On reflection my classmate Jessica’s blog is accurate. Her information on the historical beginnings of the Uniting Church – the merging of the Methodist, Congregational and Presbyterian Churches in 1977 – is accurate. She also makes it clear that the Bible is the basis of the church beliefs and not tradition and that people are saved through faith in Jesus Christ who took away the world’s sin.
Jessica also gives accurate information on the two sacraments, baptism and Holy Communion. She says that the bread and wine only symbolise Christ’s body and blood but are not changed into it. She also points out that baptism is for people who believe in and confess the Christian faith. Her blog accurately says the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed are the confessions used by the UCA and that it is governed by a series of councils, not individuals (Elders, Presbytery, Synod and National Council).
There were lots of differences between Jessica’s experiences and mine at the Uniting Church. This was probably because I think she attended a baptismal service and not a normal Sunday service like me. Therefore the service she attended had no offering message or collection. No sermon was preached. There was no announcement about coming events or what was happening in the life of the church. There was no prayer for the people and their concerns, nor was there a concluding prayer. There was also no prayer of confession said. The service was short, only 30 minutes compared to just over an hour at Glebe Road. At the Albert Street Uniting the three hymns came from The Australian Hymnbook and there was only one pipe organ to accompany them. All choruses and hymns were projected on a screen in my service and accompanied by a smaller organ and a piano.
Similarities were that both churches had stained glass windows. Both services had the passing of the ‘Peace’, where the minister said ‘The peace of the Lord be always with you,' and the congregation shook hands with one another and said ‘Peace be with you,’ or ‘And also with you.’ In both services the minister lit a candle at the beginning. In Jessica’s service he said it symbolised ‘the presence of Christ and Christ being the Light of the World.’ At Glebe Road however, the minister said it was to remind us what a wonderful thing it is when sisters and brothers can live together in unity. It is difficult to compare two services with different purposes. Probably if both had been normal services they would have been more alike.
Jessica's Blog: http://djongjessica.blogspot.com
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