Religion description
The Church of the Nativity- Menlo Park
Field information
The Church of the Nativity is a catholic church located on Oak Grove Avenue, Menlo Park, San Francisco, United States (U.S) and it falls under the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Though I am not a catholic faithful, I visited this church on December 1st 2019 for the regular Sunday church service that began at 9.30 am and ended at 11.00 am. The Church of Nativity is one of the many historic catholic churches built over a century ago in California.
Preliminary information
From the outside, the Church of the Nativity took a cruciform shape and constructed using redwood-covered that is painted white. Additionally, the church has beautiful glass windows. The church building is surrounded by beautiful and well-manicured lawns and flowers with mature palm and oak trees. The inside part of the church building has carved side alters with a well sculptured and decorated pulpit. The beauty of this church is enhanced by the stained glass windows that allow bright sunlight rays into the church.
Like most catholic churches, visitors to the Church of the Nativity are not accorded special recognition. However, the community exhibited higher levels of spirituality and love, which made me feel welcome. The congregation was the middle and upper-class people from diverse cultural and racial backgrounds who showed modern lifestyles because of their mode of dressing and the brands of cars in the parking yard. On average, 400 people were in the church on that day out of which there were more females than males with an average age of 45 years.
Description of activity
The opening of the Mass in this church was dramatic because the congregation sang alongside the church choir as they welcome the priest. The singing was very emotional as if to signify that congregates all sinners who had come to seek divine intervention and cleansing. They continued singing till the priest in the company of the altar boys had taken his position on the pulpit. The choice of songs seemed to follow a specific program that was known to the congregation in the church.
Mass in most catholic churches is usually ritualized and follows a particular program. At the Church of the Nativity, the service is ritualized because the first and second readings from the Holy Bible develop a specific application. After the first reading, the church choir leads the congregation in singing. The first and second reading is by a deacon who is an assistant to the priest. After the first and second reading, the priest delivers a sermon. Towards the end of the service, the congregation receives the Holy Communion from the priest. The Holy Communion is followed by offerings and lastly, announcements on the church’s program. Overall, the experience I had at this church is that it presumes everybody is a sinner hence the need to abide by the application to avoid going to hell when judgment day comes.
Topic Analysis
Teaching
The central teachings at the Church of Nativity on focused on the interest God has in human beings and God’s objectives for the existence of human beings. Also, how to relate to God through prayer, the Trinity, how the souls of human beings are immortal, and how our actions will hold us accountable upon death. The symbolism on display in the church showed that human beings could relate to God through prayer. The teaching is Trinity; symbolised by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Worship
In the Church of the Nativity, people still follow the traditional habits exhibited by the Roman Catholics during prayer time. According to Wright et al. (2015), the traditional Roman Catholic practices followed include bowing down, kneeling, and making the sign of the cross. The acts of bending and kneeling make up the catholic Mass. The nature of the worship in this church is formal but is still ancient because it follows the Roman Catholic traditions. This religion has two parts. The first part focuses on the scripture, followed by a sermon from the priest. The second part of the Mass involves seeking forgiveness in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ by taking the Holy Communion. The main message on the role of religion that can be derived from the nature of the worship is that by attending Mass, people can connect to God and other human beings.
Leadership and group type
The congregation in the Church of the Nativity is diffused because it lacked committed converts. It consists mainly of individuals attracted to the religion due to family or ethnic influence. Overall, family and ethnic links are the main factors influencing the nature and composition of the congregation. The roles of the priest in this church are undertaking daily duties in the church, which include presiding over the Mass and hearing confessions (Wright et al., 2015). The leadership and group at the Church of the Nativity communicate a message of humility and devotion to the teachings of the Bible.
Conclusion
The Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park still follows the traditional Roman Catholic practices in its teachings and way of worship. The Mass is divided into two parts and follows a laid down pattern as is the case in other Roman Catholic churches worldwide. The congregation in this church is mainly made of women. Overall, the church caters for the spiritual needs of the upper and middle-class people from different ethnic extractions from the neighbourhood.
Reference
Wright, B. R., Wallace, M., Wisnesky, A. S., Donnelly, C. M., Missari, S., & Zozula, C. (2015). Religion, race, and discrimination: A field experiment of how American churches welcome newcomers. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 54(2), 185-204.
The Church of the Nativity