Lutheran and Samoan religious service are some what similar and some what different. Both religions have one huge thing in common, they believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and that if you live by the word of God and do the right things by him you will end up in heaven. .
Before church in Samoa, the younger and older women usually prep for lunch for after the service. The younger children are usually running around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to find a nice pulakasis (dress shirt with skirt that match) for the girls and usually a colored collared shirt with a tie and a lava lava (man skirt). Before our church service my grandmother is usually yelling at us because the girls are taking to long to get ready. We usually just wear nice dress pants with a nice shirt or dresses, the males wear khakis and a collared shirt. .
The Samoan Church that I went to in American Samoa is a relatively large in size. It has three circular pillars, it is white with gold accents, with the words Sulu o le Ola which translated means Torch of Life on the front of it, and reminds me of a capital buildings in the United States. The church has large arch ways and is relatively gated in. My church Immanuel (which means God is with us) is a Lutheran Church in Springfield, Illinois and is small in size. It is a long brown building, it has a large cross on the front of the building and has picture windows that run down the side of it. .
The inside of the Samoan church has wooden pews with cushioned seats which are more comfortable, unlike my church that has just wooden pews that are hard. The Samoan church has many decorations through the church such as flows that are native to the land, the altar is always decorated with colored fabric and has small stain glass windows. The ceilings are high and are made of wood. There is no air conditioning in the building, but they do have large rows of ceiling fans to help keep it cool inside.
