Bucket List of Faith: Twelve Down {{Mister's Perspective}}

Greetings from the mister and soon-to-be-mrs., as we recount some of our favorite experiences on the Bucket List of Faith thus far. (For more information on what the BLoF is, see this blog post.) 

Today I've asked the mister to step in with me as we talk about some of the things we've seen and experienced so far. Basically, I emailed this to him and he filled in his parts, picking his favorite photo for each visit. He has a love for history and an astonishing gift for finding and remembering facts, which you will see in his reflections as opposed to my more emotional views. (For more information on my perspective, see this post.) The rest of this was written by him. Enjoy!

[Mister's thoughts begin here]

Background on the MisterI was baptized as an infant (only about a month old) into the Roman Catholic Church, but my family left the Church when I was a child. From that point on we would go to different Protestant and Non-denominational churches, and some periods of time just not go to church at all but still hold Christian beliefs. It was mid-way through my sophomore year of college (around the time I started dating the Miss) that I wanted to become more active and deep in my faith, and to do that I needed to actually go to church. I told myself I was going to visit a variety of churches to feel which one is best for me, and planned to do so. But after a Christmas Eve Vigil (with a very unenthusiastic family) and a daily mass by myself at my university’s Catholic Center I fell in-love with the Catholic Church. When the Miss wanted to do this bucket list I was more than happy and willing, because I felt like this would be the exploration I wanted to do, and through doing this I have really solidified my beliefs and have come to realize I have made the right personal choice for me in my faith.

Places Visited So Far

Roman Catholic 

December 27, 2015 (Traditional Latin Mass)

Beautiful shot of altars and dome after TLM.

“Latin is the immutable language of the Western Church”- Pope John XXIII. I assume the Miss has already talked about the Ordinary Form of the Roman Catholic Mass, So I want to tell about my experiences with the Extraordinary Form, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM). First off, there is always confession before a TLM and lasts until there are no more people in need of absolution or when communion starts. Now, forget what you think about confession good or bad, this is freaking awesome. Yes, the mass is in Latin, yes Latin is a dead language, so how do we understand? We’re provided little “missalettes” that have the Latin and the English translation in it, which is also nice, because a good portion of the mass is said silently by the priest. Now why is this form of mass so cool? Because it’s the same form of the mass that has been in use for at least five centuries, Latin is a beautiful language that forms the basis for all the beautiful romance languages spoken today, and there is extreme reverence in every part of the mass. From the ad orientem (priest facing the altar and not the people) to receiving the Eucharist on the tongue at the altar rail, the TLM shows extreme reverence for God and a perpetual tradition that’s hard to find at other churches.

Episcopalian/Anglican 
November 29, 2015

Sliding glass door.

I’ve always heard of the Episcopalian/Anglican tradition referred to as Catholic-lite or “Catholicism without the guilt” both by those inside and outside the denomination. One thing I gotta say, they’re right, it was like watching someone try to play priest like I would when I was five. So many things were familiar, such as the order of the service, and things like the Nicaean Creed but it just felt like an imitation. It was missing the fullness of tradition and faith. What I’ve said may sound harsh, but I felt like I was watching people superficially imitate the traditions I believe to be true. Their hearts are in the right place but just strayed off the path.

Methodist 
December 20, 2015

Cool banner.

Coming into the Methodist Church I only knew a little bit of background. It split off from the Anglicans, the founders supposedly received ordination from an Orthodox bishop (this was never confirmed because technically that was illegal in Wesley’s time) and that Wesley was really into singing. Also two of my best friends are Methodists. We arrived late and were ushered in to an empty pew about a third into the service while the Choir was at the altar singing an angelic hymn. After a few songs the pastor went up and started his sermon. He talked about the film It’s a Wonderful Life (a favorite of mine) and loosely connected it to some scripture. While theologically I felt like it was lacking I did feel a great sense of community and inclusiveness in the church. And looking around I could tell that there was deep faith and devotion. Even some tradition, though I would probably have to go to a more traditional service to see it.
Latter-day Saints (Mormon) 

December 12, 2015 (no service)

Painting of Jesus conversing with Nephites/American Indians

The Latter-Day Saints, the red-headed stepchildren of Christian tradition. The building had the shape of a church but none of the symbolism or iconography. The Miss and I walked in as organists were practicing for the next day’s service. We listed to the two play the organ and flipped through the hymnal as we looked around at the very plain room of a sanctuary, devoid of any Christian symbolism. The people there though were sweet and backed up the (positive) stereotype that Mormons are very nice people, with just some very different beliefs.

Unitarian Universalists 

December 12, 2015 (no service)

Banner of all faiths celebrated.

The only thing I really only knew three things about Unitarian Universalists before visiting their building. When it first started it was the place you said you went to church so people wouldn’t look down on you if you didn’t have a faith, they believe that different religious traditions can all lead to God, and that they bought out a lot of old church buildings in Massachusetts. Looking around we could tell they try very hard to not offend people by favoring one tradition over another, either through an equal representation of faiths or no representation at all. I’m very interested to see how exactly a service works with all these different (and some contradictory) traditions are expressed.

Orthodox (Greek) 

August 15, 2015 (no service)

The overhead dome.

If Protestants think Catholic churches are decadent, they’ve obviously never been to an Orthodox church. The inside was just absolutely beautiful with icons adorning every possible space they can. For a faith that dogmatically is so similar to Catholicism it was interesting to see how different the worship space is, the most notably being the iconostasis separating the sanctuary from the rest of the church. Even just being in the church with just me and the Miss I could feel the reverence everywhere, and made sure to genuflect when I saw the sanctuary candle lit.

Orthodox (Russian) 
December 12, 2015 (Vespers)

Iconostasis.

The Miss and I walked into the small church that was once just an old house greeted by the long-bearded priest with a greeting of “здравствйуте!” (a formal Russian greeting.) We looked around the small church as the priest was preparing for vespers, the nightly prayer service. Just like the Greek Orthodox the Russian one was adorned with icons and an iconostasis, the most prominent at that moment being an icon of the Presentation of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) at the Temple. The prayer service began with the Sign of the Cross done in the Eastern fashion of right-to-left and beautiful chanting and singing and prayers done in both English and Russian (of which I could mostly understand). From translating the prayers I could tell that a lot of them were the same as the ones the Miss and I do, or at least very similar in form. Even though things were aesthetically different it still felt very close in spirit to my own catholic devotions.

Eastern Catholic (Maronite) 
October 11, 2015

Altar and tabernacle.

“The Eastern Churches are the jewels in the crown of the Catholic Church”-St. John Paul II. JPII was right on that. It was truly a beautiful experience to worship God fully but in a different way. Before the liturgy started the congregation prayed the Orthos, or morning prayers. After that we were seated with a nice gentleman who switched rites from Roman to Maronite, and were welcomed by the congregation as their “Roman brothers and sisters.” The liturgy itself was similar very similar in some parts to what we experience at a Roman rite church, but then being very different in other ways such as reception of the Eucharist and the Sign of Peace. While obviously done in a differently than what I am use to, I am glad to have a diversity of traditions in the Catholic Church and know that we are united in our belief of God.

Non-denominational Protestant 
December 24, 2015 

The ONLY cross.

This one the Miss and I went to with my family on Christmas Eve, I felt that I needed to support my parents since they instilled my faith in me, even if they don’t believe the same as I do anymore. The first thing is THERE WAS NO CROSS! we only found one cross in the entire church and it was kinda hidden in the main entrance. I know not all denominations are big on symbolism but I would’ve thought a cross the most universal of Christian symbols or really any kind of symbol would be present. There was none, and by none I mean no symbols or iconography of any kind. It felt more like a civic center than a church. The people (at least the youth) felt like they had to be there, not really because they wanted to. When the service started we did mostly singing, that was a majority of the service was songs. After like the fifth song we finally got to the Pastor, who had a sermon that was very bland, and feel good, and non-offensive, I didn’t feel like there was any theology at all. During the few times there was praying it was more like an extension of the sermon than an opportunity for personal prayer and reflection. For a place whose mission statement is “to better know and serve God” I felt like the environment offered no way to foster that and help people in their faith.

Salvation Army 

December 22, 2015 (no service)

"Blood and Fire" flag.

Yes, the Salvation Army is a church, we were surprised too! Unfortunately in our neck of the woods the only church building they have, which they call “Citadels” was a small chapel in their Adult Rehabilitation Center. So when we came up to the shelter we were escorted the entire time. This however gave us the full tour. We were introduced to the Corps (their term for the church side and refers to individual congregations) Sergeant Major their chaplain (who is about equivalent to a deacon) and the Major who was the Commandant (Pastor) and his wife (also a Major) (they really take the Army part seriously.) Most of the tour was about the public service and rehabilitation that the Salvation Army does and little about their beliefs and theology. So while we didn’t really figure out what exactly they believe on different parts of Christian belief we got an inside look at the humanitarian side of things and really gained an admiration for the good work they do for their fellow man.

Hinduism 

December 22, 2015 (observed part of darshan)

Deities of Krishna and company at a shrine

While we have visited a Buddhist temple previously, visiting the Hindu temple was really our first look at the religious practices of another religion. We removed our shoes and entered the temple, we were greeted by a nice old lady who encouraged us to go inside the main part of the temple where the deities were being presented. We moved inside I guess what I would call the sanctuary, there was a stage with a guru on it, and chairs in front of it. All around the inside were images and quotes of Krishna (an avatar of Vishnu.) On the side, where the tower of the temple is was an alcove with statues, latter did we realize that this was the deities or idols of their gods. After buying some mala (prayer beads) for a dear Hindu friend from the gift shop we explored the rest of the temple grounds. The grounds had grottos and alcoves depicting scenes from the life of Krishna and his wife, and behind glass were more deities. The thing I noticed most about the temple and the little of Hindu belief is that there were similarities to Catholicism! The Darshan (Presentation of the Deities) that we witnessed was very similar to the Catholic practice of Adoration of the Consecrated Host. The use of grottos and shrines very similar to the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints that Catholics have. Just like a Catholic church, the inside and outside were just beautiful. Even the mala I bought for my friend were very reminiscent of rosary beads. It was just really interesting that in a faith so different I was able to find similarities.

Buddhism 

August 15, 2015 (no service)

Entrance gate to temple.

Tucked in-between a highway and a hill is the local Buddhist temple. Walking into the temple the first thing we noticed was a giant statue of the Buddha flanked by bodihisattvas (Buddhist saints) separated from the rest of the temple by a rail. On the walls were identical images of sitting Buddha’s that I believe were placed there in memory of people. Leading up to the giant Buddha were tables with prayer and meditation books with seats that looked like ottomans. Adjacent to the main temple building was a little shrine area that was for quiet meditation that we didn’t go in because people were meditating and it required us to remove our shoes. Unfortunately our pictures are few because so little of the temple allowed them.

Places Left in the BLoF

• Lutheran (ECLA)
• Lutheran (LCMS)
• Lutheran (WELS)
• Presbyterian (PCUSA)
• Baptist(non-SBC)
• Baptist (SBC)
• Church of Christ
• Orthodox (Antiochian)
• American Catholic Church
• African Methodist Episcopal
• Pentecostal (Assemblies of God)
• Disciples of Christ
• Nazarene
• Seventh-day Adventist
• Quakers
• Christian Scientists
• Judaism (Reform)
• Judaism (Conservative)
• Islam
• Sikhism
• Baha’i

[Maria here!]

Thank you all for reading and keeping up on our journey so far! If you have ever undertaken a journey like this, we would love to know where you ended up and what your experiences were!

Much love,

Maria (and her Mister)