Cody O’Neill
COMM 3451
Intercultural Experience Blog
3-8-13
The cultural event I chose to participate in was attending Sunday mass
at North Heights Lutheran Church in Roseville with my friend Oscar
Maldonado. Oscar is 34 years old and was born and raised by his
grandparents in Guatemala. He moved from there to Minnesota in 1997
and has been attending North Heights for over three years now. I was
raised in a small Catholic town and my family was a regular fixture at
our church. Throughout my youth I witnessed on more than one occasion
Catholic children ostracizing their peers for simply being Lutheran.
The phrase ‘Devil worshipers’ was commonly used to define Lutherans.
This kind of ethnocentric belief created a culture clash between an
in-group consisting of Catholics and an out-group comprised of all other
denominations. God and religious cultural values may have had a
profoundly different meaning to me when I was growing up in New Prague
than it does to Oscar now.
Before we attended the service Oscar invited me into his home for
coffee and pastries. His wife, Claudia, is six months pregnant with
their second child. The new addition was an unexpected surprise for the
Maldonado family. Oscar goes to school full time at the University of
Minnesota and takes care of their 3.5-year-old son, Immanuel. Claudia
must work to accommodate their current lifestyle. She was unable to
attend church because she was working, which was unfortunate because I
was looking forward to meeting her. Oscar is such a kind, thoughtful
and driven individual and I expected his partner to be much the same.
Oscar has been through a rough couple of months. At the beginning of
fall semester he learned that his wife was pregnant the same week his
grandfather died. The new baby has made him very nervous because he is
not completely sure how it will work financially. His grandfather and
grandmother adopted Oscar and his siblings and raised them after their
parents abandoned them. His grandparents still reside in Guatemala and
communication has become more difficult over the years because his
grandfather had been getting sick. He bought a ticket to visit over
Christmas, but it was too late. He hadn’t been able to speak to his
grandfather for three years. Oscar has been living with a heavy heart
and a nervous mind. He deals with his struggles through his faith in
and love for God. He believes that Jesus lived a good and honest life
and that there is much strength to be gained though his words.
The Maldonado home is filled with pictures of his large family. It
exudes an aura of a loving collectivist ideology. There were colorful
plastic toys everywhere and no television. Oscar and I sat at the
dining table chatting for 45 minutes drinking coffee grown at his family
farm back home in Guatemala. It is an excellent light roast that I
have grown accustomed too. Many times on campus Oscar has pulled a
fresh pound of it out of his backpack to give me. Oscar is a very
attentive father. He entertained me while simultaneously getting
Immanuel ready for church. He patiently answered all of Immanuel’s
continual arbitrary questions and encouraged him to interact with me, a
‘new friend’. Although Immanuel is only 3.5 Oscar speaks to him like an
adult and honestly explains why things are the way they are. He does
not want to sugar coat the world for his son. Oscar understands that
throughout life Immanuel will encounter many struggles. He believes
that struggle is an important part of being human because Jesus lived a
life of perpetual struggle. He believes that his son will become more
prepared to learn from his future struggles if he experiences a world
filled with reason and consequence at a young age. It is also through
Jesus’ struggles that Oscar is able to maintain faith in the Holy
Spirit. He believes that life’s experiences are more about
understanding Jesus’ methodology than about living for himself alone.
Jesus’ moral lifestyle is able to guide his decision-making. Oscar
lives with a consistent unconscious competency that asks ‘What Would
Jesus Do?” However, Oscar’s strength and faith are derived by critical
analysis enabling a deeper understanding of the how and why of the Lord.
Oscar’s beliefs are in stark contrast to my adolescent religious
logistics. I am currently an atheist, but many years ago I would have
considered myself to be a devote Christian. Unlike Oscar, I don’t think
love is a perfect word to describe my relationship with God. Words
like fear, manipulation, or routine might be more accurate descriptors.
I prayed for forgiveness of my sins every single night before bed until
I moved out of my parent’s house because I was so unbelievably afraid
of going to Hell. I also prayed when I wanted things and was able to
polish my manipulation skills by bartering with God and playing him
against Jesus. (My parents can tell you how good I got at that.) By
the time I was in high school I didn’t give much thought to God.
Religion became a weekly routine that had to be endured.
While arriving at North Heights we pulled into the large parking lot at
a quarter to eleven. There were many people exiting the church from
9:00 mass. I made sure to drive extra slowly and let a few families
with young children and elderly couples cut me off before I parked. I
quickly noticed that I was overdressed. When I attend mass it is
customary to dress nicer than you normally would. From the traditional
attire of the Clergy down through the congregation, dress is an
important part of Catholicism. This was a casual affair. People
weren’t dressed like slobs or anything, I might describe the styles as
grocery store chic. As soon as we walked across the parking lot and
through the double doors into a long hallway lined with jackets
Immanuel’s face lit up. He loves going to church. Oscar and I dropped
him of in the children’s area with a smiling young woman. I was
surprised to see an area for children like this. It was HUGE and had
toys, toys, toys! Immanuel barely said goodbye before he was laughing
and playing with other young children. If I wasn’t already feeling the
effects of culture shock, opening the doors to the worship hall nearly
paralyzed me. Instead of long organized rows of pews with somber
worshipers being serenaded by organ blasts, there was a legitimate rock
concert going on. My immediate unconscious reaction was to start
smiling. As we walked in there were people standing and singing along
to lyrics projected on two huge screens. Above the screens were four
mega concert style speakers. Some people were waiving their arms, or
colorful flags, others were holding hands, but it seemed as if everyone
was singing joyously along. The stage was only elevated a foot or two
above ground level. On it were a gigantic drum set, cello, acoustic
guitar and harmonica all being expertly played and led by a crisp male
lead vocal. The show went on for fifteen minutes as we waited for the
service to begin. I have never seen anything like that in a church.
The room itself was rather plain. The seating was arranged in three
sections around the pastor’s front podium. It resembled the shape of a
half flower. Each person had his or her own cushioned chair. There
were no elaborate antiquated statues or stained glass. Instead of the
traditional Catholic crucifix image of Christ being tortured on a cross,
they maintained a simple symbol in the form of a large wooden cross.
It stood maybe nine feet tall and was positioned in the far left behind
the stage.
As the band took their seats the pastor came in from behind the
congregation of approximately 200 souls. He was dressed as casual as
anyone else. I could not see any visual clues distinguishing him as the
pastor. His first request of the congregation was a wonderful lesson
in haptics. He asked us to take a moment to greet the people seated
around us. I don’t normally take well to strangers, but this particular
experience was rather encouraging. For the next five minutes the place
erupted into a euphoric frenzy. There were people running across the
room to give other people hugs and heartfelt handshakes. I found myself
hugging strangers and engaging in delightful conversation. Oscar is
quite popular with the senior ladies. There were a few that
deliberately made their way over to him to say good morning. Oscar
explained that the inviting and loving nature of the congregation was
the main reason he chose this church. When someone from his
congregation is struggling and needs help they are sure to find a
compassionate and understanding ear just by talking to another member.
Most families where I grew up left the socializing outside of worship.
It is also uncommon to ask for help or repent from anyone other than a
priest. Oscar keeps coming back because he relishes the opportunity to
help someone the way he has been helped.
The pastor opened the service with a joke that gained my complete
attention. “When is baseball first mentioned in the bible? In the big
inning.” Next he asked us to be thankful for the beautiful sunshine
and prospects of a warm spring just around the corner. In fact, to
build excitement for the new season of rebirth he challenged us to come
to service next week in our coolest summer party outfits and bring in
our favorite summer dish. He said he would bring in beach balls to pass
around during the service and just “wants the congregation to “have fun!” By
this time my mind is totally racing, “W.t.f. is going on here! Theses
people are sweet!” They don’t live a worship style filled with regret
and fear and seem genuinely happy. His service was tailored around
interpreting God’s word on an individual level and the benefits of
self-meditation. I remember long readings and sermons describing how
Jesus did this for me so I have to act a certain way for him otherwise
his dad will burn me alive for all eternity. It is no wonder I began to
resent my religion and became an atheist. We took communion and the
band played a few more songs, this time with a female vocalist. I did
not sing outloud, but I hummed along and spoke the prayers.
After the service concluded it was a similar environment as when it
began. It was clear that these people value a happy and honest
collectivist community. They appeared to be mostly white and middle
class, but Oscar describes an exceedingly open and inviting community
regardless of their homologous racial and ethnic appearance. Members
were once again bustling about and carrying on animated conversations.
It didn’t seem like anyone was leaving except for Oscar and myself. He
wanted to get Immanuel home.
This was truly an eye opening experience for me. I was surprisingly
relieved to become aware of a place as welcoming as this. I realized
that my negative perceptions of Christianity might be stemming from
ethnocentric and oppressive projections I developed as a child. Gospel
doesn’t need to be interpreted literally in order to understand the
value. I mean, no one could live inside the belly of a whale for a few
days, right? Oscar has shown me that asking God hard questions and
digging for the answers can bring happiness and a strong sense of self
worth. It is not always easy and most people struggle, but it is
through the struggle that we derive perspective and understanding of how
to live just and moral lives.
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