Audra Wagner-Carlberg

Name of Church: St. James Episcopal Church

Location: Montclair NJ
Date of Visit: May 10, 2015
What impressed you most about your visit?
What impressed me was the importance of community at the church
and how important it was for everyone to participate in the decision
making of the community.
In what ways was this place of worship similar to your religious
tradition?
It was similar to my religion because it had a strong community and as
an atheist I believe in having a strong community and living in the
moment.
Can you briefly describe some of the parts of the service ie: leaders,
music, prayers, readings, congregational participation etc.?
In the service we listened to some beautiful music that I really enjoyed
because it was nice to hear music with a context aside from hearing
music that is on the radio and has no context. I went to Katherine HallLipinskis moms church so it was nice to hear someone who I sort of
knew talk for my first time going to church.
In what ways did the physical space enrich the spiritual experience?
The physical space enriched the experience because there was so
much detail and beauty that was put into the design of the church.
Was this a worthwhile experience for you? In what ways yes, in what
ways no?
This was definitely a worthwhile experience for me because my mom is
Christian and my dad is Jewish and it was my first time going to a
church service I felt that it helped me understand my roots more than I
knew before.