By On Sunday morning at 9:30am in the town of North Branch Michigan at the St. Peter and Paul Catholic church, I was observing with a notebook and pen, in the back of the church sitting in a pew for an hour when the church service finished. I was observed that all ages and genders attended, kids to the elderly dressed tenderly, and everybody is very kind spoken inside and outside of the church. As I sat in the back of the church, I could see everybody in front of me and everybody that came in. I arrived 20 minutes early so I could pick the seat that I could observe best from, which was at the back of the church in the last pew.
As I watched everybody come in, I noticed that there was a mixture of ages; from babies that could not walk, to elders that had to stay in a wheelchair. There was a great mix between ages; but only a couple babies and elders arrived. There were a lot of adults with their children that came in and teenagers with their boyfriends/girlfriends and then adults with their spouses walking in, but also some people that were single or spouses/boyfriends/girlfriends that did not arrive with them walked in. In addition, I noticed that all the parents that had babies sat in the nursery, which was in the back of the church right behind me.
Also, both males and females had attended the church service. There was a few more females than males but not a big difference; about 30 less males showed up including the choir that consisted of two men and five women. All of the people that attended church that day dressed nicely. The parents that had a girl(s), about ten years old and younger, had their child(ren) wear dresses or a nice shirt with a skirt and tights. Most teenagers just wore jeans and a nice shirt and most of the adults wore dress pants with a nice shirt.
I did not see one female wear holey jeans, or a shirt that was too low, or clothes hat you could see through, or any clothes that had stains on them. The children that wore skirts wore their skirts below the knees or to the length just at the knees, nothing too much shorter. The parents that had a boy(s) made them wear black dress up pants with a nice shirt. Most of the teenagers wore jeans and a nice shirt. The adults through the elderly that attended the church wore black or gray dress pants with a nice shirt or khakis with a nice shirt. There were no holey jeans, cut up shirts, or stains on any of the clothing.
In addition, the temperature was about 65 degrees so this could also alter what the church attenders were wearing for that day. I cannot say that they dress like this all the time to church. Inside the church was much hotter than outside, it felt like 75 degrees. The church had fans that was at the top of the church but you could not feel the air from them at all. Some people even had papers in their hand waving them up and down at their faces so they could get some air too cool themselves down because it was really hot in the church.
All of the people I saw who attended church that Sunday, all sang or lip synced the “our father prayer” and hymns which are also called “responsorial psalms” at the same time after the choir started to sing first. The church attenders also said the “Apostle’s Creed” at the same time. These are the only ones that I could see or read off what everybody was saying or singing. The church attenders and Father James have said more things at the same time but I could not follow what they were saying. After church, I stood outside in the middle if everybody to see how the church attenders conversed outside of church.
Even though some people left, most of them stayed and stood right outside the church doors and thanked Father James for his great service and then Father James would thank them for coming. The church attenders were very nice to each other, talking about their favorite thing Father James talked about during the service. In addition, the church attenders would just talk about what they are going to do for the rest of the day. I even heard some of them say that they have not seen each other in a while and they would talk about how each other have been and what have they been up too.
Most of the responses would have been that they have been going to church at the later time or they have been going to St. Mary’s church, which was on the out skirts of North Branch. Some people would even ask others to go out and get something to eat with them or they would ask people to join in with them and others that were going out. Almost everybody would have a smile on their face as they talked to another person or a group of people. As people started scattering off | watched the church attenders give hugs or handshakes to the person or people they were talking to.
In conclusion, as | observed the North Branch Michigan St. Peter and Paul Catholic church I noticed that age does not matter, you can still go to church as infants or elders in wheelchairs. In addition, I noticed that it does not matter if you are male or female, church is welcoming both genders. Also, wearing something nice is a thing the church attenders do; even jeans and a cute shirt is a nice outfit to wear. Lastly, I observed that the church attenders are not only nice in church but they are nice outside of church also.