field observation paper
...One symbolic gesture is genuflecting before entering into the pews. This shows respect to Jesus Christ before you partake in the mass. Another symbolic gesture is showing the sign of the cross often throughout the mass. The sign of the cross goes from your forehead, your chest, and both shoulders. This symbolizes the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit. The major part of symbolism rests in the breaking of the bread. In the Eucharistic prayer, the priest simulates the last supper of Christ. The priest read a Eucharistic prayer that described the last supper ritual. With this, the priest broke up the hosts to show the breaking of the bread Christ divided upon his apostles. This symbolizes the body of Christ. Catholics believe that the bread becomes Christ when you consume it, giving you a part of him. Next, the priest blessed the wine for the congregation, signifying Christ’s blood. In doing so, you are supposed to become a part of Christ, or Christ becomes a part of you. There are so many small objects which are symbolic in a Catholic church, they are too numerous to list. Simply participating in a one-hour mass can open your eyes to so much of religion itself. The congregation of a mass is directly involved in the ritual as well. They sung hymns which celebrate various works of Jesus. Also, you are guided to state affirmations of your faith through various prayers such as the Lord’s Prayer. The congregation also participated through the use of Eucharistic ministers and lecterns. The lectern read from the Scripture of Christ through two prayers. The Eucharistic minister assisted the priest in handing out communion, which is the act of the congregation receiving the body and blood of Christ. In addition, there was a cantor who helped lead the congregation through hymns throughout the mass. Also, many churches have a choir which sings songs throughout the mass. At Christmas mass, many choirs sing for a specified period of time before the mass begins. The second type of service I attended was a Pentecostal one. Before I even pulled up to the church I was overwhelmed with the enormity of the parish. We arrived about fifteen minutes early and the parking lot was already packed. The church on the inside was as big and beautiful as the outside foreshadowed. The altar was massive and beautiful; there was a section all the way at the top of the altar for the choir. Over the choir there was a big projector screen, and when they played songs or read things out of the bible it would be projected so that everyone would be able to sing or read along. Then there were about four pews for the “government” of the church. The pews were long and green, and they didn’t have kneelers like they did in the Catholic Church. When they walked in the parish they were trying to see what the church smelled like. Also on the altar they had three big TV screens, because during the service they had people taping and then you could see others around the church or you could see the pastor. When the service started they sang four songs, and they were all projected onto the big screen so that everyone could sing along. During the songs you could sit or stand. I was told that you could stand when you felt the presence ...