First United Methodist Church

            (Read my disclaimer here.)

Next, I went to First United Methodist Church of Dallas. It was like stepping back in time. The plain wooden platform at the front. The stained glass windows. The old fashioned pews. I almost immediately realized that I was woefully underdressed: almost every single man in the sanctuary was wearing a coat and tie. Even quicker than that, I realized there were no trappings of many common Baptist churches: no screen, no baptistery, no praise band, in fact there was not even an orchestra.

Music was provided by a very large choir of 100-150 members. They were extremely talented and accompanied only by a sole pipe organ. The music was mostly unknown to me, but when they closed the service with, Be Thou My Vision, they sounded so good I quite literally got chills.

I witnessed an infant baptism for the first time. Their understanding of baptism is a promise by the parents and church to raise the child to be a part of the community—much like a baby dedication service in a Baptist church. I felt very uncomfortable watching.

The service was very orderly, with the congregation all standing at certain times, with no prompting from the bulletin or the minister of music, which made me feel very awkward since I did not know what I was supposed to do. They also all responded together with a call-and-response that was in the bulletin.

As the service progressed, I felt very restless, and it took me a minute to figure out why I was restless. Then it hit me: it was so quiet! There was a lot of talking, and very little music. The audience stayed almost completely silent except when they were supposed to say something.

The pastor, Dr. Fielder, read through the beatitudes, then left the text, and talked about the church receiving a new parking deal, and how if people are hospitable, and non violent, then God would reward them.

In short, I am not a Methodist, but there were definitely some elements from the service, such as the very traditional music that, that would be nice to see from time to time in a Baptist church.