Religious visit Free Essay Example, 1500 words

[Supervisor’s Religion and Theology For a assignment, I visited St. Margaret’s Church at 1565 East Washington highway, Monticello Fl, 32344 (U. S. 90 east). This is a Catholic Church with the Parish consisting of Catholics living in the vicinity of the Washington highway. The purpose of the visit was to attend a Catholic Mass and experience the spiritual emotions of the congregation. Since Sunday services in Churches are usually filled to capacity, I thought it better to visit on a Saturday when only very devoted Catholics would be attending the daily Mass. The day was bright and sunny when I started from home and arrived at the church at 10.45 am. The first thing that struck me was the simplicity of its construction and the austere beauty of the church. It is a stone building, with a slanting gabled roof. The entrance was through an oval shaped, large mahogany door which seemed to welcome worshippers and added to the beauty of the Church. The inside of the church was quite simple, with pews for accommodating 250 or little more parishioners for one service. We will write a custom essay sample on Religious visit or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now The people in the church were mostly middle class working people, with some pensioners also in attendance. There were an equal number of men and women. It was a mixed lot with Caucasians, Asians, and some Black worshippers. As this was a Saturday, most of the pews were empty and there were only some 35 worshippers present at this morning’s mass. The congregation was mixed, with people of all ages, from 25 to 85 attending the service. 1 The Stations of the Cross were depicted in austere murals, which showed the entire journey to Calvary. The Altar was also quite simple and not very large, with a large crucifix in the background. The windows were made of colored glass in the traditional Gothic style. The windows had pictures of the Infant Jesus, Mother Mary and St. Joseph. Because this church was dedicated to, and named after St. Margaret, there was also a statue honoring her, along with statues of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. On the walls were pictures and statues of other saints. The church was not very large, built at a time when the very few people lived in the district. Most of the parishioners lived around the church within walking distance, so there were very few cars although the church had an ample parking lot. The church premises included a vestry which was attached to the church and houses for the pastor and other lay persons who tended to the affairs of the church. There were 2 classrooms for Sunday classes for the younger children, and another classroom where boys and girls prepared for their first communion and later for their confirmation.