Religion Swap

This week an interesting challenge for me. Choosing to go to a different religious service turned out harder than I expected. I spent the weekend at home in Lawrenceville and around there, there aren’t many different types of religious services. I wouldn’t even know where to find a mosque or temple around me. So, I thought that being Catholic, any church service would probably be extremely different from the way I grew up. I was right.

I went to Hamilton Mill United Methodist Church and everything was way backwards. The minute I walked into that church I felt like something was off. They don’t have pews like we do in a Catholic church; they have chairs and no kneelers, which was a shock to me. Where do you kneel? I was so confused. It was a lot more casual than a Catholic church too. Everyone was wearing t shirts and jeans and, at least in my family, we go to church in a dress or skirt. People who show up to church in shorts and a tee in a Catholic church get stared at. They also have this huge screen on the wall behind the altar where they project the Bible verses. My church has no screen of any sort, just the Crucifix. Which isn't even in a Methodist church; they just have a cross. I felt very awkward sitting there not knowing what was going on. I know my church service backwards and forward, I could probably recite it to you right now. I was totally lost in this church and had no idea what to expect.

When the service did start, it felt familiar. There was the procession down the aisle to the altar and we sang, albeit not the slow paced, traditional Catholic songs that I’m used to. When they actually started the service, however, it was a whole different ball game. The obvious different here was that there was no sign of the cross, which immediately through me off. We always start off mass with the sign of the cross. As the service progressed it only became more foreign. The way that they present their bible readings is completely different from Catholicism. They talk more about what it means today than they do reading the actual verse. In the Catholic Church, we are presented with two readings and the Gospel reading. Then the priest gives his homily, the equivalent of a sermon in any other branch of Christianity. In the Methodist church, there is no real reading or Gospel, it’s all a sermon from their pastor. Another huge difference was there was no communion. We do communion every week, whereas Methodist don’t.

I think this was a great experience to have. Going to a different service really opened my eyes to the different types of religions that are out there. I always believed that you have to be tolerant and respectful of other religions. As someone who used to get picked on for being Catholic, I think that it is important to emphasize that just because someone believes something that is different from you, doesn't mean that what you believe is wrong or what they believe is wrong. We have to understand that there is no wrong answer when it comes to religion; whatever you believe is right for you and that is all that matters.