Church Of Epiphany Experience Essay

People always told me that money can’t buy happiness, but I never truly experienced what that meant until I met the people of Honduras. The country and the people had an impact on me and on how I see the world. In my interactions with the people and culture of Honduras, among some very challenging living conditions, I was inspired by their love of family, welcoming attitude, and joy of life. For me, Honduras was like a mirror for me to look in and see my own life compared to the Hondurans’. If I brought back one thing with me, it was the desire to be like them in how I face life, love family and friends, and be filled with joy.

The religion I choose to observe for my fieldwork project is Catholicism. In order to complete the fieldwork assignment required for this paper I attended St. Lawrence Church on 5225 N. Himes Avenue in Tampa, FL. One of the reasons I chose to observe Catholicism for my fieldwork project is because it is a prominent religion throughout the world. In addition to the US, Catholicism is widely supported within Europe and Latin American countries. Another reason I chose Catholicism is because I found it to be relatively different from my own religion, Hinduism. I favored St. Lawrence Church over some of the other catholic churches in the area due to the fact that a few of my friends were already part of the community. Also, St. Lawrence Church

As I walk through the doors hundreds of memories flood into my mind as the smell of yesterday’s incense hits my nose. In a way I grew up here from baptism, first communion, to confirmation. Various friends and family scattered in the pews nodding to you as you enter the church since in a small town everyone knows everyone. The church is large and ornate for where it is placed; a little town of roughly 200 people. The inside is magnificent with intricately carved wooden pillars and elaborate paintings of Bible stories on the dome ceiling. The altar looks like something that came from Rome with its large life sized statues of Mary, Jesus, and angels surrounding it. Its peaceful, quiet, and a good place to reflect on the blessings you have received.

Dr. Ed Stetzer is the Executive Director of the Lifeway Research Division. Stetzer has obtained two masters degrees and two doctorate degrees, and he currently serves as pastor of Grace Church in Tennessee. In addition to being the Executive Director for a division of lifeway and a pastor, Stetzer is also a contributing author for Christianity Today, Executive Editor of The Gospel Project, Executive Editor of Facts & Trends Magazine, co-host of the BreakPoint This Week Radio Program, and a columnist for Outreach Magazine.

In Thomas Long’s The Witness of Preaching, he aims to urge the reader to become a reliable witness of the gospel by way of ample preparation before entering a pulpit. The text offers to the reader a deeper understanding of the ministry of preaching. A useful component of the text contains informative bits of information that make the reader aware of the lengthy but necessary preparation needed for an adequate explanation of the scripture. Of primary importance is the consideration of the congregation when a preacher is first approaching the text. This point is of vital importance as it signifies that the speaker is a member of the body of Christ and the congregation. Such understanding is a reminder that the preacher is an unworthy vessel being

Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio. The first chapter of The Big Book tells how Bill Wilson was introduced to the concept of using a faith based, group support program to provide the mental and emotional support needed to manage Alcohol Addiction. The main purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety. The program is unique in that each chapter is self funded, develops their own meeting format. I attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting on Thursday, October 6th

In this article titled “How Do We Know It's The One True Church?” the author “Fr.Dwight Longanecker” gives many critical points of defending his argument. In this article the author gives background on how he was brought up in the church. The author gives his conversion story on how he was raised as a protestant and then converted to Catholicism. All in all the author has a good understanding on what he is arguing about. Throughout this article the author defends his argument through Ethos Pathos and Logos in many topics such as how the church is rooted in history of the church, Divine Scripture and the authors conversion story.

I always knew church was where people was to worship God but I didn’t understand why people had put so much faith into the pastor. As I got older, I realized that a pastor is counseling people in the same area their still reading and studying. I don’t believe that all pastors have good intentions. The pastor’s main objective is to convince people that he knows the right way and believe what he tells you. I honestly feel that church is brainwashing. The pastor wants people to feel that Christs body and blood are actually there on the altar, that were actually standing before the Almighty, and people really get distracted and start to believe that. People will come to church depending on the father since he has the answers to all the problems. The members of the church are eventually allowing themselves to be deprived and victim to anything. They mindlessly will follow and obey everything they are told to do within those institutional walls because they believe so much in the pastor. I don’t think all

I was interested in hearing stories and experiences of those who struggled with drug addiction. I wondered if I would receive any insight regarding my family members who have suffered from drug addiction. Going into the meeting, I was prepared to introduce myself if necessary and did not hold feelings of anxiety regarding the potential necessity for introduction.

A good example of a modern day pilgrim would be a preacher. The reason being is that they are already devoted to their god which could leave the more inclined to go on a pilgrimage for religious purposes. He is an older in his 50/60 's, already bald, very soft spoken, and has a vast array of knowledge on the lord. The kind of guy you could talk to once and feel like you 've know him your whole life. He is no stranger to anyone and loves to talk about the lord and would help you through anything that you had on your plate the best he could. He tells of the works and miracles that god has done and makes sure to live up to the lords expectations. He has been on pilgrimages of sorts before such as mission trips and other things of that nature

From the outside of the church I could tell it was a smaller church, but I was very happily surprised by the comfortable size of the church, not so big that one feels lost in the crowed but also not so small that one feels like an intruder in a tight nit group. I was also very happily surprised by the age of the church. From my background I am used to seeing an older congregation and from my study of the Lutheran church I expected the same. But though this may seem to be a more traditional, the church the congregation was rather young. I also expected the dress to be more formal, but again the church was very similar to the Baptist churches I have been a

As I stepped out of my car, I acknowledge that the church was surrounded by trees, which gave it a calming and peaceful sensation, the building was long with a triangular shaped form, with burgundy bricks surroundings and a bit of white in the front entrance and some at the very top and sides with a dark beige roofing to give the church some color, the windows seemed to be a tinted crystal glass that was designed with blues and a beige color. As I made my way into the church their was an entry room where a man and a women and what seemed to be their two children greeted me and handed me a pamphlet that described what was going to take place in that days Sunday school and mass, then I made my way to another pair of doors where I could hear the choir singing, as I opened the doors the inside of the church was a tan wood looking color all around and had matching tan benches with burgundy red bedding to match the carpet, the thing that stood out most to me when I walked in was the large cross that was in the very front that shined very bright as if the sun was hitting it to give the whole church light, when I looked below the cross, the choir was singing and beside it was a women playing a piano with so much passion and in front of them was a the pastors book stand also a matching tan color with his bible. The people were very kind as I sat down next to a friend that attends that church, they welcomed me with open arms and talked a bit about them self’s and the amount of time

First, as the priest walked on to the altar there was a table with a cloth over it which the priest kisses. I was curious as to what the meaning of the table was and asked my friend Paul. His answer was that the meaning the table signified the body of Christ. On that same table the priest set a gold colored what seemed to me to be a wine glass and a circular disk on the table. The priest lifted the circular disk in to the air with both hands and said “this is my body which will be given up for you this is the challis of my blood”. I asked Paul what the meaning of the circular disk was. He answered that the circular disk is bread that represented life, and the body of Christ. In addition to the bread, I also asked about the wine glass, and the wine glass is supposed to be the blood of Christ. Both the wine and the bread are drank and eaten to signify the acceptance of Christ or also known as Holy Communion. But before the bread and wine are received there is prayer. After the prayer all the church members turn to each other and make an offering of peace to each other as a community to bring everyone together. This is where I had to join in also, all the members reach out to shake hands and exchange a hello or a god bless

“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.” I said as i dutifully made the sign of the cross and picked up my book of hymns. As the organist began playing, I stared at the large golden cross that hung above the altar, its metallic sheen contrasting with the deep green marble. I was baptized as a Catholic, attended a Catholic elementary school and high school, and attended church every Sunday with my family. I made my first reconciliation and received a small silver cross necklace with a tiny peridot in the center. When I made my first communion, I wore a white dress with all the other little girls in my class, and had a big party with my family afterwards where I was given gifts of well-wishes and love from my family.

As Philip Brooks pointed out that, “Preaching is the communication of truth by man to men” Philip Brooks bring out two essential things in his definition. Truth and personality of the preachers are playing important role in the preaching.