Mirkana
11-06-2008, 19:19
I've noticed that a lot of people here (or at least quite a few) have changed religions at least once. And I've realized that I've attended services of multiple religions. So I was wondering; what religions have you attended services of, and what kinds?
Also, feel free to compare and contrast. Rather than debating which religion is right, let's look at one of their central practices.
I have attended both Christian and Jewish services. Here's the breakdown:
Jewish:
Modern Orthodox: Weekday morning and evening (multiple), Shabbat evening (multiple), Shabbat morning (multiple), Shabbat afternoon (multiple), Havdalah (multiple), one funeral
Chasidic Orthodox: Shabbat evening, Purim
Conservative: Shabbat morning (multiple), Rosh Hashanah (three), Yom Kippur (three), Passover (one), Purim (two), multiple Bar/Bat Mitzvahs (my own included)
Reform: Shabbat evening (multiple), Shabbat morning (multiple), Havdalah (multiple), Rosh Hashanah (multiple), Yom Kippur (multiple), Passover (multiple), Purim (multiple), four Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, two funerals, Hanukkah at home
Christian:
Roman Catholic: Easter (multiple), Christmas (multiple), Sunday mass (one)
Anglican: Weekday evening (multiple)
Methodist: Sunday mass (one)
My range of Jewish services reflects the mixed bag that my Jewish upbringing has been. My family has attended a Reform synagogue most of my life, excluding the two years in England (where we attended a Conservative shul). But I attended an Orthodox high school, and joined an Orthodox youth group, so I have attended... probably over a hundred Orthodox services.
The Christian services are a little different. The Catholic ones are due to my dad being Catholic - when I was younger, we would sometimes go to services on Easter or Christmas. The one mass was the first communion of a friend.
The Anglican services are a relic of my time in England. I occasionally attended services at King's College Chapel. I went solely to hear the choir - my classmates - sing. And because as a member of the college, I could sit in the front area near the choir.
The Methodist service is the most recent. My best friend is Methodist, and earlier this summer, had a severe crisis in her life. I won't elaborate, but she was in need of some serious soul-searching, and she asked me to come - for emotional support.
Now to compare. I know that the Christian services are descended from the Jewish ones, but it's pretty clear that with the divergence 2000 years ago, there are a lot of differences. The most obvious one is the Jewish reliance on the prayer book or siddur. I recall the Catholics using prayer books, but not the Protestants. In the Methodist mass, they never even touched their prayer books. Words to hymns were displayed via a projector on a screen above the altar. They seemed to alternate between singing hymns and having the minister speak.
By contrast, the Jews consider siddurim vital. This probably has to do with the heavily structured Jewish service. Also, most prayers are said by the whole congregation. And a lot of it is in Hebrew. The more religious you get, the more Hebrew is used. Some Orthodox Sephardim use Ladino (a mix of Hebrew and Spanish) in some parts.
Both Jewish and Christian services have a climax. For the Jews, it is the reading of the Torah. For the Christians, it is communion. Both focus on what is the particular obsession of their religion - the Torah for the Jews, Jesus for the Christians. I've never tasted a communion wafer, but my dad describes them as bad-tasting matzah. I have listened to a Torah reading, and it is, in all honesty, fairly boring unless you are either fluent in Hebrew, or the one reading (in which case it's fairly stressful). Still, I'm not in a position to judge which is better - or worse. At least with the Torah service you have a chance to be called for an aliyah - to give the blessings before and after reading a section. This is considered a great honor, and I have always prided myself on my ability to recite the blessings from memory, thanks to endless practice prior to my Bar Mitzvah.
One more thing to close out this rant: instruments. All Christian services I have attended used instruments - the Catholics used bells, the Anglicans had an organ, and the Methodists had a band. Jews, on the other hand, don't make great use of instruments. The Reform sometimes use them, (one of the rabbis at the Reform synagogue I attended is a competent guitarist), but the Orthodox generally eschew them, with one exception. Havdalah (end of Shabbat) services at a youth group event are half religious service, half concert party. We have a full band playing, and once we're done with prayers, we just go into religious songs. It is totally awesome.
Also, feel free to compare and contrast. Rather than debating which religion is right, let's look at one of their central practices.
I have attended both Christian and Jewish services. Here's the breakdown:
Jewish:
Modern Orthodox: Weekday morning and evening (multiple), Shabbat evening (multiple), Shabbat morning (multiple), Shabbat afternoon (multiple), Havdalah (multiple), one funeral
Chasidic Orthodox: Shabbat evening, Purim
Conservative: Shabbat morning (multiple), Rosh Hashanah (three), Yom Kippur (three), Passover (one), Purim (two), multiple Bar/Bat Mitzvahs (my own included)
Reform: Shabbat evening (multiple), Shabbat morning (multiple), Havdalah (multiple), Rosh Hashanah (multiple), Yom Kippur (multiple), Passover (multiple), Purim (multiple), four Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, two funerals, Hanukkah at home
Christian:
Roman Catholic: Easter (multiple), Christmas (multiple), Sunday mass (one)
Anglican: Weekday evening (multiple)
Methodist: Sunday mass (one)
My range of Jewish services reflects the mixed bag that my Jewish upbringing has been. My family has attended a Reform synagogue most of my life, excluding the two years in England (where we attended a Conservative shul). But I attended an Orthodox high school, and joined an Orthodox youth group, so I have attended... probably over a hundred Orthodox services.
The Christian services are a little different. The Catholic ones are due to my dad being Catholic - when I was younger, we would sometimes go to services on Easter or Christmas. The one mass was the first communion of a friend.
The Anglican services are a relic of my time in England. I occasionally attended services at King's College Chapel. I went solely to hear the choir - my classmates - sing. And because as a member of the college, I could sit in the front area near the choir.
The Methodist service is the most recent. My best friend is Methodist, and earlier this summer, had a severe crisis in her life. I won't elaborate, but she was in need of some serious soul-searching, and she asked me to come - for emotional support.
Now to compare. I know that the Christian services are descended from the Jewish ones, but it's pretty clear that with the divergence 2000 years ago, there are a lot of differences. The most obvious one is the Jewish reliance on the prayer book or siddur. I recall the Catholics using prayer books, but not the Protestants. In the Methodist mass, they never even touched their prayer books. Words to hymns were displayed via a projector on a screen above the altar. They seemed to alternate between singing hymns and having the minister speak.
By contrast, the Jews consider siddurim vital. This probably has to do with the heavily structured Jewish service. Also, most prayers are said by the whole congregation. And a lot of it is in Hebrew. The more religious you get, the more Hebrew is used. Some Orthodox Sephardim use Ladino (a mix of Hebrew and Spanish) in some parts.
Both Jewish and Christian services have a climax. For the Jews, it is the reading of the Torah. For the Christians, it is communion. Both focus on what is the particular obsession of their religion - the Torah for the Jews, Jesus for the Christians. I've never tasted a communion wafer, but my dad describes them as bad-tasting matzah. I have listened to a Torah reading, and it is, in all honesty, fairly boring unless you are either fluent in Hebrew, or the one reading (in which case it's fairly stressful). Still, I'm not in a position to judge which is better - or worse. At least with the Torah service you have a chance to be called for an aliyah - to give the blessings before and after reading a section. This is considered a great honor, and I have always prided myself on my ability to recite the blessings from memory, thanks to endless practice prior to my Bar Mitzvah.
One more thing to close out this rant: instruments. All Christian services I have attended used instruments - the Catholics used bells, the Anglicans had an organ, and the Methodists had a band. Jews, on the other hand, don't make great use of instruments. The Reform sometimes use them, (one of the rabbis at the Reform synagogue I attended is a competent guitarist), but the Orthodox generally eschew them, with one exception. Havdalah (end of Shabbat) services at a youth group event are half religious service, half concert party. We have a full band playing, and once we're done with prayers, we just go into religious songs. It is totally awesome.