Exposure to an Outgroup I Am Spiritually

Exposure to an Outgroup

I am spiritually inclined though I have never been part of an organized religious group. That is, I believe in God, or as the Native Americans refer to Him, "The Great Spirit," the enormous and mysterious power that is responsible for the "Big Bang" and for everything that has evolved in the Universe and on Planet Earth. But as to heaven and hell and the rituals that faiths set out as paths to eternal life, I am not certain that those "places" really exist.

My Exposure to an Outgroup

Meantime I am open-minded and try not to pass judgment on what others believe about God and religion. There is a little congregation called "Friday Fellowship" not far from my neighborhood that meets three Fridays a month. A friend of mine from a job I used to have attends regularly, and invited me. I did attend, and this was certainly an outgroup for me.

My assumptions (from what little I knew) were pretty vague, but I had imagined that people might be shouting their beliefs (like a group of evangelicals I visited with my dad several years ago), standing up and yelling things like "Praise the Lord!" Or "God Hear Our Prayers!" I also assumed that people would be riled up by the pastor, and would be called to come up to the front of the room to testify about their faith. I actually researched the stereotypical evangelical setting but didn't realize this was not that kind of religion. These people were Christians, believed in Jesus Christ, but they had their own unique way of worshipping.

What was it like? First of all I was welcomed as a visitor very graciously. My friend did not introduce me, but the other 20 or so worshippers could see I was with him (Sam). In the room there were three round tables, with several candles burning on each table. About six chairs were pulled up around each table. There was a large wooden cross on a table in the front of the room. A young man with an acoustic guitar came into the room strumming some chords and humming (no words were sung). The leader read the scripture; he announced it as the Book of Acts 2:22 -- 36. I looked up some of the lines later: "David was not ascended into the heavens, but the Lord said, sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool…" I wondered at that when I heard him read it, and since the leader didn't explain the passage, I still wonder what that really meant to this group. I asked Sam later; he wasn't sure what it meant.

After the group took communion, there was a little drama that teenagers put on. One said, "Repent, and be baptized, everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven." The other said, "We shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." And one by one, nearly every member of the little congregation went up to the front of the room and confessed sins out loud. When each was through, he or she drove a nail (they were small finishing nails) into the base of the big wooden cross. A couple people had trouble with the hammer. After the final prayer, each person's feet was washed; participants turned their chairs around, removed shoes and socks, and there was a green plastic pan with some kind of sweet-smelling oil in the water, one pan for each table. There was incense in the room while the foot washing procedure took place. As people finished drying their feet, and put shoes and socks back on, an offering was taken by the teenagers that had put on the drama.