First of the papers: Church Experience

Hello!
This is due 5 PM tomorrow, AKA 11 PM central time. If you have a second, please take a peek at one of the paragraphs and tear it to tiny pieces. If you just love editing more than turkish delight, I can email you an attachment with the word document.
Prompt:
Attend a regular worship service in Britain of a denomination which you have never visited before. Write 3-4 pages analyzing your experience. Write on the following three areas in your paper:

1. Before you attend the service, think about what will take place. What do you expect to see, hear, do? How do you feel about attending the service?

2. Describe the service itself. Who participated, what did they do, how were you treated by the church members?

3. Evaluate the service. Was it a time of worship for the participants, for you? What did you learn from your visit about yourself and how people worship within the Christian tradition?

Before I attended the Sung Eucharist at Christ Cathedral, I expected many candles and rituals. The liturgy would be strict, and the congregants would wear solemn expressions, following everything right to a T. I expected to flounder amidst a sea of talented believers who all knew how to flip to the right page in the Book of Common Prayer, hymnal, and bible in time. I would struggle not to make a fool of myself, only to end up completely lost and by myself. Heathen Baptist that I am, they would not allow me to receive the Eucharist. All would frown, and all the people would sit silently in austere worship. I expected to be in a far corner hidden from all. I would not be able to see any of the service as my Baptist upbringing taught me always to find a back row where I could slip out just in case I needed to go to the bathroom in a hurry. The choir would sing dirges and melodies that ended in much too many “Amen”s. All of the parishioners would be dressed up in pressed suits or designer dresses or flowery hats usually reserved for tea at the Eastgate Hotel. They would dismiss my sundress as both immodest and frumpy. In short, I came in expecting to have to lower myself in comparison to each important Oxford type around me.
I was not sure where to sit when I came in, and one of the ushers showed me up to the top row in the back choir. It was all much more intimate than I expected. I accidentally sat in one of the deacon’s seats. She made a motion, I ran away, and then she motioned for me to sit next to her. She was dressed in the fancy robes and stole, so she obviously knew what was going on. I knew when to kneel and stand and sit with her lovely guidance. She gave me the green booklet that had the entire service of the Sung Eucharist printed inside. It was much easier to find the pages I was supposed to flip to because it was all in order in a friendly booklet. Even the color green was nice and welcoming.
The second time I went, an American woman gave the welcome. I know that the Anglican Church is not sexist or anything, but I still did not expect for a woman – let alone an American – to start off the service. I thought that all Brits would be very posh and condescending towards us stupid Americans. She did a lovely job and I thoroughly enjoyed her eloquent prose. We heard the choir sing in Latin, which was pleasant to listen to. The counterpoint was delicious, and the choir sang much better than I expected. The third time I went, the choir was just eight men in blue stoles. I sat right next to them, and I saw all of their cues and chatter about what they were going to sing next. Even though there were only eight men, they filled the entire cathedral with heavenly music. They sang some of their songs in English, a surprise to me expecting more Latin.
The sermon was not what I expected either. The priest was hilarious. He made a comparison about how all the different denominations are just like coffee. It used to be just black or white coffee but now when you enter Starbucks, you have to decide: tall, grande, venti, latte, mocha, espresso, cream, iced, hot, caffeinated, no fun; he went through the entire list. I never expected for the entire cathedral to be lit up with laughter, but he made every corner reverberate. The British are just naturally funnier than Americans, and I am glad that he utilized his natural homeland’s natural gift to bring joy into the usually somber cathedral.
Everyone shook my hand with a gracious smile during the passing of the peace. It was just like any other greeting I have had in church, except for the Trinity Lutherans who take ten minutes to greet everyone in the church. They were quite kind and welcoming to my intrusive presence. Many of the congregants were actually wearing jeans. I only saw one hat woman.
I was allowed to take the Eucharist. I was sick the first time I went, so I did intinction instead of drinking, but I assume all was well because the priest did not yell at me. The wafer was translucent and melted on my tongue. I guess that Anglican doctrine includes transubstantiation, and chewing the wafer would be crunching Jesus’s bone with my molars.
The service seemed to be a time of worship for the participants. I enjoyed watching the older women as they kneeled down to pray. Their knees were frail, but they still wanted to show their piety to God. It was moving to see how personal they made their worship in what I thought could be an impersonal setting. The first time I went, I was a bit sick, so I spent most of the time feeling sorry for myself, and even took a short nap against the side of the pew during the sermon. The second time I went, I got a better feeling for the service and I was able to soak in God more while listening to the choir. The third time I went was just a joy. I watched each and every person and loved how everyone had a different way of worshiping. I noticed that the choir was made up of real people and how much they enjoyed the music. I began to enjoy the service more and thank God for such a place of beauty and fellowship.
I learned why I like liturgical and traditional services so much. The form is so pure that it allows God to shine through more easily without having to worry about the mechanics. I enjoy Bach and hymns more than praise music. There was some similarity in the readings with their church and my home church, Dayspring Baptist. I see the similar roots in tradition although both of our churches came to it through entirely different paths. Finding this point of similarity with the Anglican Church helps me understand it more. My expectations were shattered by experience. After this worship experience, I would like to visit other denominations and perhaps other religions in order to find common ground with other peoples and understand more.