounsell
WOW.
So this morning I realized I'm three posts behind. I will try to rectify this situation with a blogging onslaught this afternoon.
First up is St. George. I used to drive by this church a couple of times a week, on the way to and from things. I was always a bit intrigued by its architecture; from the outside it looks... square. Symmetrical. Not particularly church-y. Finally I got to see what it was like inside, and I must admit I didn't take to what I saw. The inside of the church is square. And gray stone walls, ceiling and floor. The only color comes from the stained glass window, which is excellent, and also square.
I couldn't help but think, this is kinda like worship in the Death Star.
It took a while for the place to fill up and my final tally was no more than 150 people. Generally older folks and a few families (one of which sat behind me and chatted about pregnancy and goldfish, among other things, throughout the entire service. Nice.) Just like when I visited Saint Margaret's Anglican, there were more "participants" at the front than I could find names for. (Deacon, Lectors, Intercessor, etc.)
The choir was in a loft behind and above us, which meant their sound projected great out through the church. I always like to watch the choir so by the end I had a crick in my neck, but the choir was great anyways. The organ was up there too, smooshed unceremoniously into a corner.
The service itself was very nice. Lots of singing, lots of praying, all in the traditional format. Rev. Donald McKenzie did the sermon. Predictably he talked about keeping Jesus in Christmas in among all the holiday hustle-and-bustle (read: shopping and consumerism). He kept it really fresh, bringing new arguments to the table and presenting everything really nicely. Rev. McKenzie was a fine speaker.
A note, and anybody who knows more about this please let me know: at the beginning of the service during the lighting of the advent wreath, a group of elderly ladies stood to recite the "story" of the candles, as is done in most churches, I believe. They spoke clearly and well and then sat down. Thing is, they were billed in the order of service as the "Dragon Ladies." What??? A quick traipse through Google told me that "Dragon Lady" is an offensive stereotypical name generally applied to East Asian women, and that there is a description in Revelations 17-18 of a woman riding a beast, called a "Dragon Lady" on some translations. Neither of these seem like nice names for the elderly women of a congregation. Clarify, please.
But I digress. Without a doubt I enjoyed the content of this service; it was a relaxing, traditional kind of service. I just had trouble getting into a mindset of worship in such a cold, unforgiving building.
http://www.stgeorges.mb.ca
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