Chippewa United Methodist Church

Today we worshiped at Chippewa United Methodist Church, 2545 Darlington Road, Beaver Falls, PA 15010, 724.843.4828, www.chippewaumc.org, Rev. Rodney E. Smith, Lead Pastor.


Bob’s thoughts:

I noticed no visitor or handicapped parking area or signage, but parking seemed adequate. We had a little time before the service to look around a bit and find restrooms; there is some directional signage.

In the narthex area we found a box of business cards for members to give when they invite people to attend. They contain they address and all contact information for the church along with days and times of worship services. What an excellent idea.

The worship was contemporary and we were prepared for it to be loud so we sat in the last pew. We didn’t notice till the music started that there was a row of speakers for the last few pews. The loudness, obnoxious bass, and poor balance between the audios drove us from the Sanctuary. There were chairs in the narthex area and an usher, realizing we had a problem with the volume, offered the elevator to the balcony. It would have been a good choice as there were windows to the Sanctuary but there were also speakers turned up.

Announcements were given before the service, but all the noise from the narthex area drowned out most of it.

I was surprised that the contemporary worship and Sunday school were scheduled for the same time.

The offering was taken before the Word, but maybe this is normal in the Methodist Church. As it was we were sitting in the chairs outside of the Sanctuary and could not get the ushers’ attention with our offering.

A large screen was down for the worship so I don’t know if there was a cross. It seemed like very Presbyterian seating as no one was in the front several pews; perhaps it was just too loud for them also. There is a closed circuit TV set up outside the Sanctuary, and from our vantage point we could see most of the parishioners during the praise worship. I was surprised at the lack of passion exhibited by the congregation, making it seem unexpectedly like performance worship.

The narthex area noise and coffee room chatter drowned out a lot of the sermon; what I could catch was about our faith, what do we really believe? We are drawn to the world’s way, to wallow in self-pity. It’s time to wake up the church.

There is an impressive schedule of events for the week, and a remarkable prayer list. There is a lot here for members but I could only find one small mention of mission.

Jan’s thoughts:

Some weeks I feel like we have to work to worship.

This church was promising upon our arrival – lots of parking, seasonal decorations outside (by seasonal I mean fall, not Halloween), a clean, modern, well-kept facility with very good signage and clean restrooms, a large but very informative – and not unwieldy – bulletin, even a couple of friendly people. (As a visitor it is common to be ignored by most church members when there are 2 or more services – people simply figure you generally attend another service so they tend not to greet you.)

This church has three services, and we intentionally attended the 9:45 contemporary service. We looked forward to singing some of our favorite worship songs and experiencing a relaxed atmosphere. We found seats in the very back row, but once the band started playing we had to search for somewhere farther away as they were so loud we felt the vibrations in our feet and it pained our ears.

An usher noticed we had moved and suggested we try the balcony, so we did. However, it was even louder than the area to which we had moved outside the back of the Sanctuary. So we ended up on a bench outside the Sanctuary, absolutely as far back as possible. The music was just bearable but the sermon was barely audible, and people were fellowshipping so loudly in a room nearby that it was impossible to hear much at all. All these distractions made it difficult to feel as if I had worshiped God, but the experience has certainly made me think.

What God has called us to do – visiting different churches – has its benefits as well as its shortcomings. Today’s worship experience was one of the more negative encounters which, though atypical, is still disappointing...and educational.