Experience It

Living in a foreign country was one of the most influential experience of my life; it gave me opportunities that I otherwise would never have dreamt of. When I was in fifth grade I lived in Taiwan for a year. This opened my eyes to a whole new world, especially the religion. Religion, both the beliefs, and the practice of it, is very different from that of most western countries.

The differences in practice are very apparent. Even just walking down the street I would see little temples. I remember there was a Tao temple just off campus (I lived on the campus of the university my dad was teaching at). There would always be somebody there to burn incense and sweep it out. We also saw very large temples. These are incredibly massive and beautiful. There would be incredibly large statues of Buddha covered in gold leaf. I got to see on monetary. This was an amazing experience to hear the monks chanting for hours.

I went to my cousin's baptism a couple weeks ago. She was baptized Catholic and even though I was also, I don't really consider myself Catholic, Protestant if anything. We went because we were invited and we wanted to see her. The baptism itself was fairly simple just a little ceremony no service attached. We sang a few songs and the parents gave their children's names. After the children were presented the god parents and parents said their promises to raise the child with god in mind. The priest next gave a sermon telling about he importance of baptism and following God's way and loving God and learning about God. He also talked about the importance of good parenting and how influential parents were on there children. Finally the children were baptized and given their Easter Candles and we sang one final closing song.

I don't know if I would recommend this because while it is something that many people ascribe too it does not really seem to invoke much religious experience. Although, it was informative and might be an experience seeing at least once if it's family.

Two weeks ago Andrew B. and I went to the Hindu temple in Maple Grove. We choose to visit the temple because we were both curious to what a Hindu temple was like and had a friend who went to the temple and could help explain everything. While at the temple I learned many new traditions and practices of Hinduism and got to experience others I learned about. I experienced a "personal prayer"(the actual name has left me) which is when you bring an offering of fruit, tell the priest your name, and he prays for you to the god of you chose in sanskrit. There was also a ceremony that involved splashing holy water over my face and head which I participated in. I thought the most interesting thing was the layout of the temple and the way in which prayer was conducted. When you walk into the temple you first take off your shoes and then go upstairs into a huge main room lined with 15 ft shines to individual deities. You then pray individually however you want to for how ever long you want to because there are no set times for a sermon or large service.The thing that surprised me most is that a lot of people are just walking around or talking and it is quite noisy.
While I found the visit quite interesting, I wouldn't recommend going because it is really far away, hard to find, and you may be very confused the entire time.

A couple of weeks ago Howie and I went to the HIndu Temple in Maplegrove, MN. I chose this because I saw the experience it as an opportunity to stray off of the beaten path and to view a different religious tradition. Also, we went with a Hindu family that could explain everything to us. We first walked in to the temple, and one could immediately see that the temple was more than just a place of religious worship, it was also a community gathering place. Then we took off our shoes and entered the sacred portion of the temple, which was a Vishnu temple. First a priest recited a prayer for us and blessed us via holy water, a cleansing candle, and by telling Vishnu to help us by telling Vishnu our names and our stars (Howie and I didn't have one). The 10 minute service was performed all in sanskrit which means that not even the Hindus understood it because very few Hindus actually speak or understand sanskrit. Then we walked around the temple praying to about 23 different Gods (you don't actually pray to all of them, you pray to a few you choose). An example of one way of praying is by walking around Ganesha's Shrine 3 times, which we did. One thing I found interesting was the man who gave tours (we didn't go on one) wanted to make sure that we knew that Hinduism is a monotheistic faith, with various different manifestations of one God. Unlike Howie, I would recommend this to other students, the tour guide was more than willing to help and everyone seemed very nice. It was interesting to see a religion firsthand that we normally wouldn't see. However, it is very far away, so you should only go if you are willing to drive for about half and hour or more.

I attended a contemporary christian worship service in downtown minneapolis. they call themselves the salvage yard. the congregation is made up of people that you would not generally see in a church. The style of worship was very different from that of which you would see in a normal church. they the bulk of their worship through song. they are a very new church, they do not have their own establishment, they rent the sanctuary from an existing church. This is a very different experience from normal church. the style at the salvage yard is very laid back. the service begins with song, there is a sermon which is usually humorous yet relevant at the same time. they take offering in hubcaps and then take communion. after communion they close with more song. They also hold their services on tuesday night. the reason for this is that they are renting the space, and that was the only time they could rent it. the experience also comes from the diverse people in attendance. it is very hard to describe but the majority of the population at the salvage yard are very tattoo'd, have a lot of body piercings and dread locks. there are also people that do not have any of the above and everyone is welcome. i would highly suggest anyone to experience this. I was invited by my very religious neighbor to tag along with him and some other kids from his school who attend on a regular basis.

I attended St. John's Episcopal church in White bear last week. In all my life, I have attended a total of about 6 services with family friends and such. Therefore, I do not know what the usual routine is at a church. It was definitely an interesting experience. Everyone was very welcoming to me and glad that I came. built in 1926, the building was full of history. There were lots of people attending that day. Because I am not used to attending a certain denomination church or temple, I felt like I was very open to the situation and what it had to offer. I do not think that this made me want to go to a church all the time, however, it was interesting to hear the stories and thoughts on life. I do not quite believe or agree with all of them my self. I really did enjoy this experience because it helped me to understand some peoples history, views, and lifestyles.

Last weekend, my mom and I went to Eagle Brook Church, in Lino Lakes! After 60 years, Eagle Brook Church currently has three locations, White Bear Lake (holds a little less than 1000 people), Lino Lakes (less than 500), and Spring Lake Park (2,100). On the weekends, the Spring Lake Park branch serves as the base, and is where one of the three pastors comes to speak their "message." The message is then telecasted live to the other two branches. Eagle Brook has a baptist heritage, but its core beliefs are the foundation of Christianity. The church explains it by saying they "maintain a conservative theological position." The five core values of the church, also known as the 5G's, are; grace, growth, group, gifts and generosity.

My mom and I decided to experience this because my sister's golf caddy is the main pastor, Bob Merrit's son. We promised him that we would come one weekend, and therefore we felt like our attendance was long overdue!

I had no idea what to expect when we drove up to Eagle Brook. I was initially overwhelmed by the traffic situation. There were a 1/2 dozen of traffic directors who were organizing an insane amount of cars. When we walked in I could not believe how business-like the church looked. I was surprised to see that they had their own coffee shop, "cafe 5000." Or even how all of the church-goers were bringing their purchased donuts and iced-lattes into the actual church. After I got past the initial appearance, I walked into the actual church and could not believe how packed it was. It seemed like almost every seat was taken, and there had to have been at least 1000 people there. The mass started when Eagle Brook's band started rocking out... and soon everyone joined in with the music. Once the pastor came out and began speaking I could not believe how informal this was compared to my former church (St.Jude of the Lake). The message of this particular day focused on how we treat/should treat the people we love. I found it very refreshing that they were focusing on "everyday problems," and therefore I had no problem relating to what they were talking about. I was impressed by all of the bright lights and how the two HUGE screens on either side of the stage summed up exactly what the pastor was saying. Although these seemed slightly untraditional at first, I realized that they really helped me stay interested in what was going on... which was exactly what I needed!

Overall I was very surprised by what I got out of this experience. By going to Eagle Brook I realized that every church can have their own way of doing things. And for my family, who is not particularly religious, it was just a matter of finding what worked best for us! I felt like I learned more/was more impacted from one Sunday here than all my years at my former church. It might have just been because I felt like I was being spoken to in a language I understood, but I truly began to feel like Eagle Brook was the right place for me. Originally, I was skeptical as to whether or not this was actually a church... but now my mom and I plan on going here a lot more often!

I saw the exhibit on Tibet in the Field Museum of Chicago. The Field Museum is known for exhibits on natural history and the T-Rex, Sue, but they actually have many great exhibits on different cultures. This exhibit dealt with the culture and religion of Tibet and the political situation there. My favorite part of this exhibit was about the political aspects of Tibet. It talked about how China is trying to actively colonize Tibet and is harming the environment immensely there. There are 5 major rivers that begin in Tibet, and when China harms the environment there, it has a much broader impact. I learned about how what China considers the Tibetan autonomous region is only ½ of what the nation of Tibet used to be, the rest of the land has been absorbed by many different Chinese provinces. I also got a greater understanding of why the Dalai Lama thinks he may be the last one, if the religious leaders cannot get into Tibet to find a child to be the Dalai Lama, this practice of finding a Dalai Lama cannot continue. That idea is just terrifying, that Tibet will lose a huge part of their religion because of these political problems. The religious things in this exhibit were also very interesting. They had things like prayer wheels and teapots, but they also had many different altars to both good and evil deities. I feel that Tibetan Buddhism takes after Hinduism by having these deities that can be worshipped due to India’s proximity to Tibet. There were also human skulls and bones used in different religious items to signify the frailty of human life. Overall, I greatly enjoyed this exhibit and was very lucky to run into this small but amazing exhibit in the Field Museum. I would strongly suggest it to anyone already at the Field Museum like I was, but I would not make a special trip for this exhibit.

This past sunday i went down to the St. Paul Cathedral. There i just happened to walk in on the ending of a confirmation ceremony. All of the participants were standing at the front with what i assume to be the leader of the service. It was interesting to see that this man was decked out in a red costume with gold. very elaborate i thought for a church official. At my church we have nothing of the sort. Since i go to a very liberal methodist church, having such an elaborate outfit for a leader of worship would be unheard of. I feel that the leaders at my church care more about giving a good sermon that dressing royal looking robes. Besides the difference with the outfits, the cathedral also had tiny alcoves for which people would be able to light a candle and pray to lets say the virgin mary. they also had status of jesus and the some saints on the outsides of the sanctuary. Over all i thought it was a great experience and since i had never seen the inside of the cathedral before, it was good to finally go.

I went to see the Vatican Splendors exhibit at the Minnesota History Museum. I chose to visit this exhibit because I have found other exhibits at this Museum to be quite good and I find the idea of Vatican quite interesting. Apart from enjoying all the amazing art and fancy clothes and decorations included in the exhibit, I learned a good amount about the Vatican itself. Its own state beginning in 1929 and covering an area of 17 square miles, it is located within the city of Rome and now hosts the current Pope, Benedict XVI. In Italy Roman Catholicism is the primary Italian state religion and worldwide about a billion people claim to belong to the Catholic fath. Although it has only existed as an independent state since 1929, most of the buildings like the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica were built centuries ago. I learned that the College of Cardinals elect pope who serves for life and appoints the administrators who run Vatican City and all its buildings and commerce. The Vatican is open to pilgrims and visitors all year round and the pope makes occasional public appearances there. There are interestingly, only 400 or so residents besides the pope some of whom make up the Swiss Guard. These guards were first appointed in 1506 by Pope Julius II to protect the pope and guard Vatican City and the Apostolic Palace where the pope lives. I would recommend this exhibit because it is a lot of fun to explore just because of all the cool looking artifacts and clothes included. However, know that the museum closes at 5 so give yourself ample time to get through.

What did you experience? (Please be specific enough so that someone else could attempt the same experience if they were interested.)

I attended a mass at St. Michael's church and school in West St. Paul.

Why did you choose this particular experience?

From K-5 grade I attended St. Michael's, a small catholic school in West St. Paul. I can remember how involve my brothers and I were in this faith. Attending mass, as a part of class every Thursday, singing "All Things Bright and Beautiful", making rosaries and Baby Jesus projects during Christmas. In an effort to try to understand my religious upbringing, and parents decision to integrate Shamanism and Catholicism into my life, I went back for a visit.

Provide a brief overview of what you experienced?
I experienced a daily mass, which consisted of welcoming, prayer, giving thanks, receiving communion etc. Catholic mass revolved around a lot of deep thinking, praising and glorying God. I was surprised by how well I remembered the prayers, that the sisters would make us repeat over and over in elementary. It brought back lots of memories of my upbringing.

Would you recommend this experience to others? Why or why not?
If you're interested in learning about Catholicism, I recommend it. It's a great experience, very light hearted and easy.

For Christmas it is a tradition for many Hispanic families to make tamales, or at least buy them from a street vendor and eat them. Though my family is not Hispanic we braved the lines and went to a popular tamale cart. If we had wanted to try out hand at making them we would have had to stand in even long lines and chaos inside grocery stores to buy the special corn flour used to make the tamales.

There are four main types of tamale: beef, pork, chicken and sweet. The “sweet” tamale is always different, depending on who makes it but in our case it was made with raisins. We bought the beef, chicken and sweet tamales. They were all delicious and homemade. It was a wonderful Christmas tradition that I may have to bring back next year.

I got this idea while in Los Angeles after talking to my Aunt about a woman who she buys tamales from, and then seeing a news piece about Christmas tamales.
I would definitely recommend people try this, and experience a Christmas probably very different from their own.

I have always gone to a very traditional church, so in order to experience a different kind of worship service, I went to Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, to experience a new kind of worship. Students at Bethel host a service on Sunday nights from 8 to 9 pm, and the service is welcome to people of all ages. The service consists of a band that plays Christian rock music, and the crowd sings and dances along. The students also preach a bit of a sermon, like ideas and feelings to keep in mind for the upcoming week. The sermon is more about finding God for oneself instead of studying the past and the Bible. It fits a more modern version of the world in which we live in today. I chose to go to this service, because it sounded interesting, and it was a different Christian experience. It is appealing specifically to students, and I like the idea of finding God and experiencing the journey for oneself instead of a preacher preaching about God. When we arrived there, we all sang Christian rock songs, and talked about our relationship to God a little more in depth than one would usually do. We also discussed some things about the upcoming week, and how we can involve God more into our everyday lives. I would recommend this experience to anyone who wants to experience a different side of religion. It gives you a fresher, more modern outlook on the world in which we live in. It is appealing to students who want to find a connection with God, and to experience His light.

For Christmas it is a tradition for many Hispanic families to make tamales, or at least buy them from a street vendor and eat them. Though my family is not Hispanic we braved the lines and went to a popular tamale cart. If we had wanted to try out hand at making them we would have had to stand in even long lines and chaos inside grocery stores to buy the special corn flour used to make the tamales.
There are four main types of tamale: beef, pork, chicken and sweet. The “sweet” tamale is always different, depending on who makes it but in our case it was made with raisins. We bought the beef, chicken and sweet tamales. They were all delicious and homemade. It was a wonderful Christmas tradition that I may have to bring back next year.

I went to the Vatican exhibit at the History Museum this past weekend. I have to say I was not totally looking forward to it, but it turned out to be very interesting. I really enjoyed looking at the robes and other wardrobes for the pope and the guards. I thought the jeweled crosses and hats were ridiculous... do not they have a better way to spend their money! In the exhibit they discussed how a new pope is chosen. I thought this was interesting and cool that they still use the old system of smoke color to announce to the people the results. My favorite thing there was a piece of cloth thats image was supposedly never touched or created in any way by man. Apparently, jesus pressed it against his face to dry himself and left a print of his face. Having been to the real Vatican, it was fun to see some of the things and know where they were talking about. I thought that this was a really good experience. It made me realize how seriously people take religion and how deep it is ingrained in society.

I attended a service at the Our Lady of Perpetual Health Catholic Church. I chose to escort my grandmother to mass because I wanted to know more about her religion. Also, after just studying Catholicism in our class, I wanted to experience a Catholic service. My grandmother is a very loyal Catholic, so we arrived at the church almost an hour before the service began that Sunday morning. I took this as an opportunity to observe the many murals of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. Also, I noticed that there was an altar at the center of the room. We sat on long wooden benches and on the back of the bench in front of us was a long piece of wood that people could kneel and pray on. Mass began with the church choir singing a religious song. After the singing ended, the Priest recited a few biblical readings. Then, he took what he read from the Bible and related it to the obsession of material goods and the power the media has over the public. After the “eucharist” the congregation received communion by eating bread and drinking wine. The church choir sang again and the mass ended. I would recommend this experience to others. The Priest’s readings were interesting and I enjoyed myself.

- Over winter break part of my extended family and I attended the Vatican Splendors exhibit at the Minnesota Historical Center.
- I did not choose to go to this event. My parents enforced upon me, my presence, when they decided to take some relatives of mine. But I was pleasantly surprised when I realized I could use this experience in my world religions course!
- The exhibit included a plethora of subjects pertaining to the Christian faith. Significant art pieces, the history of St. Peter’s Basilica, the Swiss Guard, gifts from foreign countries/ religions and the various popes were all different sections within the Vatican Splendors exhibit. The art pieces were very intriguing. Magnificent paintings, stone portraits and sculptures were all over. The history of St. Peter’s Basilica was also very interesting. The exhibit went in depth to how there are actually two basilicas, one built on top of the other. And that up until recently, the whereabouts of St. Peter’s tomb was a mystery. The section on the Swiss Guard was pretty neat. The guard’s history, traditional attire and weapons were all on display. I especially thought the spears were cool! Gifts to the pope from various countries/ religions were also shown. The gifts ranged from a blanket by the Doli Lama to old Chinese scrolls. And lastly, history on key popes and their ceremonial possessions were displayed.
- If history and the Christian faith spin your wheels, then you would be a kid in a candy store here. Personally though, this exhibit kind of bored me and made my legs tired from standing so long. There was so much information on so many people I had never heard of that it became less and less interesting. Therefore, I would not recommend this exhibit because your time in better spent watching college basketball on CBS.

This year for Christmas my mommy invited my brother Daniel’s girlfriend’s family to join us for the holidays. Caroline, Daniel’s girlfriend, and her family are Jewish so over the few days that her family was here, we not only did the typical Christian traditions we also did a few Jewish traditions as well. This experience was pretty cool. One fun thing that I’ve actually done before was playing dreidle. That was a lot of fun and was pretty nice to sit around in a group and play. Also, each night Caroline’s mother would light the candles on the menorah while saying something in Hebrew that I obviously couldn’t understand and cannot remember at all. There were a lot of cool little things I learned about Hanukah too like that a menorah is suppose to be put in the window to celebrate the festival of lights or what all the symbols on the dreidle mean. Overall, this was a really cool experience because I’ve never really known much about Hanukah seeing that I’m no Jewish and have never celebrated it but it was really interesting to have this little insight into common rituals, if you will, of Hanukah.