On the other hand, the Quaker Meeting House also known as the Society of Friends, do not believe in sacrament hence they do not practice the Eucharist. They have no use, therefore of an altar. However, in the place of an altar is a table at the centre of the room and on the table are some flowers and a few books one of which is usually the bible. The table is the focal point of the otherwise plain room of the Quaker Meeting House.
One of the features in the Catholic Church is the crucifix. The crucifix has a figure of Jesus on it. It represents the suffering of Jesus, by which all Christians believe they are saved.
The Quaker meeting House, similar to the Roman Catholic Church, has a symbol to remind them of the sufferings of Jesus by which they are saved. However, in the society of Friend’s case, it is a plain wooden cross. This is because they are keen on living simple lives and might think that anything more than a plain wooden cross is extravagant.
Another feature in the Roman Catholic Church is the Stations of the Cross. These are depictions of scenes giving account of Jesus’ last journey to Calvary. These stations are usually represented by a cross and a picture or a carving of the incident that occurred. There are fourteen stations positioned around the Catholic Church. This means that people can follow the stations and experience the last journey of Christ.
On the contrary, the Quaker Meeting House does not have the Stations of the Cross. They do not believe in the Stations of the Cross. They believe that they can experience Christ through the Spirit.
In the Catholic Church, the service of the word is also very important, thus a pulpit and a lectern are also important features of worship in the Catholic Church. The bible is usually placed on and read off the lectern by the priest who is standing on the pulpit where the whole congregation can see him.
On the contrary, the Quaker Meeting House has no pulpit or lectern. This is due to the fact that the Quakers do not emphasise on the preaching of the word, their main focus is waiting on the Spirit. It is also due to the fact that they do not have a priest who leads on the service. In their case, any one can proceed to do the exhortation for the day; they believe that their service depends on how the Spirit of God leads them. Consequently the Society of Friend’s does not have a set form of worship.
Besides the pulpit and the lectern, there are also other features in the Roman Catholic Church, such as the Tabernacle. This is the place where the consecrated hosts for communion of the sick are kept. It is also where what is left over from the Eucharist is preserved given that it cannot be thrown away, as it is holy. It is usually a wooden or a metal box, which is fixed into a wall or standing on a plinth. It can be presented in different ways. If it is set on a plinth, it is called a tabernacle but if it hangs from the ceiling it is called a pyx, which is the name also given to a small silver box containing the hosts when the communion is taken to the homes of the sick. This feature is an important aspect of worship as it means that sick people can also partake in the Eucharist, if they are not in the state to attend the mass.
Dissimilarly, the Quaker Meeting House does not have a tabernacle, this is because they do not believe in the communion, there is hence, no reason to have a feature that is used to preserve the left over portions from communion or take the communion to the homes of the sick.
In the Roman Catholic Churches, the congregation are seated on pews that are facing the front of the nave, where the altar, tabernacle and pulpit are situated; this arrangement is suitable as it is then easy for the congregation to see the priest clearly and all the activities going on.
In contrast, the Quaker Meeting Houses usually have their pews in square facing each other. This is convenient for them as they do not have a priest and their services are more of discussion and sharing their messages with each other. The arrangement of the seats is therefore practical, so that they all can see each other talk.
The Roman Catholic Church has features that serve a purpose as well as beautifying the church, for example, the stained glass windows. These are drawings illustrating incidents and scenes in the lives of various saints. This is very useful as it acts as teaching aids as well.
Quite the opposite of the Catholic Church, the Quaker Meeting House does not feature stained glass windows. It is void of any beatifying feature except for the flowers that are kept on the table next to the bible. The reason for this being that they believe everything should be kept plain and simple as they were during the times of Jesus and his disciples.
In conclusion, both the Roman Catholic Church and the Quaker Meeting House have various features found in those respective churches, each feature having their own use and significance. The difference in the features of both churches is because they have different beliefs, therefore they worship differently. The distinguished features therefore have different functions to suit their various styles of worship.
