Growing up, I was raised in a Christian home. I started attending my dad's home church when I was a baby, Shiloh United Methodist Church. Yes, I know that is a mouthful, but trust me you'll hear a lot more when you speak to any of the older couples there. I hold this church near to my heart. I grew up in this church, watched as lightning struck it and burned it down to the ground, and then growing as a church family while we rebuilt it.
Although I have attended this church since I was a baby, I have been to many other denominations. I would often stay at a friend's house and go to church with them the next morning, or attend a variety of funeral services. Some of the other church denominations include the following: Pentecostal Holiness, Southern Baptist, First Baptist, and Presbyterian. Now, they may sound like there is not much of a difference in any of these, but I assure you that you are mistaken. Try sitting in the back row of a Pentecostal church after going to a Baptist service. For those of you confused there is a nickname for baptists. Other churches call them "Back row Baptists" meaning you sit down with your hands in your lap and say "Amen" quietly. Methodist churches are the same way. Pentecostal churches have you jumping and praising with both arms out.
Music in my religion is very important. We typically sing three to four different songs throughout the service. There are many different kinds of music heard in a Christian Church. First, you have the old-time beautiful hymn. These are very traditional in my home church. Then you have Contemporary Christian music. This music is more common now than it used to be. My church attempts to add at least one contemporary song every other Sunday. There is also rock, country, and many more.
Here is one of my favorite hymns. "Church in the Wildwood"
Here is a contemporary song, "Breathe".
Both of these songs are my favorite and my go-to when I am feeling like I am drifting away from God. Typically music is used to praise God. Imagine that the preacher just preached an amazing sermon, and the last song of the service relates to it perfectly and you are singing your heart out praising God with tears falling down your face. That is my definition of a perfect Sunday service.
Typically in my church, it is expected to hear both the piano and the organ. The organ is used to sort of "back up" the piano. When the music is being played the piano acts as the lead, and you hear the organ in and out of the song. In other churches, they will have live bands and singers that lead worship. This is typically found in bigger churches. The band will include the following instruments: a piano, guitar, drums, and sometimes a banjo.
I love how music is used in my church and how important it is to each service. Christianity would be completely different without music and singing. Music is a key part to praising God.
I liked how you explained how you were raised in a Christian home and how you expressed how important your church is to you. the songs you added about how you like to listen to them when your feeling far away from God are nice.
ReplyDeleteTo me it ́s fascinating to hear how many different churches there are. When I have read other persons’ blog posts, I have understood that there aren ́t just one or two you have to choose between. It ́s interesting to get to know about the differences between churches. I liked your description of what music is played in your church and what instruments there are. I also appreciated hearing a contemporary Christian song since we don ́t have so many of them at home.
ReplyDeleteThe organ is really big in my church as well. I attend an African Methodist Episcopal Church which majority of the time has a big band that includes piano, drums, guitar, sometimes a tenor saxophone. I agree with you that music is a common way to praise God. I attended another denomination that had a lot of "shouting" and "speaking in tongue," which was really new to me since I have not seen much of it in one service. I also enjoyed you selections of music. Gospel as aspects from every genre and vice versa.
ReplyDeleteHi Emilee! I agree that music and singing are a big part of Christianity. I grew up listening to hymnals on Sunday in my church as well. Also, I've never heard the song called "Breathe"by Johnny Diaz but I love the beat!
ReplyDeleteHi! I enjoyed reading your blog post. Thank you for sharing your experiences through the churches and their differences. I also liked the second song you picked out.
ReplyDeleteI also love Church in the Wildwood. My family has an old Dolly Parton CD album, and that was always one of my favourite tracks on that disk. In one of our old homes, when we moved in, there was a built in sound system. There were speakers in the ceiling throughout the house, and on the wall was this big "control panel". You could put up to 6 CDs in at once and they would filter though, you could also play cassette tapes or the radio. I loved throwing that Dolly Parton disk and skipping ahead to Church in the Wildwood and play it with the volume quite loud! Music is such an important part of religion and I think you captured that very nicely in your blog. Especially making it as personal as you did. I also love how you touched on the differences in church denominations. That is VERY true. I have been to many different churches. And oh boy! Some of them could give you a real culture shock if you aren't prepared first...
ReplyDelete