Volpone
Zombie Hunter
This would ordinarily go in my Blue Room thread at the other place, but apparently it shit the bed and this might be a bit too blasphemous (and wordy) for FB.
My Dog's twice daily walk regularly cuts across 2 church properties. Last week she stopped to say "hello" to the pastor of one while he was doing some yard work and he invited me to their midnight Christmas service. Turned out they weren't Baptist, they were non-denominational Christian--and their service keeps to the all-important 1 hour mark. Since it's hard to make it to the Catholic church between my job and The Dog, they are my neighbors, and a few other reasons, I decided to give it a go.
It was a nice service--although as a Catholic, it felt a bit odd, not doing all the standing, sitting, kneeling, and all the other routines of Catholicism. (I gotta wonder what Lutheran services are like. Luther was German and it seems like Catholic Mass is right up the Hun's alley). There were other things that were different. Since the bread wasn't literally the flesh of Jesus Christ, proper dining etiquette entailed waiting until everyone had a piece before eating it (oops) and I couldn't resist sneaking a quick sign of the cross after eating it. Then there were mysterious holes on the book holders on the backs of the pews. I mean, there was the slot for the books--which included an actual Bible (WEIRD!)--and a slot for offertory envelopes and holes for the little golf pencils to write on them with, but there were also a couple bigger holes. I put my candle in it (more on that later). Turned out they were for the wine. It got handed out in little (for lack of a better word) shot glasses. And when you did your Jesus shot, you put the glass in the little cupholder.
At the end everyone formed a circle around the nave with candles and sang "Silent Night." It was kind of neat.
Anyway, it was really interesting to see a different take on a Christian service. As a Catholic, the idea that anyone that wants to can just start up a church is very alien. And it was all a lot less polished than a Catholic Mass (not that that's a bad thing, just different). It reminded me of an observation I once made about God and religion.
When we're little kids, we play "grown-up." We put on Mom & Dad's shoes and clomp around, pretending to be adults--even though we don't really have any understanding what being an adult actually entails (much like being an actual grown-up, but I digress). My point is we, as mortal humans, look at a being we, for lack of a better word, call "God." We don't understand him/her/it. We can't understand. So we play act the best understanding of God that we can. And that's kind of what I think all the different religions are--it's the same God (or incredibly long-lived and near omnipotent space alien) but different cultures try to understand God in the way that works the best for them.
Well that's about it. Christmas morning is fast approaching and I've still got to tie a branch to my Dog's head, put on a Santa suit and steal all the neighbors' food, presents, and decorations. Ho-ho-ho, motherfuckers.
My Dog's twice daily walk regularly cuts across 2 church properties. Last week she stopped to say "hello" to the pastor of one while he was doing some yard work and he invited me to their midnight Christmas service. Turned out they weren't Baptist, they were non-denominational Christian--and their service keeps to the all-important 1 hour mark. Since it's hard to make it to the Catholic church between my job and The Dog, they are my neighbors, and a few other reasons, I decided to give it a go.
It was a nice service--although as a Catholic, it felt a bit odd, not doing all the standing, sitting, kneeling, and all the other routines of Catholicism. (I gotta wonder what Lutheran services are like. Luther was German and it seems like Catholic Mass is right up the Hun's alley). There were other things that were different. Since the bread wasn't literally the flesh of Jesus Christ, proper dining etiquette entailed waiting until everyone had a piece before eating it (oops) and I couldn't resist sneaking a quick sign of the cross after eating it. Then there were mysterious holes on the book holders on the backs of the pews. I mean, there was the slot for the books--which included an actual Bible (WEIRD!)--and a slot for offertory envelopes and holes for the little golf pencils to write on them with, but there were also a couple bigger holes. I put my candle in it (more on that later). Turned out they were for the wine. It got handed out in little (for lack of a better word) shot glasses. And when you did your Jesus shot, you put the glass in the little cupholder.
At the end everyone formed a circle around the nave with candles and sang "Silent Night." It was kind of neat.
Anyway, it was really interesting to see a different take on a Christian service. As a Catholic, the idea that anyone that wants to can just start up a church is very alien. And it was all a lot less polished than a Catholic Mass (not that that's a bad thing, just different). It reminded me of an observation I once made about God and religion.
When we're little kids, we play "grown-up." We put on Mom & Dad's shoes and clomp around, pretending to be adults--even though we don't really have any understanding what being an adult actually entails (much like being an actual grown-up, but I digress). My point is we, as mortal humans, look at a being we, for lack of a better word, call "God." We don't understand him/her/it. We can't understand. So we play act the best understanding of God that we can. And that's kind of what I think all the different religions are--it's the same God (or incredibly long-lived and near omnipotent space alien) but different cultures try to understand God in the way that works the best for them.
Well that's about it. Christmas morning is fast approaching and I've still got to tie a branch to my Dog's head, put on a Santa suit and steal all the neighbors' food, presents, and decorations. Ho-ho-ho, motherfuckers.
I see the blasphemy! LOL