American Religious Sounds Project
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The mural on the exterior of the Philadelphia Praise Center. Photo by Darryl Neustaedter Barg.

Philadelphia Praise Center

I visited Philadelphia Praise Center on the morning of June 3, 2018. This Indonesian congregation started meeting in 2005, and from the beginning they sang together with a worship band. At first the group consisted of a few families, and as the congregation grew, they asked one of their elders to become their pastor. Elder Aldo Siahaan agreed to pursue theological education, taking courses at Eastern Mennonite University, and was licensed and ordained by 2006. A member of one of Philadelphia Praise Center’s founding families was a Mennonite pastor in Central Java, and visited Philadelphia several times to help connect the community to an area conference of Mennonite Church USA. Philadelphia Praise Center officially affiliated in 2007.


The church building stands out from the typically densely built Philadelphia street because of the mural on its facade. The image was painted by Donna Backues, a North American woman who lived in Indonesia for many years. She and her husband attend this church and translated for the few non-Indonesian speakers when I visited.

 

Inside, the spacious room had a balcony with ornamented beams and a low stage where the speakers and band members stood. Folded paper ornaments hung on the front wall, where images, sermon notes, and song lyrics were projected.

The Philadelphia Praise Center, left, and its worship band, right. Photos by Katie Graber.
The congregation of between 50 and 100 people, primarily recent immigrants from Indonesia, sat on folding chairs. When communion was served, the band began playing as individuals walked to the front to receive small cups of juice and crackers.
Video by Darryl Neustaedter Barg.
The speakers and worship leaders mainly communicated in Indonesian, but used English occasionally. Two Euro-American service workers from a Mennonite service agency and a Mennonite college were introduced to the congregation that day: they were staying for ten weeks to help with summer programs. Pastor Aldo explained their roles in Indonesian and English, then motioned to the congregation and said to the young women, “This is your family for the rest of your life.” The group laughed warmly and clapped. The band members told us they sing some old Indonesian songs (though they update them), as well as contemporary praise songs. The group included singers and instrumentalists who play keyboard, bass, drums, and guitar. Several young women danced in front of the stage during the songs, wearing bright sashes and adding tambourine to the percussion. Some of the songs were entirely in Indonesian, and several were in both English and Indonesian. During the English songs, the worship leader often interjected Indonesian phrases between the English words.
Video by Darryl Neustaedter Barg.
The style of worship was contemporary with extended prayers and songs often ten minutes long. Many of the prayers seemed extemporaneous, though the congregation spoke in unison at times. Prayers and other speech were often accompanied by background keyboard, helping to move seamlessly between word and song. This example is from the end of the service, when the spoken words and background keyboard music build into the final song.

Chin Emmanuel Baptist Church

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