Christmas and Churchgoing

Went to church (as opposed to Church) in the afternoon of Christmas Eve Day, a children's service, in Pasadena California, home of the Rose Parade, and the Rose Bowl football game. The service was held at All Saints Episcopal church, and we, the whole family, were invited by my daughter from a previous marriage, now 35, who has served as a Christian Missionary in Northern Alaska.  My daughter lives near San Francisco, about 600 miles up the coast.  She was visiting friends. It was a wonderful chance to be together, and I knew the children would enjoy the presence of so many other children.

In an almost silent huddle my daughter and I agreed that this particular church, huge and beautiful in its architecture, gave God billing over Jesus. I was on my very best behaviour, determined to give up my fault of finding fault. But some provocations break the sternest resolve. I still cannot for the life of me imagine what would get into the head of any Christian cleric to turn the Nativity into a broad comedy. The wise men given comic costumes just for the entertainment of children? Pratfalls and a whining Inn keeper fed up with wise men and shepherds showing up in the middle of the night disturbing the neighborhood? I can't remember any former Virgin at all. But she must have wandered across the stage at some point. Mary as an extra!???? I'm not sure if the child was delivered.  I swear, the only pregnant woman in the entire assemblage, hundreds of people, was my wife, huge at only six months.

This is the same church, I later hit upon, that is in trouble with Federal courts for failing to observe separation of Church and State. There is a threat that this very same church will be denied tax exempt status. All the parishioners looked oh so spiffy. I swear on the Bible my four year old, said something close to, "They (the all White congregation) are more handsome [his word!] than we are." The wall of White people actually made me too feel uncomfortable. The next day son Michael pointed to 'Curious George'(the Movie character) in a wall poster wearing a shirt and tie. People at church wore shirts and ties, some of them.

Pasadena became a posh place at the beginning of the 1900's and has remained lilly white every since. It was a summer vacation mecca for Chicago merchants. Too bad. The buildings have always outshone the people. Green and Green homes, architectual marvels of practicality, enduring construction and beauty ornament the city. But every time I go there, which is fairly frequently because I swim train at the aquatic center, I break out into a rash.

Odd. That's the only word for our Christmas, the social aspect of it anyway. The private Christmas was sheer heaven, praise the Lord.

Oh my God, how powerful it might have been if somewhere in the service a young person's voice could have spoken "Hail Holy Queen Mother of mercy, hail our light our sweetness and our hope......" (Do I have the words right Ally?)

Barry