Document31

docx

School

Eastern Kentucky University *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

570

Subject

Religion

Date

Apr 3, 2024

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by MasterDeerMaster972

Cultural Immersion Assignment Campbellsville University SWK 570- Cultural Competencies Dr. Khara Kinkade, M.Div., Th.M., MSW, Ph.D. December 1 st ,2022

Abstract This paper will discuss Cultural Competency learned throughout this semester. I have attended a Catholic Church and will exam how their culture is different. We will examine The Catholic Church and their practice of Sunday Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Corbin, KY. This will also examine how involved in the community the church is and what roles they play.

Community The community I have selected for this assignment is the Catholic community. The Catholic community has always been around and known in my area. They are very active in the area and are having events all the time that invite others from the area. I thought it would be interesting to finally see how Mass takes place, and how it is different from the churches I have known which have mostly been Baptist. I selected this community because I felt like it would be interesting to finally go into their church and see what Sunday Mass is. I have been driving by their church for years and have never attended. This is something that has allowed me to get outside of my comfort zone because typically I do not attend Church in general anymore. While I have in the past I went in with researched expectations and a guide to help me make sure that I understood the significance of each part of Mass. I felt that having this knowledge and guidance would allow for me to fully immerse myself in Mass. Research They are many different types of Christians and Catholics are one of the oldest in it form. While they do practice differently. As the Walpole Catholic(n.d) website explains what Catholics believe in and how they worship. Using this material, it allowed me to prepare to understand the complex levels of the Catholic religion. (Walpole, n.d) The literature throughout the research of the Catholic Church is consistent as the is a well-established Church. This church has existed for 2,000 years. (Llywelyn, 2020) The Catholic church has been involved in many movements but one of the most known is the Right to Life movement that involved the human rights of unborn babies. Neitz (1981) describes how the once Roe v. Wade had won that the Catholic Church

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

began to form this movement in hopes to sway people away from abortion. The Catholic Church is a big player in the propaganda against abortion. Catholics have been known to stand outside of abortion clinic with signs and shame people going in and out of these clinics. They make their stances on this well known by all. In the past it was said as propaganda to scare people that if you have an abortion then the baby will go to hell, while since then they have come out to retract that statement and instead saying if the mother has mercy on their souls. (Llywelyn, 2020) Immersion Last Sunday November 27 th , I attended a Catholic Mass with my mother-in-law. We attended the Sacred Heart Catholic Church located in Corbin, KY. While my mother-in-law has been to multiple Catholic churches in the past, she had not attended this one. She was there to help me guide through the Mass. She also was able to explain to me the different parts of the Mass service such as the Introductory Rite, Liturgy of the Word, Liturgy of the Eucharist, and the Concluding Rite. Having my mother-in-law who was familiar with the customs made this possible for me because I felt like I understood each part of the service. Without her guidance I think I would have still been welcomed, but I did feel more comfortable having her with me especially because of knowing people who attend the church. I was able to attend the whole service and enjoyed seeing how they practice their religion. Growing up in a Baptist household it was very interesting to see how they do some similar and some different practices during their service. I felt that I was able to immerse myself during Mass. Mass The Mass itself began with what is called Introductory Rite’ this is where the priest is walking up, the congregation stood up and was singing hymns. During this once he has reached

the alter the singing stopped and the Priest began Mass by saying their opening prayer. This then lead in to people in the congregation being invited to repent. They were able to reflect on their sins. The next major part of their Mass is referred to as Liturgy of the Word, which is when everyone listens to the priest read from the Bible. From then the priest began to read stories of Jesus. They then began to sing again. Towards the end of this part the priest began his sermon. On this day it was about forgiveness. They then recited their Creed and prayed for the people of the community and church. The third is Liturgy of the Eucharist, at this point everyone who wanted to kneel during the Eucharistic prayer in worship. During this since I was not Catholic, I did not receive the ‘bread and wine’ during the communion. The last phase of the mass is called the Concluding Rite, after everyone is done with the holy communion everyone in the church stood up and the priest said his final prayer. He ended it by blessing everyone who attended and released the Mass. Reflect I felt that my research provided an accurate description of what the Mass would be like. As my mother-in-law explained to me before we attended the Mass, they all follow the same itinerary. She has attended Masses all over the country and has found them to be very similar in the precession. It was very helpful to gain knowledge from her in this aspect before, because I felt like I was completely prepared. I also found that the Catholic Church is very friendly and wants to be open with anyone who will attend. With no previous knowledge besides basic I felt that I had known what the Catholic Church was. But once I attended this Mass, I realized that my assumptions were not all right. By attending this Mass, I feel like I got a better understanding of what their beliefs are and how they differ and compare to other Christan faiths. Value Differences

I feel that there were some value differences but very few for me because Catholicism is still a part of Christianity. Though throughout my personal life I do find some values differences. For example, there is no expectation in the eyes of the Catholic church that abortion is wrong, while personally I believe every woman should have the right to do what she wants with her own body. I also personally believe that we do not have attend services to be able to be forgiven, that this is something we can do anywhere. Worship in my eyes can be held anywhere. No matter what my personal values are I feel that I can always separate myself from them during my job. My first goal is to understand the client's culture and be there to help them navigate their problems in the best way possible. Social Context While Catholicism at one point in time the most practiced of Christianity. “ Yet from 267 million Catholics in 1900 to 1.05 billion in 2000 and 1.36 billion today, the Catholic Church has expanded more through the last 100 years than any time in its 2,000 years of existence.” ( Llywelyn, 2020) There is a lot of power in the Catholic Church. While there have been many scandals throughout the history of the church, their ability to find their way out of them is notable. The Catholic Church is a very wealthy and powerful structure with power throughout the world. They can influence many people, as they trust their priests. The pope is also another very powerful figure within the church, he is looked upon with high regards. There is a privilege that does come with being a part of the Catholic Church, but there is also some prejudice when in certain areas of the world. Such as Parrillo (2018) discusses how the Catholics and Protestants were at odd because they felt that the Catholic church had strange values compared to theirs. Relationships

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

There were a few people that we spoke with during the Mass. We spoke to an older woman that my mother-in-law had worked with in the past. She discussed how she has been attending this Catholic Church for over 15 years. This church has always been something she held dear to her as she explained. She also invited us to the Friday night fish fry they host once a month. This conversation was very delightful, and she made us feel welcome. We also spoke with a mid-age man who had also been attending the Catholic Church for about five years. He had previously attended one in London, KY but since moving to Corbin, KY he has been attending Scared Heart. He also invited us to Mass throughout the week and provided us with a pamphlet with different times and days. I feel that I formed a friendly relationship with both people that I interacted with in conversation. I also felt very welcomed by the whole church. It appears everyone was just happy to be there, and it felt like it was a close-knit community. We also spoke to a family who has been attending the church for the past year. They were very eager to share their experience, and invited us to the fish fry, they do this to help raise money for the church to do activities for the community. They spoke briefly about how they play a role in the upcoming Christmas drive for the local children and invited us to help with that or to donate if we felt lead too. This is something that they stated they do every year. The last person we communicated was the priest, my mother-in-law after the service wanted to say hello and introduce us to him. He was very polite and told us God Bless us for coming and invited us to Mass anytime we want. Overall, it was a very pleasant experience meeting these people within the church. The Right to Life Movement The Catholic Church believes strongly that abortion is evil and that they are sending unborn babies to hell. This is because in this religion they believe this is wrong and that life begins at

conception. This has always been a strong belief of the Catholic Church as even in my community the Catholic Church I attended has a sign against abortion and crosses in the side yard for the aborted children. This is something that I feel is demonstrated a lot with people in the Catholic Church. I also think it is important to note the rise in the movement when Roe vs. Wade occurred. They began to try and prevent that from happening. (BEN HAFSA, 2015) While for years this has been the case, Roe vs Wade has recently been overturned, after years of the Catholic Church fighting for this to happen. When considering all of this information it would be an assumption that the Catholic Churches years of fighting these abortion laws has finally worked. With Roe v. Wade being overturned the Catholic Church feels as if they have made a difference even if it stops one abortion because in their eyes the moment of conception is when that baby becomes a human, and that they are their own person. Skills There are many skills that can be developed to help be competent and capable of dialogue in this culture. I feel that general communication skills are the upmost importance because making sure that you are communicating efficiently is important. Making sure that you are clear on the client's stances involving their culture is helpful because people are sometimes more open than what you may believe just based off what their culture is. Having respect is another skill that has to be demonstrated to the client, some feel weary of experiences with social workers because they feel that they do not understand that is just how their culture does things. For example, parenting, not every culture parents the same way, and taking the time to understand that culture's ways of going about it is helpful. With the proper questioning skills, it will also allow you to go into how this person has been affected by their culture. Serving this Culture

I feel that I could serve this culture by being there for crisis support. The Catholic Church shuns and looks down on people who they feel commit unforgiveable sins such as adultery, divorce, and so on. I feel that people who are experiencing this may feel like outsiders and lost without the church that is a large part of their lives. By better understanding the culture’s beliefs it can help me navigate how to help these people, that also will make them be able to accept they can’t change it, but they can move on and be forgiven in whatever terms they feel necessary. This is a reality of the community, that you could be cast out because of your actions. In these cases, you are unable to participate in the holy communion. Which to some feels like they are being outed that they committed a sin. While they have their beliefs on this it can be hard on the people who are experiencing it and I believe that knowing their culture will better serve them. Cultural Awareness and Self Awareness I felt the Immersion went very well. It was great to attend a church that felt so welcoming. It was also nice to explore and experience another religion whereas I feel I have only been to one type of church in my life. This has opened my eyes to how much you can find out with research, and how the experience broadens your perspective even more. Going into this being prepared for what was going to happen was helpful but attending gave me more of a clear idea of what the Catholic Church is and how they practice their religion. If I was to work with someone of the Catholic Religion having attended this church would give me greater insight into their beliefs and how I can better serve them on their terms. This immersion has also opened my eyes in how I want to proceed in the future with clients. I want to be able to fully understand whatever culture they are coming from to best serve them. Cultural barriers are something that can completely change the direction of helping the relationship between social workers and their clients. If you accurately prepare it can help build trust within this relationship. People also tend

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

to feel apprehensive because they feel that the social workers may not take the time to learn about their religion. For example, I can imagine speaking with a client that is Catholic who is experiencing an unplanned pregnancy. By understanding what this means in their religion it can help me navigate how to help her through her problems and emotions. I feel that from here on out I will put forth the effort to gather the backgrounds from my clients and if I am unsure about the culture, I will take the time to do the research to better serve them. Cultural Competency Progress Personally, my cultural competence has come a long way. I felt that I was already aware of a lot of different cultures but throughout this course I have been able to get a deeper understanding of how important it is in the profession. Without cultural competence you could not perform your duty as a social worker. I have taken away many new skills and understanding from this course. It has also prepared me to know when I need to do research, and how to go about in proper ways of finding out how best to serve your clients. I have also realized that it goes beyond just religion and straight-forward aspects, by being culturally competent it helps you perform at all micro, mezzo, and macro levels. At the beginning of the course, I also felt like I already knew what it was to be culturally competent. But as we are nearing the end of the course, I have been able to review all what I have learned and the knowledge I have gained. I feel like this has all allowed me to become a more efficient social worker and it will even help me in my current job as a Case Manager. I have also been able to recognize and understand my own privilege throughout the course, which will allow me to better serve all cultures. Understanding that my experience is different from people of other cultures was just something that I did not fully understand. I have been able to, through our reading and course, gather the information that has brought me to the point that I can confidently say that I am culturally aware and feel prepared to serve a client who

may not be of the same culture as me. When considering all of the course material through this semester it has allowed for me to broaden my horizon on many different cultures, religions, race, social class and so many aspects that define us as who we are.

REFERNCES BEN HAFSA, L. (2015). Lobbying for the Unborn: The American Catholic Church and the Abortion Issue. Mémoire(s), Identité(s), Marginalité(s) Dans Le Monde Occidental Contemporain . https://doi.org/10.4000/mimmoc.2320 Llywelyn, S.J., R. D. (2022). Global Christianity > Institute for Advanced Catholic studies at USC > USC Dana and David Dornsife college of letters, arts and sciences . USC Dornsife. Retrieved December 1, 2022, from https://dornsife.usc.edu/iacs/global- christianity/ Neitz, M. J. (1981). Family, state, and God: ideologies of the right-to-life movement. SA. Sociological Analysis , 42 (3), 265–276. Parrillo, V. N. (2018). Stranger to These Shores (12th ed.). Pearson Education (US). https://reader.yuzu.com/books/9780134737621 What do Catholics Believe . Walpole Catholic. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2022, from https://www.walpolecatholic.net/what-do-catholics-believe-0

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Document31

Related Documents