In May 2022, I was tasked to conduct social research on the topic of Infrastructures for MA Visual Sociology unit called Social Research for Public Engagements. Fristly, I ask for permission from Christ Church Sidcup to shoot photography of church morning service and then I have interviewed the vicar of the church about the infrastructure of the church.
We were tasked to then produce a visual output from our social research projects and I have decided to borrow objects from Christ Church Sidcup and displayed them in an abandon church where it was intended to be exhibited. By doing this, I am trying to challenge perceptions of the mundane by asking what makes a church a church throughout the social infrastructure.
At the bottom is a written research report detailing how I conducted this social research project.
I am fascinated by my relationship with Christianity in England. I wish to explore the Christian community that runs church within my local neighbourhood by conducting social research toward understanding the religious infrastructures of the Protestant church. When completing my social research, I will be developing a visual and inventive project for the exhibition in St. James Hatcham Building which is ironically at the church.
I decided to focus on the protestant branch over Catholic and Orthodox. I am intrigued by how disciples follow the rules set by Christ through biblical scripture. I wish to understand how the church reveals the norms of infrastructure through learning how Protestants assembled the church. Hobbes, T., & Gaskin, J. C. A. (1998) stated: “That there is on earth, no such universal Church, as all Christians are bound to obey; because there is no power on earth, to which all other commonwealths are subject (p.311).” Protestants believe in the supernatural God invisible on earth. Max Webber’s idea of the Protestant ethic surrounding the notion of hard work: it is not relying just on reading biblical scripture for symbolic resources but on engaging committedly in religious practice within the church1.
Through the mixture of social methods from this research project: I propose that my investigation involve looking at the qualities of infrastructures which are participation of the membership, links with conventions of practice and embodiment of standards of the Christian community. I started to visit Sidcup Christ Church on 30th January 2022. In my fieldwork, I have been recollecting observational thoughts from my own experiences as forms of autoethnographic inscriptions when finishing my visits.
Everyone was friendly and welcoming by acting as fellow Neighbours because I was encouraged to meet everyone by introducing myself. It was quite a surprising experience because of being different as a secular: I felt expected to socially contribute to the community by following the religious infrastructure of the church according to the rules of rituals taking place.
1
Hobbes, T., & Gaskin, J. C. A. (1998). Leviathan. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
When sitting down in church, I noticed that everyone would have to engage with religious practice by listening to and reading the biblical scriptures from the Vicar, Curate, and Pastors. Interestingly, I heard air insulation behind me which reminds me of the outside world that takes me away from preying on the holy God. I was curious about technologies like presentation screens that read out biblical scripture and lyrics by questioning how modernism and theocratic traditionalism coexist in the church. I was intrigued by other materials surrounding me neglected. It seems usual for everyone at church to see equipment and things in the background that do not associate with Christianity.
The Vicar first gave welcome news like everyone wearing name tags, mask guidelines concerning covid, sending children to their groups and having tea and coffee after service. The Pastor spoke about one of Luke's gospels on not judging others. Then, the Curate announces the prey by providing contemporary commentary regarding social media: propagating Christians to be influencers. As it was an all-age church, Curate uses a jar of marshmallows instead of holy water to illustrate his point of being filled by the holy spirit through experiencing love and community.
On 6th February 2022, the service was different as it was mostly singing biblical songs. But there was a unique ceremony where the Vicor and Curate were offering bread and wine to the Christian community to eat and drink from Christ. Interestingly, the people who run the church video record the religious service as the YouTube Livestream and then upload it on their website for Christians who cannot make it to church. I discovered from talking to one of the Christians: that this started when the covid pandemic started. The church was already uploading sound recordings of sermons and performing podcasts.
I believe in being ethical as the researcher because I was exploring the church by writing down thoughts on my experiences attending a church. I shared my social research with my tutor: Michael Guggenheim messages me to say that it is interesting exploring the protestant church as the infrastructure. Michael suggests focusing on the connection between the teaching of Protestantism and its material base. So, I would focus on how people who attend church make use of and connect to the materiality of Christ Church.
I shared my research proposal with students and tutors at Goldsmiths and informed them that I had already started to make general visits to my local church. My tutor: Nina Wakeford, has provoked me to think about how my research benefits the church and question what infrastructural problems the church is facing? And how I can provide unique insights into the church and materials. While highlighting my experience with visiting the church, I explained how infrastructures overlay on top of each other. For example, everyone has been given name tags to wear for service. I suggested that religious purposes of church practices are performed within communal practicality. Students and tutors agreed with me; after much thinking about this, I realized that it might not be forms of infrastructures overlaying on top of each other but actor networks that become embedded in religious infrastructures.
On 13th February 2022, Curate used materials to help represent burning fires as a manifestation of illustrating this action than burning fire. The Church offers food for a communal lunch that is voluntarily catered for because I learned from one of the disciples who had helped to make pasta. I was sitting with young boys and men where I met with the Vicar's sons, who help with delivering Sunday service through recording the live steam.
In-person, I asked the Vicar about conducting Social Research at his church: he requested me to send him the email to seek consent approval. I intend to interview fellow Christians on how they started to follow Christ. By learning about their relationships with the church from reading the holy bible. I decided to focus on understanding how the Vicar helps the church by materials as I found it more fascinating how they deliver service than to submit to it.
I kept coming to Sidcup Christ Church as usual throughout February 2022: I focused on reflecting on what I have done so far. I was facing the awkward issue of staff strikes at the Goldsmiths campus. I could not contact tutors who could guide me on what suitable approaches or methods to incorporate into my social research where I felt stuck.
I was keen to understand how the actor-network becomes embedded in the infrastructure than focus on the church architecture. I am focused on understanding the materials of the church where from reading artefacts have politics; Winter (1980) stated: “What matters is not technology itself, but the social or economic system in which it is embedded (p.26). I realised that it is not just in line with Latour’s Actor-Network Theory2 of how disciples attend church. I would be exploring the theory of Social Production of Space which would shift my focus from understanding the relationship of churchgoers to learning about how Christians (mediators) run the church.
2
6. Latour, B. and American Council of Learned Societies (2005) Reassembling the social an introduction to actor-network-theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Michael Guggenheim recommended reading sociological texts surrounding social studies on churches and even one of his past papers. Brennerman, R and Miller J, B. (2016) stated: “That is, religious buildings “speak” both to the community that meets in them and to those whose only notion of the congregation is the building itself and they do this by drawing on the shared vernacular surrounding physical structures of those in their community (p.84).” Guggenheim, M (2013) stated: “Buildings are not just built and continue to project the architects’ vision onto their users; they are used and changed by a multitude of users. By choosing cases of change of use it becomes possible to analyze how buildings and practices intersect (p.446).” As it is to study what makes the religious building the infrastructure: I would argue that it is to understand what makes that social space dynamic as the religious infrastructure of Christ Church, Sidcup.
It would involve observing spatial practice (Perceived space), representation of space (Conceived space) and representational of space (Lived space). For example, the church has introduced materials for the inner frontal space of the church while using the materials for representable purposes. I recommend watching this clip of live steam (12:00-17:00) from this source: Christ Church, Sidcup (2022) Sunday Service 10.30 am 20th February 2022. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2s0EhnozKQ&t=695s (Accessed: 4 Mar 2022). From this Sunday Service: you would notice that the frontal surroundings are covered by children's décor by Epic Explorer Holiday Club which is the social network that is enabled onto the protestant structure of the church.
Lefebvre (1974) stated: “It would be a mistake, though, to define the new space solely in terms of these networks: we must not fall back into the one-way determinism of specialized scientific disciplines - of geography or geopolitics. Social space is multifaceted: abstract and practical, immediate and mediated (p.266).”
The point is that it is still a Sunday service; there is multifaced determinism. I propose that there are mediators and in-mediators within Christ's church. Who use representational materials as practical apparatus to make up the spatial practice of lived space.
It was difficult to establish the research plan at Sidcup Christ Church while trying to email the Vicar. I had ethical concerns about conducting visual sociological methods like photography or filming for this research project because I did not want to be disruptive. I wanted to avoid misrepresenting the church. I have asked for permission from the Vicar by email to explain that I was keen to use photography by shooting from the left side and middle row of the church. It is not to get close to people but to view the social actions of the congregation because I was intending to shoot photographs during the service: at the end of the service, I would like to shoot photographs of the inside surroundings of the church.
The Vicar agreed to my research proposal as I visited the Sunday Service on 6th March 2022 at Christ Church in Sidcup by bringing along my SLR Camera in non-flash mode. Before the service, I wanted to check again with the Vicar about shooting photography of religious practice. The Vicar agreed with what I was about to do as he was keen to know where I was going to sit, and I showed him my sitting spot. It was an unusual experience to document the religious practice of the church. I was not able to participate alongside the churchgoers. Some people noticed me with the DSLR camera, and nobody was too bothered after the service. I had explained the purpose of why I was shooting photography in the church, and they were comprehensive and accepting that I am ethical with my actions.
The most interesting encounter is (fig.1) of the Vicar’s son helping to turn the monitors on before the service as I am skeptical about how they use technology to help mediate the social space of the church. When viewing the screen projector: I wonder how covering the windows of Christ has any representation impact. For the next images, I have focused my photography on observing the mass engagement with Sunday service and the inner surroundings of Christ Church which involves reading bibles and hymn books, singing and dancing along to choirs through standing and sitting.
Figure 1. (2022) The image was taken at Christ Church Sunday Service in Sidcup.
On Wednesday 9th of Match, I have arranged to have a one-to-one interview with the Vicar to talk about how materials are being used in the church. I had to inform you that I have been meeting up with the Vicar at Walnuts Café Restaurant near Sidcup Christ Church for the personal purpose of exploring my relationship with Christianity through learning to read the bible. I find it to be the best way of developing trust with the Vicar so he can grow familiar with my personal and professional identity.
The Vicar was aware of my intentions of wishing to conduct the interview with him because he was fascinated by why I was studying in his church and was incredibly open to learning about my work. By preparing research questions, I mostly wanted to understand why he uses technology to help mediate his service. I even Google biblical scripture in relation to the church so I could ask questions that morally reflect the religious teachings of the bible.
I had decided to use the iPad to read out the questions to the Vicar to write down his answers. I try my best to inscribe from dialogue: it involves becoming more descriptive than expected. I struggle to re-articulate when going through complicated details. I managed to grasp legitimate information by even re-asking what he had said.
What did you think about me shooting photography during the Sunday service?
Tom Parsons: I don’t think anything is studied objectively in the state of hegemony. He is fine, as it is a learning experience, and he is not frustrated by it.
When there’s Christian tradition and modern technology: Do you ever think about how materials are represented in church?
Tom Parsons - We would not see technology mortally neural as the way of service and way of communicating with media.
Note: Tom was confused with this question as I was thinking about how you compromise with Christianity and money use pay for material. Tom mentions that Jesus said about how to use the money to help Christianity.
I noticed how you are digitally active with uploading sound recordings of sermons and live stream videos of Sunday service: why have you chosen to approach these actions?
Tom Parsons - We have been putting sermons online for years and started uploading live recordings since covid.
When at the far distance: how do Christians rely on Christ Church to help them pray for God?
Tom Parsons - We have the saying: church building keeps the rain off the heads roof because the church is people. There are different views on the sacred tradition when looking at what belongs to the Old Testament.
I offer to show the photos that I took after the interview. The Vicar was intrigued by the images of the objects and materials within the church. I was directing questions about the representation of materials that intersect the church. After completing my interview with the Vicar, I was assigned by Michael Guggenheim to present our first findings for the presentation so we could plan out how to display our research projects for the exhibition in St James Hatcham Building located by Goldsmiths college. It was a terrific opportunity to gain feedback as I was very new to conducting social research on my own.
It was helpful to receive feedback from my tutors and fellow students in the presentation. They noted that it was confusing that I was looking at the religious practice and surroundings of the church: I can explain that I was trying to explore sociological questions where I was trying to find my focus for the research. As everyone was intrigued by my interest in exploring the material surroundings of the church, they were not sure how I was going to mediate the photography for the exhibition because it is about understanding how these materials embed the spatial practice of the church.
The vital advice was that I should investigate bringing physicality to the exhibition than relying on photography. I was not sure how to bring physicality to the other church: I thought how I could borrow materials from Sidcup Christ church for the exhibition. As I try to make sense with observations of the spatial practice realize how hard it might be to reenact the embodied experience because the function of religious service is to direct the congestion: the exhibition targeted at individuals than a group of Christians. The bible (1979) said: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. (Luke 22:48)” I thought about the Christian analogy that Christians are the body of Christ including the church.
So, I thought about how materials are the body by suggesting the idea of borrowing objects from Sidcup Christ Church for the exhibition in St. James Hatcham church. I was keen to look for small objects and not things like benches because it would be a great struggle to transport massive objects from Sidcup to New Cross difficult. I contacted Vicar to ask if I could borrow small things from the Christ Church for the exhibition. I even told him how I plan to use the projector from college to project the video from one of your live streams towards the collection of materials (mundane and insignificant things) towards the wall by stained glass windows.
In the interview, I asked the Vicar: What religious materials you might neglect in Christ Church? Tom Parsons stated: “We don’t really reject anything as I am fascinated with bringing the outside object to provoke children.” I promised the Vicar that I would take safe care of everything and take accountability for anything lost or damaged by returning it to Christ Church once finished. When I was bringing materials from Christ Church to St. James Hatcham church: I purchased bread and wine as artefacts alongside the materials where everything is in one area that symbolizes the body of the church.
You can look at (Fig.2). I displayed mundane objects from Christ Church Sidcup to conceptually re-assemble the body in St. James Hatcham church. I then positioned the projector towards the materials as an imagined and representational congression to develop a multifaceted space by
mediating the representation of spatial practice. I decided not to play the videos on full screen because I wanted to provide social and cultural context that the Christ Church Sidcup uses YouTube as technology to record their service. I had used YouTube to mediate the spatial practice from the Christ Church Sidcup to form my infrastructure.
In the crit session just before the exhibition: Michael Guggenheim and Nina Wakeford pointed out how the Madela leaflet is out of place. They also found it unusual to hear from headphones: Vicar talking about news about Ukraine in the recorded live stream. I shall conclude that I thought my visual project was successful at the exhibition as it attracted a lot of fascination and intrigue with how visitors engage with my work. I wanted to be creatively ambitious to demonstrate how I explored materials and technologies used in the sabbath at Christ Church Sidcup that I believe done well with conducting social research for public engagement.
Figure 2. (2022) The image was taken at an exhibition in St. James Hatcham Building, Goldsmiths College.
Biography
1. Hobbes, T., & Gaskin, J. C. A. (1998). Leviathan. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 2. Weber, M. (2001) The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Routledge. 3. Winner, L. Do artifacts have politics. United States: N. p., Web.
4. Latour, B. and American Council of Learned Societies (2005) Reassembling the social an introduction to actor-network-theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 5. Brenneman, R. and Miller, B.J. (2016) ‘When Bricks Matter: Four Arguments for the Sociological Study of Religious Buildings’, Sociology of religion, 77(1), pp. 82–101. doi:10.1093/socrel/srw001.
6. Guggenheim, M. (2013) ‘Unifying and Decomposing Building Types: How to Analyze the Change of Use of Sacred Buildings’, Qualitative sociology, 36(4), pp. 445–464. doi:10.1007/s11133-013-9262-8.
7. Christ Church, Sidcup (2022) Sunday Service 10.30am 20th February 2022. Date uploaded. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2s0EhnozKQ&t=695s (Accessed: 4 Mar 2022).
8. Lefebvre, H. and Nicholson-Smith, D. (1991) The production of space. Oxford: Blackwell. 9. The Holy Bible (1979). New International Version, London: Hodder & Stoughton.
Illustrations
Figure 1. (2022) The image was taken at Christ Church Sunday Service in Sidcup.
Figure 2. (2022) The image was taken at an exhibition in St. James Hatcham Building, Goldsmiths College.