St. Thomas More--Durham, NH

Sunday, May 5, 2013

1) Denomination

• Christian: Catholic

2) Building Type

• A tall, traditional New England brick building with stained glass windows, a lovely white (& wood) vestibule, and two wings at the front nearest the stage.

3) Ambience

• While beautiful, the interior was dimly lit. A high ceiling with white banners hanging down. The color scheme is dark brown and white. Straight ahead of you as you enter is a large crucified Christ. The church had a hushed and somber feel to it.

4) Demographics

• About two hundred people. Though a church in a college town, the college-aged kids were the least-represented age-group in the congregation. As Catholic services don't provide childcare services, there were a number of small children in addition to the slightly older kids. The white-haired folk were out in significant force.

5) Nature of Service

• The highly-stylized nature of a Catholic mass will make your head spin. One giant, elaborate dance consisting of numerous little rituals all stitched together…It is now apparent to me why Catholic children have to take classes instructing them how to be Catholics.
• The priest carries out a variety of inscrutable little rituals and throughout the service, the congregation will, as a unit, respond with the proper word or phrase to something that the priest says or does while performing these little rituals.
• Additionally, the interior is heavy on the religious imagery and symbolism. The back wall is dominated with a large crucified Christ, the windows are all stained-glass and most contain Christian imagery, and there are numerous wall-hangings of saints and such.
• The service was preceded by a confusing song sung in English and featuring the accompaniment of a single acoustic guitar. It was confusing because it was clearly an attempt at modernizing Catholic music, but it retained the old, doomy feel of classic Catholicism. While this song was being played, the priest (in full vestments) threw holy water on everyone. He then gave an opening prayer with a fantastic quasi-homosexual Bostonian accent. Next was a solo-prayer with piano music. After a few readings by a little gay teen, the priest mic'd up and began strolling the aisles and speaking casually, making light jokes and such. He spoke from the heart and was so bold as to make claims such as "Any living body, such as the church, must change" and how he struggled with the fear mongering of religion, such as the teaching from his youth that you will go to Hell if you eat meat on Fridays. He then engaged in a strange dance zig-zagging around the stage while holding a Bible in front of his face. At the end of this dance, he stood at the podium and began preaching about this week's message (Love Each Other). When this concluded, we recited the Apostles' Creed and then prayers were said for local and global people. Hymns were sung. A round of "peace be with you" handshakes. Announcement time for other events. Communion.*

*Out of respect, I did not partake in the sacrament.

6) Orientation to Newcomers

• No one in the congregation took the initiative to greet me or to chat with me in any capacity. The highly-ritualized nature of the service made the newcomer stick out like a sore thumb and very little was done to remedy this.

7) Sincerity

• Members of the church seemed to be here out of a looming sense of duty, rather than out of an inspired desire. I was given the impression that they were here for a presentation or for something being given to them by some third party. The vibe was more individualistic, less communal, and less convivial. It did not feel like a community of seekers working together toward a common goal.

8) Community Strength

• As mentioned above, the community seemed cold and out of touch with each other. While there were several upcoming events outside of the standard church service, they were all seasonal ritual celebrations with intense Catholic-y names, rather than being community gatherings, per se.

9) Oddities

• The priest threw water at us.
• At one point, the priest did this very strange zig-zag walk around the stage and between podiums, all the while holding what was presumably a large Bible adorned with shiny pastel designs reminiscent of something you might see in the Tate Modern in front of his face.
• At seemingly random intervals, the audience will collectively respond to something apparently innocuous (to the outsider) that the priest has done or said.

10) "Cultiness"

• 7/10
• It seems to me that a Catholic mass is the perfect candidate for a perfect or near-perfect score on the "cultiness" meter. However, this particular priest went out of his way to critical examine traditional Catholicism and to make his message--and the church--relevant to the contemporary world. He was accessible and friendly.

Final Impression:
Not a good place to go if you're just having a bad week.

While the service felt doom-and-gloomy and failed to leave me feeling "spiritually nourished", as it were, I was a bit impressed by the apparent modernization of Catholicism. As mentioned above, the priest addressed issues such as the Church's reluctance to grow and adapt and the issue that Catholicism long relied on fear. I was further impressed when the Bangladeshi factory accident was addressed during the global & regional prayer portion of the service, and the congregation was called to question the desire for cheap clothing.

"BeFree Community Church" (Barrington campus)--Barrington, NH

Sunday, April 28, 2013

1) Denomination
    •    Christian: Evangelical Free Church

2) Building Type
    •    Humble, white exterior with horizontal siding and a large basement. Gable roof. Standard building materials for a northeastern house. Not stone. Very long but not very tall. Large basement.

3) Ambience
    •    The orientation of the building and the lack of stained glass windows creates a really well-lit, warm, and cozy feel. The low ceiling contributes to the cozy effect at the expense of the "awesome" feel that high-ceilinged churches impart. However, the light fixtures, speaker system, and interior paint choices are all quite modern and help reestablish a certain sense of impressiveness.

4) Demographics
    •    The congregation had approximately 100 people and consisted largely of families. I also noticed single older widows, single middle-aged men, a single twenty-something blonde girl in a mini-skirt and leggings, and even a single twenty-something with neck and face tattoos. The style of dress was relatively respectful, though undeniably casual.

5) Nature of Service
    •    This was certainly a low church service. The stage was hardly raised and the preacher (late-thirties) was dressed in a simply button-up and khakis. Rather than standing at a podium, he sat on a naturally-stained stool. With the exception of a simple wooden cross on the stage and a basic stained-glass cross wall hanging that was partially obscured by the projector screen, there were very few religious symbols.
    •    To my surprise, the service was largely comprised of songs. The music was contemporary Christian rock and accompanied by a nine-piece band, as well as lyrics projected onto a screen.
    •    The service kicked off with four songs, then a few minutes were taken in order to "greet your neighbors," which the congregation did with vigor. Next, Pat of the children's ministry spoke to the importance of working with the youth and listed some summer volunteer positions. Following this, the preacher made some prayers for specific people and also for wider community issues and endeavors. The offering baskets were then brought around, after which we sang a few more songs. The service next moved to the preacher delivering this week's message, which began with an examination of Hebrews, chapter 11.

6) Orientation to Newcomers
    •    Perhaps the most notable aspect of this church was how much thought has been put into the newcomer's experience. You enter through a door adorned by a banner reading "We're glad you're here" and you are then immediately faced with a very clear set of signs directing you to refreshments, childcare, restrooms, and worship service. As you walk up the stairs, you come across two greeters, the second of whom gives you the weekly handout, which contains a list of upcoming events, weekly events, the week's message, an outline of the service, and a place to add your contact information to the registry. There are refreshments served in the basement and the congregation is invited to come as much as an hour before the 10am service in order to mingle. Newcomers are further encouraged on the opening slideshow to stay for a couple minutes after the service for refreshments so that members of the congregation might have the chance to get to know them better. At each transition point in the service, it was made clear what was occurring, thus the newcomer was never made to feel lost, uncertain, or uncomfortable. Even during the offering portion of the service, wherein a basket is passed around for donations, the newcomer was informed that they need not participate in this tradition. In summary: the dress code was casual, there was very little religious symbolism, there was lots of fun singing, and there was very clear "signage." Very pleasant for the newcomer.

7) Sincerity
    •    The members of the congregation feel pretty sincere and authentic. They seem as though they want to be here with each other. They are friendly and happy and involved. Additionally, as noted before, there are a number of full families here, even including the high school and college age kids. This seems to speak to the dedication of the members.

8) Community Strength
    •    As noted, this is a noticeably convivial group of people. There is childcare available in the basement and a dedicated children's minister. The kids were being taken on a trip to Adventureland this week, and there were a number of other upcoming events planned, including women-only events.

9) Oddities
    •    During the singing, there was some Christy-type dancing. One or two hands raised at the elbows, hands over head, and other variations of worship dancing.
    •    I noticed even young single guys giving $10's & $20's at the offering. That surprised me.

10) "Cultiness"
    •    3/10. Not very culty at all. This is a kind, open, and understanding group. However, the preacher did show one video that was quite off-putting. It featured a young man strongly advocating "radical abandonment to Christ"--and the Christ of the New Testament, not the middle-class American Jesus we've created. During one point of the clip, the man sincerely lamented that there are still 4.5 billion people on the planet who are without Christ. He was so serious. It was troubling.
    •    There was an explicit recognition of the fact that, for the Christian, what imbues this life with purpose and meaning is eternal life with God. That is the answer to why we are here and what matters.

Final Impression:
If you're just having a tough week, this is a good place to come.

On the whole, I enjoyed this service. I was very struck by the strength of the community and by the amount, and style, of music. The whole service, what with the projector and nine-piece band, was quite a production and certainly modern. However, this did not come of as gauche, but rather as in-touch. "In touch" seems to also describe this church's attitude toward the status and role of religion in contemporary society. On a related note, I both noticed and appreciated the apparent attention to detail that went into intentionally crafting every aspect of the newcomer's experience. That being said, what has stuck with me the most is the sense that this was a group of seekers moving together toward something higher. There was a real feeling of "togetherness" that permeated the service.

Oh, and we totally sang a song that incorporated sections where the males and the females simultaneously singing different verses and it was all kinds of awesome.

[Name of Church Here]

[An image of the church will be placed here.]

1) Denomination

• What religion/denomination does this church belong to?

2) Building Type

• A description of the building.

3) Ambience

• Warm? Inviting? Daunting? Awe-inspiring? Humble?

4) Demographics

• What sort of people comprise the congregation?

5) Nature of Service

• High vs. low church. Rituals? Symbolism? What did the service consist in? 

6) Orientation to Newcomers

• Are the members welcoming to new faces? Are things made easy for the newcomer? Is privacy respected and is the newcomer made to feel comfortable?

7) Sincerity

• To what extent do the members of the church seem authentically dedicated to the faith?

8) Community Strength

• Community events, side trips, social gatherings, conviviality, etc.

9) Oddities

• Light shows? Raising hands to testify? Rolling in aisles? Snake charming in progress?

9) "Cultiness"

• May rank this on a 1-10 scale.

Final Impression:
[Sum up the experience. Also a space for any other notes.]

Mission Statement

The question isn't whether or not there ought to be religious believers, rather the fact is that there are. The atheist lives in a religious world. However, the proper orientation toward our fellow travelers is not one of animosity or rejection or pity, but rather one of earnest compassion and unbounded curiosity.

The author, who is an atheist, takes religious conviction, faith, and spiritual yearning seriously. In fact, he sees them as having radical—perhaps unparalleled—significance to the human condition. Accordingly, this project endeavors to engage a variety of religious traditions on their own turf and from the perspective of an atheist.

At the very minimum, the author will attend a church service each Sunday. This service will then be examined using a set of ten criteria that have been developed in line with the author's guiding principles of earnestness and unbounded curiosity.

An outline for how posts will be structured will be posted shortly.