, Research Paper
A Sense of Community by Rituals
& # 8220 ; In Christ, we who are many form one organic structure and each member belongs to all the others & # 8221 ; ( Romans 12.5 ) . From that
definition, human & # 8217 ; s innate demand to bond together is evident, supplying the footing of a community. In the spiritual
sense, a community can be described as the interaction between a group of persons. All communities need
separating factors that non merely unify the members in idea but besides in action. Rituals within the community
are traits that provide merely that. They help qualify and unify the group within the organisation. In Religious
Universes, William Paden describes the term ritual as a & # 8220 ; signifier of expressive action. & # 8221 ; & # 8220 ; It says things that can non be
said as efficaciously in any other medium. It focuses, shows, enacts, creates, remembers and transforms & # 8221 ; ( Paden
120 ) . Rituals, whether they are straight inside the church service or making beyond into the surrounding
community, have the ability to transform God & # 8217 ; s will into executable actions. In Spring Hills Baptist church, a big
accent is placed on the community and it & # 8217 ; s rites. In order to specify the community within Spring Hills, one
must analyze the rites and service and how they relate to the larger plants of the church.
Spring Hills has really alone facets of architecture and engineering that make it rather comfy. The church is
simply a few old ages old, so the construction is deeply modern and geometric. The focal lines are stiff with no
sense of curves. The fold convenes on covered chairs alternatively of church benchs, and the white walls intensify the
brightness and outrageousness from the already graphic illuming. There are besides no stained glass Windowss, but alternatively
big pained Windowss that allow a batch of visible radiation to come in. Such bright illuming supports everyone cognizant and awake.
The ceiling is reasonably raised, but remains invisible due to fact that it does non hold any designs to pull
attending to it. Nothing reverberations in the sanctuary, which allows people to speak at a regular speech production voice and
everything is really solid. It is the exact antonym of a museum, where
Radliff, Mathewson, Zamberlan
frequently times there is experiencing that if a incorrect move is made, something might interrupt. Here everything is comfortably
strong and unafraid. Peoples do non hold to be cautious in fright of pulling attending to themselves. The edifice
extends out even further to incorporate a school, which explains why the sanctuary has markers on the rug for
usage as a secondary school and other multipurpose maps. The usage of engineering besides adds to the efficiency. During
the service there is a assortment of limelights, sound equipment, and projectors, and musical instruments used. To the
right of the curate there was a full sized stone set, and to the left of him a 40 member choir. All of the people
involved wore regular frock apparels, nil uniform. This gave the consequence that they had no authorization over the
fold and the instrumentalists were merely utilizing their endowments to praise God.
One evident facet of the rite of garnering together on Sunday is that it non merely draws the fold
together physically, but besides has a inclination to bond them emotionally. Society offers few opportunities for this degree of
engagement, which intensifies the feeling of belonging at church. The strength offered by a group of people is
easier than standing entirely. It is really hard to stand entirely and besides be strong. This sentiment is reiterated in
Hebrews 10:19 & # 8220 ; Banding together can supply the stimulation that will assist trusters turn in the grace and
cognition of Christ. & # 8221 ; The support each member can leave to other members contributes to the promotion up
the spiritual ladder. During their day-to-day lives, the members are destined to give up to transgress. Because of this, they
necessitate a changeless reclamation of their religion in order to avoid a state of affairs out of their control. If one individual stumbles out
of line, they can trust on their fellow trusters to take them back in the right way. One 17-year-old member of
the church, Steve Tuttle, said & # 8220 ; If I & # 8217 ; m making something that does non laud God, I can number on my friends to
Radliff, Mathewson, Zamberlan
demo me how I can better my actions and endorse their point up with scripture. & # 8221 ; There is besides merely a communal
credence holding the sacraments unneeded for redemption, but instead a bilateral relationship with Christ and
the nurturing and support from the community. The curate encourages members to be committed and have a
personal relationship with God for redemption, there is no reference of executing peculiar actions to derive
credence into Heaven.
Another more touchable ritual in the church is singing. Voicing emotions is a manner people join
together. When the curate of congratulations, Brad Pikington, approached the inquiry of why the church does non hold
hymnbooks readily available and alternatively uses projection screens, he responded & # 8221 ; Without hymnbooks, the
fold is more united. Their voices are louder and more outstanding their energy is more directed towards
God and the Church. & # 8221 ; Choruses non merely unite the community into joint congratulations, but besides let & # 8217 ; s persons convey
their peculiar emotions and sentiment in their worship. Often times people are so moved with emotion they
raise theirs arms together in congratulations. Normally, there are a assortment of vocals within the discourse, in order to pull out
distinguishable emotions that later clarifies the emotional connexion. One sentiment, which exemplifies these
emotions, is the exultant cry of & # 8216 ; Amen & # 8217 ; . Amons, in some respects is a & # 8220 ; party cry & # 8221 ; . When the people in the
folds shout the simple two-syllable word, emotions such as merriment, joy and celebration can be conveyed.
Singing is non the lone ritual that joined the fold together.
Less formal rites besides create the same sense of community. For case, offerings are besides a manner that the
members of the community can prolong the church together and guarantee its continuance. Harmonizing to Minister
Pinkington & # 8220 ; every member of the fold has to experience the demand to take part in the church and portion the
burden. & # 8221 ; The apprehension that donating
Radliff, Mathewson, Zamberlan
money binds everyone in a common confederation confirms a common end in the promotion of the church. It is
besides understood that funding would non be possible without everyone & # 8217 ; s assist. Each
hebdomad a few members of the church take clip to lend refreshments for the church. It is a focal point of
socialising before and after the service. A simple act such as this establishes personal relationships within the
fold. It gives the members a sense of integrity and even security. During this clip one can feel that their
relationship extends beyond Sunday forenoon, with talk of hoops games, kids & # 8217 ; s activities, school
maps, work experiences or merely sharing something of import that happened to them that we
At one point or another, everyone has felt shame and diffidence about physical lower status. In Autobiography of a
Face, Lucy Grealy & # 8217 ; s battle with malignant neoplastic disease appeared minor in comparing to her feelings of loathsomeness because
of the malformation it caused. While coming to footings with who she is, the effects of society & # 8217 ; s emphasis on beauty and its
unforgiving cultural mirror is enhanced by her gender. Females in our society experience more compelled to accommodate to the
prescribed criterions of attraction. By agencies of positive and negative events, she transforms her bad luck
into a disclosure about beauty and cosmopolitan truths.
The confusion and solitariness of childhood began to steep her as kids began to badger and handle her
as inferior: & # 8220 ; Hey girl return of your monster mask & # 8211 ; oops. She & # 8217 ; s non have oning a mask! & # 8221 ; ( 118 ) . The Chemotherapy
caused hair loss and a sallow visual aspect and the legion operations left her face deformed. She felt ugly as a
response to people & # 8217 ; s public show of daze. As if the stares and susurrations were non rough plenty, some kids
would even name her & # 8216 ; baldy & # 8217 ; as they would run by and strike hard off her chapeau. At school, misss would stare at her
disfiguration and male childs would laugh unashamedly as they pointed and blurted out abuses. All of these experiences
added to the sense of shame that consumed her. Our civilization & # 8217 ; s preoccupation with physical beauty is decidedly
manifested in our young person and striplings. At an early age, Lucy was exposed to the cultural thrust for flawlessness in
exchange for credence.
Halloween was a cherished dark for Lucy as she was turning up. It gave her an chance to interrupt
out of her shell and allow her true personality radiance through. Behind a mask, she felt protected from any awful
remarks because no 1 could admit her physical defect. Without a 2nd idea, she would inquire
inquiries and do bold remarks. One of her observations led to one of her eventual disclosures. & # 8220 ; My sister
and her friends ne’er had to worry about their visual aspect, or so it seemed to me, so why didn & # 8217 ; t they ever feel
as bold and every bit happy as I felt that dark? & # 8221 ; ( 120 ) . In the long tally, she recognizes that people have to come to
footings with feelings of ugliness and imperfectness and that people will ever be envying person else & # 8217 ; s life. She
was non wholly entirely in her feelings of lack. The emphasis for beauty is placed on all adult females, and most
feel they besides have defects in attraction.
Lucy found a beginning of safety from society & # 8217 ; s ferociousness in animate beings. She vowed to love her Canis familiariss and
cats so extensively that it would turn out her worthy to have that same kind of love. Her romantic relationship
with her Equus caballuss supplied her with the apprehension that the features that make people beautiful are non
ever seeable. There was a complete trust that aided in the binding of their personalities. Her yearss spent with the
Equus caballuss were filled with smilings, laughter, and felicity. Performing good with the Equus caballuss gave her a sense of
self-pride and accomplishment to focus on her life around. Society made her feel excessively ugly for love or credence.
The animate beings were non influenced by her outward visual aspect, but alternatively by her actions, personality, and spirit:
& # 8220 ; Horses neither disapproved or approved of what I looked like. All that counted was how I treated them, how my
actions weighted themselves in the universe & # 8221 ; ( 152 ) . These ideal relationships non merely allowed her to see the
valiant, true, intense love she longed for in human comrades, but besides gave her a manner of get bying with her
solitariness. She besides came to understand the existent beauty of the universe, the beauty that swells beneath the surface
of every being.
The abrasiveness of her equals did non stop when she became older. Groups of bibulous work forces would hoot at
her from a dist
ance, but taunt her once they saw her face. The male childs in High School had done the same thing, but
alternatively would go soundless with rejection when they saw her face. Another incident that smothered her
self-pride happened when a homeless adult male, imploring for money, approached her from buttocks. When she
turned around and revealed her face, he apologized and gave her a dollar measure. These happenings demonstrate
the intricate relationship between beauty and dignity in our society. The improper, petroleum, drunken work forces were
merely seeking to come across as tough and cool to their friends. The homeless adult male obviously illustrates that even
though he likely doesn & # 8217 ; Ts have a occupation, instruction, or economic position, he considers her ugliness to do her
worse off than him. Her feelings of insufficiency were confirmed by society & # 8217 ; s relentless intervention toward her
visual aspect.
During one of her recessions in self-esteem, her friend signifier college, Greg, pulled her up by taking her
dancing at homosexual nines. Bing encompassed by homosexual males gave her a cover of security: & # 8220 ; No one took
notice of me & # 8211 ; I was without value in this universe. It was easy to sublimate my ain desire and prolong my feelings
of physical ineptitude & # 8221 ; ( 201 ) . She knew that none of the work forces at that place cared about her attraction because in
their heads she was no less desirable than any other female. As each round of the music moved through her organic structure,
she was able to allow her emotions escape. During her senior twelvemonth of college she met a group of cross-dressers that
experimented with her muliebrity by distributing on tonss of make-up. These experiences helped get down to specify
her feminine visual aspect and credence from males.
Lucy believed that non holding a lover meant she was finally unlovable, and excessively ugly to of all time acquire a
lover. Sexual activity was her redemption. & # 8220 ; If merely I could acquire person to hold sex with me, it would intend I was attractive,
that person could love me & # 8221 ; ( 206 ) . Miniskirts, supporter belts, high heels and her dedication to her healthy, fit organic structure
allowed her to be more feminine as she added to her list of sexual brushs. Her certainty that merely love from
another individual could turn out her value left her looking for love in all the incorrect topographic points. How she, as a adult female,
would happen her topographic point in society would non be genuinely revealed to her until subsequently. Sexual activity and manner did non make full her nothingness,
but did play an of import function in her self-definition and penetration for demand of something more definite.
In our society, adult females are particularly pressured to have on their beauty on the surface. Lucy found hers
within as she accepted her obvious disfiguration. After this disclosure she experienced a minute of freedom:
& # 8220 ; I & # 8217 ; vitamin D had [ freedom ] behind my Halloween mask all those old ages. As a kid I expected my release to come from
acquiring a new face put on, but now I saw it came from casting my image & # 8221 ; ( 222 ) . Throughout her life she tried to
overcome the tease, the stares, the susurrations, the absence of love, and the overall abrasiveness of her equals by
happening mercantile establishments for her laden emotions of solitariness. Although Halloween, animate beings, dancing, manner
look, and sex gave her some compensation, none of these could give her complete confidence. She
had longed to be accepted by society & # 8217 ; s criterions, but came to footings with her feelings and acknowledged her true
ego. As her psyche unfolded, her personality was no longer restrained by feelings of insecurity and demand to conform
to feminine criterions.
At one point or another, everyone has felt shame and diffidence about physical lower status. In Autobiography of a
Face, Lucy Grealy & # 8217 ; s battle with malignant neoplastic disease appeared minor in comparing to her feelings of loathsomeness because
of the malformation it caused. While coming to footings with who she is, the effects of society & # 8217 ; s emphasis on beauty and its
unforgiving cultural mirror is enhanced by her gender. Females in our society experience more compelled to accommodate to the
prescribed criterions of attraction. By agencies of positive and negative events, she transforms her bad luck
into a disclosure about beauty and cosmopolitan truths.
The confusion and solitariness of childhood began to steep her as kids began to badger and handle her
as inferior: & # 8220 ; Hey girl return of your monster mask & # 8211 ; oops. She & # 8217 ; s non have oning a mask! & # 8221 ; ( 118 ) . The Chemotherapy
caused hair loss and a sallow visual aspect and the legion operations left her face deformed. She felt ugly as a
response to people & # 8217 ; s public show of daze. As if the stares and susurrations were non rough plenty, some kids
would even name her & # 8216 ; baldy & # 8217 ; as they would run by and strike hard off her chapeau. At school, misss would stare at her
disfiguration and male childs would laugh unashamedly as they pointed and blurted out abuses. All of these experiences
added to the sense of shame that consumed her. Our civilization & # 8217 ; s preoccupation with physical beauty is decidedly
manifested in our young person and striplings. At an early age, Lucy was exposed to the cultural thrust for flawlessness in
exchange for credence.
Halloween was a cherished dark for Lucy as she was turning up. It gave her an chance to interrupt
out of her shell and allow her true personality radiance through. Behind a mask, she felt protected from any awful
remarks because no 1 could admit her physical defect. Without a 2nd idea, she would inquire
inquiries and do bold remarks. One of her observations led to one of her eventual disclosures. & # 8220 ; My sister
and her friends ne’er had to worry about their visual aspect, or so it seemed to me, so why didn & # 8217 ; t they ever feel
as bold and every bit happy as I felt that dark? & # 8221 ; ( 120 ) . In the long tally, she recognizes that people have to come to
footings with feelings of ugliness and imperfectness and that people will ever be envying person else & # 8217 ; s life. She
was non wholly entirely in her feelings of lack. The emphasis for beauty is placed on all adult females, and most
feel they besides have defects in attraction.
Lucy found a beginning of safety from society & # 8217 ; s ferociousness in animate beings. She vowed to love her Canis familiariss and
cats so extensively that it would turn out her worthy to have that same kind of love. Her romantic relationship
with her Equus caballuss supplied her with the apprehension that the features that make people beautiful are non
ever seeable. There was a complete trust that aided in the binding of their personalities. Her yearss spent with the
Equus caballuss were filled with smilings, laughter, and felicity. Performing good with the Equus caballuss gave her a sense of
self-pride and accomplishment to focus on her life around. Society made her feel excessively ugly for love or credence.
The animate beings were non influenced by her outward visual aspect, but alternatively by her actions, personality, and spirit:
& # 8220 ; Horses neither disapproved or approved of what I looked like. All that counted was how I treated them, how my
actions weighted themselves in the universe & # 8221 ; ( 152 ) . These ideal relationships non merely allowed her to see the
valiant, true, intense love she longed for in human comrades, but besides gave her a manner of get bying with her
solitariness. She besides came to understand the existent beauty of the universe, the beauty that swells beneath the surface
of every being.
The abrasiveness of her equals did non stop when she became older. Groups of bibulous work forces would hoot at
her from a distance, but taunt her once they saw her face. The male childs in High School had done the same thing, but
alternatively would go soundless with rejection when they saw her face. Another incident that smothered her
self-pride happened when a homeless adult male, imploring for money, approached her from buttocks. When she
turned around and revealed her face, he apologized and gave her a dollar measure. These happenings demonstrate
the intricate relationship between beauty and dignity in our society. The improper, petroleum, drunken work forces were
merely seeking to come across as tough and cool to their friends. The homeless adult male obviously illustrates that even
though he likely doesn & # 8217 ; Ts have a occupation, instruction, or economic position, he considers her ugliness to do her
worse off than him. Her feelings of insufficiency were confirmed by society & # 8217 ; s relentless intervention toward her
visual aspect.
During one of her recessions in self-esteem, her friend signifier college, Greg, pulled her up by taking her
dancing at homosexual nines. Bing encompassed by homosexual males gave her a cover of security: & # 8220 ; No one took
notice of me & # 8211 ; I was without value in this universe. It was easy to sublimate my ain desire and prolong my feelings
of physical ineptitude & # 8221 ; ( 201 ) . She knew that none of the work forces at that place cared about her attraction because in
their heads she was no less desirable than any other female. As each round of the music moved through her organic structure,
she was able to allow her emotions escape. During her senior twelvemonth of college she met a group of cross-dressers that
experimented with her muliebrity by distributing on tonss of make-up. These experiences helped get down to specify
her feminine visual aspect and credence from males.
Lucy believed that non holding a lover meant she was finally unlovable, and excessively ugly to of all time acquire a
lover. Sexual activity was her redemption. & # 8220 ; If merely I could acquire person to hold sex with me, it would intend I was attractive,
that person could love me & # 8221 ; ( 206 ) . Miniskirts, supporter belts, high heels and her dedication to her healthy, fit organic structure
allowed her to be more feminine as she added to her list of sexual brushs. Her certainty that merely love from
another individual could turn out her value left her looking for love in all the incorrect topographic points. How she, as a adult female,
would happen her topographic point in society would non be genuinely revealed to her until subsequently. Sexual activity and manner did non make full her nothingness,
but did play an of import function in her self-definition and penetration for demand of something more definite.
In our society, adult females are particularly pressured to have on their beauty on the surface. Lucy found hers
within as she accepted her obvious disfiguration. After this disclosure she experienced a minute of freedom:
& # 8220 ; I & # 8217 ; vitamin D had [ freedom ] behind my Halloween mask all those old ages. As a kid I expected my release to come from
acquiring a new face put on, but now I saw it came from casting my image & # 8221 ; ( 222 ) . Throughout her life she tried to
overcome the tease, the stares, the susurrations, the absence of love, and the overall abrasiveness of her equals by
happening mercantile establishments for her laden emotions of solitariness. Although Halloween, animate beings, dancing, manner
look, and sex gave her some compensation, none of these could give her complete confidence. She
had longed to be accepted by society & # 8217 ; s criterions, but came to footings with her feelings and acknowledged her true
ego. As her psyche unfolded, her personality was no longer restrained by feelings of insecurity and demand to conform
to feminine criterions.
346