Hayley Irish

                                       Places of Worship

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        The two denominations I am comparing are Roman Catholic and Baptist. The main feature in a Roman Catholic Church is the altar. Other features of the Catholic Church are the sacristy, confessional and the stations of the cross.

        The altar is where they offer themselves to God and the sacrifice of Jesus’ death on Calvary. Jesus is the perfect sacrifice because he is sinless. At mass the priest blesses the bread and the wine at the altar and stands behind it facing the people. It is reanacting the Last Supper with Jesus and his disciples. The priest takes the place of Jesus and they are his disciples. They file down the church and receive the bread, either in their hands or their mouth, just before the altar steps. After, they take a step to the side of the altar and sometimes have a sip of wine from the chalice. When they say “Amen” after receiving the bread they are renewing the covenant and they become fully united with Jesus. They have communion at every Mass.

        In a Baptist church they don’t call it an altar they call it a table this is because there is no sacrifice being offered there. Baptists have communion about twice every month, once in a morning service and another in an evening service. The procedure is different for the Baptist church compared to a Catholic church. The people stay in their benches and the minister or elders come round and hand the bread to you. They then bring a tray of tiny glasses round. Each of these is filled with a small amount of fruit juice; the people take a glass, drink it and then put the glass back.

        In a Catholic church the unused Eucharist is stored in the tabernacle. When there is Eucharist in there, the sanctuary lamp is lit. The bread has been made holy so they won’t discard it. However in a Baptist church the bread hasn’t been made holy so they throw it away after service. They use there communion as a fellowship meal in memory Jesus’ words “Where two or three come together in my name, I am there with them,” Matt 18:20.

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        One of the main features of a Baptist church is the pulpit. The word is there main focal point. They preach for about 30-40 minutes and have bible readings. In a Roman Catholic Church they read from the gospel and preach for about 10 minutes. This will take place in the pulpit or on the lecturn. Baptist churches are more a pulpit centred worship whereas Roman Catholics are Liturgical worshippers. Roman Catholic Church is a universal church it always has the same readings throughout the year. But in a Baptist church the minister chooses his own readings and prayers for ...

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