Alethea Carr

Liturgy Sacrament

Martino

February 26, 2019

Field Experience Refection

Prior to my attendance of the field experience at the Christ’s Anglican Church, I had only

ever been familiar with the sacraments and practices of my own catholic, religious affiliations.

Growing up, I was raised to be committed to my faith by attending services as often as possible

and conducting myself in a manner that emphasized my devotion to God himself. I believe that

worship spaces are very important not only to give people a place where they feel safe, but also

as a reminder of the goodness in religious truth and faithfulness. In this experience, I was able to

open myself to the differences in sacramentality of differing ritual spaces and objects. I was

baptized under the Catholic Church as a baby, attended a Catholic elementary school where I

made my first Holy Communion and received the sacrament of Reconciliation. Eventually, I was

also confirmed by the Bishop in the very same Catholic Church where I experienced every other

sacrament leading up to it. I received all my sacraments at the same church and only ventured to

other churches when my family members would receive sacraments at their respective hometown

catholic churches. Because of this, I know a lot about my own religion but I am pretty oblivious

about the practices and sacramentality of other religions. Often, people know nothing more than

the parameters of their own religious affiliations and fail to recognize the importance in

understanding why people worship and celebrate their religious sacraments in the way they do.

This experience allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and learn about spiritual objects by
physically being inside the church, and also learn about the sacraments from Father Jeff.

Exploring the communities of faith can bring a new light to how we view other religions and

make educated opinions based upon them.

Upon arrival to the church, I immediately started comparing it to things I already knew

about religious spaces I was already familiar with. The inside of the church was beautiful wood

and had high ceilings which gave the space an illusion of much larger room for a small

Greensburg Church. The alter was up front with people seated in pews behind where the priest

would preach seemed all very familiar. If I wouldn’t have picked up a prayer book, I might have

thought it was just another Catholic Church. There was an overwhelming amount of similarities

between the Roman Catholic space and Christ’s Anglican Space, or at least this Church

specifically. I really loved the stained-glass windows that covered every wall of the church,

especially late in the afternoon. The light that shined through those windows gave a welcoming

vibe to the church. Before walking in, I would have never thought it might be a place where I

would feel welcome and able to pray but something about it and Father Jeff was very pleasing to

me. Upon reviewal of Wright’s field trip questionnaire after my visit to Christ’s Anglican, I feel

as though this space encourages a feeling of unity and faithfulness despite being from an entirely

different religion. Before Father Jeff even mentioned that those who were baptized by any walk

of faith were welcome to participate in their service, I already had a sense of welcoming there.

The church was a cruciform style which means it was formed in the shape of a cross and the light

from the sunset shined perfectly in the wings in the front of the church adding to the beauty of

that. The space encourages letting go of everything going on in the outside world and being in a

place where you could just pray and let time and worries slip away. Coming from a different
walk of faith, I still feel like the space encouraged my attendance and participation in the

Anglican faith.

Immediately, I was drawn to the alter when looking around at the various religious

objects. Most religious objects in churches seem to be centered there minus a few other objects

scattered amongst the sides and in the back. The alter was an object that seemed to be the focus

of the setup. I thought this object was very important because it is where the preacher stands and

talks to the people and blesses all the other objects during the mass. Although, the longer I sat in

the Church, the more I caught myself being drawn to one object in particular. The wooden

crucifix that hung above the alter in the front of the church was an extremely beautiful piece of

the church. Wright asked if any objects at the church identified any power in particular. In my

opinion, the crucifix in the center sent a very powerful message. Beyond its’ structural beauty, I

believe the overall purpose of why we worship and why we go to church hung in front of you in

the church. While praying during the mass ceremony, you are constantly reminded of the power

that God has and what he did for us. This object can easily convey what the church believes and

the basis of their beliefs. And again in a humbling way, this object reminded me that although I

may not practice the Anglican religion, we all are praying for the same cause. The crucifix that

hangs in the middle unites us all in a common theme or message that no matter our slight

differences, we believe the same story.

The field trip to Christ’s Anglican allowed me to see Christianity in a different light. I

believe I was able to open my mind to new possibilities and respect other types of faith. This trip

also gave me a deeper connection to my own faith and helped me understand the point of why

we are learning about sacramentality in all these different ways. I think analyzing Christian

Worship outside of the classroom provided me with an experience that I may never have if I had
not for being in Liturgy and Sacrament. Something really changed my outlook on sacraments as

a whole after taking the short trip into Greensburg from campus. I believe I can use the

knowledge I gained from this experience to educate other people and change my perspective on

the class as a whole. This experience can help me even further by extending these questions

about religious spaces and objects into even more types of Christian religions. I believe Wright’s

survey could be used in many other spiritual settings. My spiritual journey has been pretty

straight forward and I never really questioned my religion because I did not think anything I

could learn from another religion could benefit me in any way. However, I have a new

perspective on my journey to deepen my meaning of faithfulness and what it means to worship. I

believe it is important to learn about all different types of religions and their similarities while

still respecting their differences. Understanding the meanings behind precious spaces and objects

widened my perspective for the better and I hope to continue to add to my spirituality by

attending more things like this, both with the class and on my own.