Yesterday I attended True Vine Tabernacle church with our concert choir. It was a great morning to meet with many people different from me. The first thing that I noticed was how non-homogeneous the group was. There were people speaking Spanish and English. There were people of a variety of color (black, asian, hispanic and white). I don't remember ever attending a church that was so thoroughly diverse.
The music was LOUD -- quite a contrast from our church. While we sing some of the same songs at our church, at True Vine everything was amplified to a very high level. It was actually a little on the painful side for my ears. The music was well done and highly energetic.
While our church tends to be intellectually focused, this service was response focused. I enjoyed the high energy that this produces. One cannot sit idly in a service like this. You are compelled to participate whether you feel like participating or not!
We shared a meal together afterwards. I enjoyed this additional interaction very much. I sat across the table from a mixed race couple -- white and black. These folks had their grandchildren with them, so I enjoyed visiting with the young children as well. Since I have two mixed race marriages in my family, I felt very comfortable with them, and simply enjoyed learning to know them a little bit.
Overall, my comfort level was quite high except for the different worship style. I do prefer my own church's style (more liturgical), but that is probably because I am so highly introverted. It suits me. But, I see the value in attending other churches to learn different ways to worship. And, I especially enjoyed the diversity -- singing in English and Spanish. It was an excellent experience.
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