Matthew Mentonis

Mrs. Lucarelli
Honors World History
October 23, 2016

Mentonis 1

Methodist Ceremony
As I entered the United Methodist Church of Morganville on Sunday morning I was
warmly greeted by a parishioner. He handed me a pamphlet that would explain all the details of
the service for the morning. The pamphlet was very similar to a catholic service booklet.
Prayers, Hymns, and songs were written in the booklet so that you could easily follow along
during the service. I have been raised as a catholic, but my father is Greek Orthodox. Besides a
catholic church and a greek orthodox church the only other service I have only attended Temple
for a Bar Mitzvah. I was excited to see what a methodist service would be like.
Attending mass at the methodist church was a completely new experience for me. The
church looked like a house from the outside and was very small in comparison to other churches
I have previously attended. Everyone in the Church seemed to know each other and have a close
and comfortable relationship. The pastor, (just like a priest or Rabbi) knew everyone's names.
When he was performing the mass it felt he was talking to you directly instead of a large group.
This made the mass feel very personal. The church was small and everyone acted as if they were
a family. During the Ceremony everyone joined in singing. The singers were accompanied by
instruments such as guitars, ukuleles, pianos, and even bongos. This made the atmosphere
extremely festive.

Mentonis 2

Besides the actual service, I was also able to attend sunday school. This was a smaller
instruction directed mainly for the Methodist children who worship there. It was a great
experience for me to have the chance to seriously talk to other kids my age. I was very interested
in hearing more about their religion. I learned several new things about their beliefs. They do
not worship Saints because they believe that God is the one true religious figure. There is also a
very strong emphasis on Community service. The teacher of the class explained to me that the
youth of the church take part in cleaning up roads and parks.
There were several similarities and differences between the catholic church and the
methodist church. All the prayers that were recited or sung were from the Bible. This is an
identical practice in the Catholic mass. The Methodist church was very small and simply
decorated. It was filled only a few pews for the parishioners and a small altar for the pastor. The
pastor was surrounded by his altar servers which is another practice common to the catholic
religion. In my Catholic Church there are over 200 pews and kneelers. My church has very
detailed stained glass that tells the story of Jesus and the stations of the cross. There are carpeted
pews, elegant candles, and robes for the priest. During the holidays my churches is covered with
floral arrangements.
Catholic Churches and Methodist Churches are both Christian churches founded
hundreds of years ago. Under the title of Christianity there are multiple religions so someone can
be Christian and Methodist or Christian and Catholic. Both religions believe in God, who
represents three different people, The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit, as one. Another belief
that both Methodists as well as Catholics believe is that Jesus was a human being at one point.

Mentonis 3

Methodists and Catholics believe that charity and helping the poor are part of one's religious
responsibilities. Both Methodists and Catholics both follow the New Testament and The old
testament in the bible. They have also both help to shape the culture and play an important part in
our history. Attending a religious ceremony other than my own was a very rewarding experience.
I felt very welcomed by everyone there. I enjoyed learning about the methodist religion and
understanding the differences and similarities to my own religion.