In the duration of the class period this week, groups presented their observations from their first congregation visit. During the presentations I found it interesting that even though the majority of these churches are located within blocks of each other they all have vastly different ways in which their communities operate. For example, the congregation that myself and my partner had visited was located in downtown Redlands on the corner of West Olive ave. In this location there is about 4 other churches located on each corner. There could easily be tension and mishaps between these congregations and ways in which they could persuade individuals to join their community; however, only speaking from an outsiders observation, this does not seem to be an issue. This is one aspect that I grasped from observing other groups. The results of the groups presentations were mixed as well.
I had a previous expectation that the groups that went together were likely to have the same results and that the only variable would be the type of the church that the pairs went to. However, there were multiple variables during the visits. Some pairs presented that they had gone together, yet sometimes one individual felt more uncomfortable than the other person and or one person observed more than the other person in the group. This is a good explanation for even if we as humans experienced the same things in life it will always effect us differently depending on the person. The concept of religion is especially important in regards to this concept and the different relationships, conversations e.g. that one might go through in life.