Church and Culture

After years of going to Vietnamese church for the main masses of the liturgical year, attending mass at an American church, and a very wealthy one at that, really makes me wonder and question my own culture. I’d watch all of the people, mostly of European decent (there was only one other Asian family and really no other ethnicities), talk among themselves and heartily greet each other. There was a certain reverence you could find throughout all the ages of the population. The elderly were kind, the middle aged were cheerful. You couldn’t find a sense of division between groups of the teenagers. Each and every one of them were absorbed in the mass or the service, and I would find that I probably was the only one who looked distracted looking around. What got me the most was that the congregation participated during mass; the majority of the members actually sang. That was probably what surprised and impressed me the most, that nearly everyone was singing with the choir. I was so amazed, I stopped singing myself to listen to the rest of the congregation.

One thing that stood out to me about this church was that the way they conducted mass felt so much more meaningful than any of the Vietnamese masses I’ve attended. Perhaps it’s because I grew up in an American culture and am not fond of the Vietnamese customs. Or maybe I just don’t understand said Vietnamese customs. Quite possibly, the Vietnamese customs might just be what they can be perceived as: a lot of seemingly unorganized noise. Don’t get me wrong, I love my culture and try to understand and enjoy the customs, but sometimes, I just can’t understand what’s going on, and what the sole purpose of each tradition is.

You’d find in my Vietnamese church that no one greets one another before mass starts, probably because we always have a praying session right before mass. Any sort of interaction between members of the congregation really only ever happens when we give each other peace, or when teenagers and students get distracted and end up talking to each other for half of the mass. During homilies, I'm pretty sure only the older generations every listen and pay attention. Let's be honest, the majority of the younger generations don't know enough Vietnamese to grasp what the priest is saying, or know some but tune out once they feel like they've tried hard enough. As for the singing, if it's not an old song everyone knows, no one is singing along with the choir. Perhaps there'll be one or two trying to sing along, but in reality, everyone else isn't... especially with the kids. I would know.

I think it sad that the culture barrier can prevent those who grew up with a mix of cultures to feel distant from the beautiful event that mass is. Teaching the culture to the younger generations of the community haven't been effective. I wouldn't be surprised if the students just didn't care. 

The biggest thing that really impressed me about this American church I attended, was that they had more teenagers participating and taking care of things for mass instead of any older people. With mine, the same people have taken care of such duties for as long as I can remember. Not many of the teenagers of my church community have a spot in the congregation as a whole that they can call theirs, as their duty for even a short amount of time. In all honesty, I think because we're not allowed to take on some of these things, we are less likely to want to serve the community like I have seen in other churches.

Much respect goes out to the American churches that are capable of bringing everyone’s attention to the real reason why we celebrate the different holidays; I hope that one day my Vietnamese church will be capable of doing just the same.

I suppose each church community advances at their own pace. But there comes a point when everyone knows that something hasn't been working for a long time, that advancement needs to be made.

I sort of feel awful about bashing my own community, but that's what I honestly think.