[lit-ideas] Re: Bizarre Faith
- From: "Erin Holder" <erin.holder@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 18:29:00 -0500
I don't know about the Laughing Church, but we do have the Toronto Airport
Church. Let me tell you, I went there for an assignment for my popular
culture class in my first year (that was such a great class), and those
people, you must know, are totally NUTS. If any of you belong to a place
like that, know that I'm not passing judgment, that I just think you're
crazy.
It's, like, one of those physical manifestation churches where people envoke
Jesus and then throw themselves on the floor.
Here was my group's synopsis of the experience. Written by Tessa.
Erin
Toronto
On Sunday March 2nd (Erin, Francesca, Dan, Koh?) and I went to The
Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship church, which is located near Pearson
International Airport. We were initially worried about getting there on
time, as the service started at 10:30, and we didn't meet up until 9:45 (due
to various hangovers and the like) but our trip was speedy, and despite
heading in the wrong direction for five minutes, we made it with time to
spare.
Our first impression when we arrived was how "normal" everyone
looked. Walking through the parking lot we saw a mother with two young
children, dressed casually, and entering we were met by two kindly looking
elderly people who were greeting the congregation and handing out a monthly
calendar of church events.
After passing through the lobby, we entered the main room of the church,
large signs featuring biblical quotes hanging above the doors. First
Impression: HUGE, second impression: Noah's Arc. On the far wall of the
room was a gigantic representation of the Arc, with cartoon elephants and
giraffes marking the doors to the youth centre.
We felt a little disoriented at first, and had to take a few minutes to
regroup. Standing next to the "tithe/offering box", we took everything in.
Line after line of green chairs was beginning to fill with people. The room
was very bright, and two large screens were framing the "stage" at the front
of the room. Because the service was recorded and broadcast over radio, in
the centre of the room there was a large sound system control board, a
camera, and an impressive speaker system.
After our initial shock, we decided to have a look around before we took our
seats. Directly upon entering the room, there was a small area, which was
used as a bookstore. Being curious as to what type of books they sold
there, we went in. The first book we found was a book for teens about the
"temptations of Satan", in which it advised teens about love and sex. One
piece of advice the book offered was, that if ever you felt like "doing
more", even if you were simply hugging closely or holding hands, you should
stop IMMEDIATELY! After being thoroughly convinced that we were going to
Hell, we took our seats.
We agreed that, in order to have a more authentic experience we should sit
close to the front. The row we decided on was about six or seven rows back,
and ideal for joining in, or simply observing. After taking our seats we
began to make observations about the types of people who were in the
congregation.
The first thing we noticed was the type of dress. Almost
everyone was wearing very casual clothing, from jeans and t-shirts to
sweaters and track-pants. We felt a little over-dressed, with Dan in a suit
and tie, and the remainder of us in casual dress clothes. We also noticed
that the "Worship Team" was dressed similarly to us, in clothing that was
slightly more formal. From the varying attire, we determined that most of
the congregation was working class, while the "Worship Team" was
middle-upper class. The variance in dress could, however, be attributed to
the fact that the "Worship Team" was on stage and recorded, requiring a more
well groomed appearance than that of the general congregation.
The second thing we noticed was the general unattractiveness of
the congregation, or as we put it, "the unattractiveness quotient".
Although this may seem incredibly shallow, many of the people there were
overweight, had man-boobs, or were just plain ugly. Does this have any
sociological importance? Perhaps.
Some other general observances we made were that there were
quite a few young people at this church. Two teen boys were sitting
directly in front of us, and although they initially seemed bored, they
later on began to take part in the service. Aside from the younger crowd,
most of the members of the church were middle-aged. As for the general
ethnic background of the church, most people were white, but there were a
few people of different racial backgrounds, including South East Asian and
African American.
We also made several observations about the interior of the
hall. As mentioned earlier, it was very large, with row upon row of chairs.
The chairs themselves were particular to this church, as they had special
hand rests on the backs, for those who got "drunk on the spirit", and needed
something to lean on. There were several international flags hanging above
the seating on the right hand side of the hall, and a large wooden cross
hanging on the wall. The "set" on stage was made to look like a rosy,
glowing sky was coming through some windows, with a city skyline just
beneath it. There were several vases full of flowers, and a couple of
microphones, with a band's set-up in the back.
As we sat there, waiting for the service to begin we saw people
embracing and smiling. Most people had come with their friends and
families, and were all sitting together. There was certainly a sense of
community amongst the people there.
At 10:30 promptly the M.C. of the church, a young woman who led
the "Worship Team", began the service. She began by welcoming all, and
telling everyone to introduce them self to someone they didn't know. Then
she said "Let's Worship" and the music began.
The music was played by a group of three or four musicians, with
the vocals performed by the M.C. and a pair of backup singers. It was in a
contemporary rock/pop style with simple, repetitive lyrics, such as "Blessed
be the name of our Lord", and "Jesus friend of sinners, Jesus, Jesus, friend
of mine." It was very catchy, and it was almost impossible to not dance,
clap, or stomp your feet to the beat. In fact, many members of the
congregation rose, and began to sing along, waving their arms in the air,
and rocking back and forth. People were waving flags in the corners of the
room, and many were dancing in the aisles. One younger churchgoer was VERY
into the music. (See photo of man-boobs) Although the lyrics were displayed
on the "jumbo-trons" at the front, most people appeared to know the songs by
heart, and had their eyes closed.
The singing continued for quite some time, and followed the
general formula described in the reading, with livelier music at the opening
and closing of the musical worship, and slightly more sedate music in
between. A quiet background music continued as John Arnott and a few others
took the stage.
At this point in the service, people went to the stage to make
some announcements, and John invited all newcomers to raise their hands, in
order to receive their bi-monthly newsletter, "Spread the Fire". We did
exactly that and received the newsletter, which is full of testimonies and
other propaganda. He then invited those who would like to "accept Jesus"
into their lives to go to the front. About twelve newcomers went to the
front, but we declined.
While John prayed with those at the front, another man took the microphone
to help with the announcements. Several people made announcements of
staring up new "cells", and one woman came up to share her testimony with
the congregation. All the while, the man with the microphone "felt God
working through him", and he was constantly kicking at the air, and saying
things such as "hoo-hah", "yayaya", and "Let it come Lord". The
congregation laughed at him, but probably not in the same way WE laughed at
him. A couple women who were on stage fell over and had some "carpet time";
one was lying on stage for quite some time. A woman behind us was heard to
say, "Oh! There was no way she could keep standing, no way!"
At this point the "Worship Team" left the stage, and the sermon began. The
pastor for our service was John Arnott himself, founder of the TACF. His
sermon was very disjointed and did not flow at all. He covered a broad
range of topics, from circumcision, to how the church was founded, to how to
read the bible. At one point he talked about Jesus' willingness to die on
the cross, about how he WANTED to die on the cross, and how we should WANT
to support the church financially. Another interesting point in his sermon
was when he ridiculed the Gods of other religions, including Buddha and
Mohammed. The sermon was very long, too long to go into detail here, but
the sermon itself wasn't as interesting as the behaviour of the
congregation.
One man, on several occasions let out a guttural yell, at the top of his
lungs. No one seemed to notice, and no one turned around to see whom it was
who screamed. Tessa began to laugh a little uncontrollably, and had to hide
her face behind the seats, as hysterical laughter in credited to being
"drunk on the spirit". A couple of women turned around, perhaps believing
that this was so. Others were weeping, shaking, and raising their arms.
One woman, who sat in front of us, eventually lay down on the chairs,
perhaps trying to sleep. The service finally ended at 1:30, and we left
immediately, opting not to stay for refreshments afterwards. As we left the
parking lot, we saw a car with the licence plate "I 4 I". We were ready to
go home.
----- Original Message -----
From: <Eternitytime1@xxxxxxx>
To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, November 04, 2004 6:19 PM
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Bizarre Faith
> Hi,
> Re:
> Wall to wall crowds for an evangelist I never heard of.
> Frightening and sad. And Canadian.
>
> I just thought of something! You know I'm going to be in Toronto in a
couple of weeks for a couple of days. (Unfortunately not over a weekend-Ben
has a merit badge academy that he has to attend).
>
> Isn't Toronto where the "Laughing Church" started? This would, actually,
also fit in with Eric said about 'a church' (not necessarily a religion but,
in reflection, maybe so...) being a 'safe' place to express emotions.
>
> I know of several who have made pilgrimages to The Laughing Church.
>
> Ready to head home,
> Marlena
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