Church visits

Visiting: As a student of religion, I've seen how various factors in a church visit affect spiritual growth and religious attitudes as one searches for a church home. I visit churches to observe, firsthand, how they present themselves to visitors. My visits, with a few exceptions, focus on Christian churches. This blog contains accounts of those visits, and related posts. I look for the following in my visits:
• Friendliness and warmth
• Genuine welcome, true Christian hospitality
• Effective, well-delivered bible-based main teaching
• Music deepening the worship, not just entertainment

Map to churches I have visited.
My email: churchvisits@gmail.com


Contributors

Chris Thompson

Chris Thompson, an amateur biblical scholar and student of religions, is a member of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and Society for Biblical Literature (SBL). He enjoys AAR/SBL where he studies, first hand, with worldwide religious scholars. A management consultant, skilled in all aspects of 360-degree feedback programs and human resource management systems, he practices these skills as Workforce Consulting. He lives in Anchorage.

ON THE WEB

Google map with visited churches

As I visit churches, I'll post their locations on this map.

Archive

Central Lutheran: Warm and Caring - 11/3/2009 10:10 am

Anchorage Bible Fellowship: Not as Hidden Now - 10/28/2009 11:11 am

Anchorage Bible Fellowship: Hidden on Elmore - 10/18/2009 1:51 pm

Church Experiment Reduces Sanctuary Noise - 10/11/2009 9:59 am

St. John UMC: Evening Service Option #4 - 10/4/2009 5:03 pm

The Power of One - 9/26/2009 10:24 pm

ChangePoint: Evening Service Option #3 - 9/19/2009 8:59 pm

Cornerstone: 2nd Visit - Still Solid & Welcoming - 9/12/2009 10:21 am

Looking for a Service in Anchorage: A Drive-by Account - 9/5/2009 1:51 pm

Anchorage Church of Christ: Good Service...Welcome Needs Work - 8/29/2009 10:59 am

He’s Just ‘Alright’ - 8/21/2009 11:00 pm

Trinity's Community Caring Extends to Children With Special Needs - 8/14/2009 10:47 am

St. John UMC: A Bright Light In Special Needs Leadership - 8/6/2009 2:20 pm

Abbott Loop: 2nd Visit - Not Much Change - 7/31/2009 2:41 pm

Sunday Evening Church: Trinity Presbyterian's '7:07' - 7/23/2009 10:46 pm

Saturday Evening Church: Faith Christian Community - 7/17/2009 6:20 am

First CME: Underattended Gem on 36th - 7/9/2009 11:22 pm

Chapel of the Cross: "B Team" but Friendly - 7/3/2009 4:12 pm

Life Church: Lively & Honoring Fathers - 6/26/2009 5:08 pm

Hillside-O'Malley SDA Church: And the Lord Rested the Seventh Day... - 6/18/2009 11:18 pm

The Crossing @ Birchwood: A Work in Progress - 6/11/2009 8:11 pm

ChangePoint Finally Delivers...For the Most Part - 6/2/2009 11:31 pm

full archive »

Holy Week: The End Approaches

Posted by Chris Thompson

Posted: April 9, 2009 - 4:52 pm

Comments (0) |

The Anchorage area is well into Holy Week, the culmination of Lent, which leads up to Easter Sunday. Many churches, Protestant and Catholic tradition alike, celebrate the various ritual days of Holy Week. The most important observed days, are today and ahead. In Anchorage Daily News' Thursday paper, a double center section highlighted all the various services available, noted below, with their times.

Thursday, today, is known as Maundy Thursday. It commemorates the last supper and the institution of the Eucharist or Communion.

Friday, tomorrow, is known as Good Friday and commemorates the day of Christ's death. A mournful day, it is a time of reflection on the mysterious nature of Christ's sacrifice for humanity.

Saturday, known as Holy Saturday, commemorates Christ's time in the tomb. Generally, it is observed with silence, prayer and vigils.

Sunday, known as Easter Sunday, often starts with sunrise services to commemorate Christ's morning resurrection. In many churches, Easter Sunday services are the most attended services of the year. These services are joyful and filled with praises to God and much hope.

However, some churches do not recognize Easter by special observances. In these churches, they attempt to emphasize all aspects of Easter throughout the year as they are so integral to Christian belief. Wikipedia has a thorough discussion of Holy Week observances here. Our Christian traditions are full of meaning and hope. Please take an opportunity to learn of a new tradition of which you may be unfamiliar.


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