The weekend wasn’t a total loss…there were some bright spots….
Ernie picked his Brandywine-tomato-as-big-as-a-head….
Owen, God help us, became infatuated with Ricky’s skateboard….
I haven’t posted much about cooking of late…I think I’ve been a tad lackluster and we mostly just toss things on the grill during the summer. Friday night we were very tired so we just had corn on the cob, sliced tomatoes from the garden with some basil oil on top and a grilled ribeye. I sauteed a couple of jalapenos, cloves of garlic and some thin sliced onion until it was all sort of brown and crispy and then poured it over the steaks…..it was pretty marvelous…just adding a bit of bite and depth of flavor to a well-cooked steak….can’t argue with that!
Oh, and the other night as I was sleepily reading to Owen (he was up way too late) he started talking about church. I know I have to get a handle on this but I just wasn’t up for it. He asked me what church was about and I gave him some muddled explanation along the lines of ‘there are lots of churches and they try to help you be a better person.’ He thought for a minute and said, "ohhhh…..I thought it was about the president that died."
So he either thinks that Jesus Christ was the president or that the Catholic Church is some kind of JFK cult…. comments anyone?
I just had a huge convers about church last night.
I went to Catholic Grammar school and went through all the sacraments but the Jewish woman next door took care of me and I spent some time each summer in central Indiana with an offshoot of the Amish. Plus I spent the last four years working to preserve a Unitarian Church. And I dated a priest (as an adult – consensual).
I’ve got to say that I’ve had it with organized religion. The problem is not so much with the ideals but the REALITY and their greatest sin which is self righteousness – the idea that if you go to church you are somehow a grade above everyone else.
I think this is the ultimate hubrous when you think of all the damage that organized religion has done in history. And to imagine that you know the mind of God is just preposterous.
That said, the Unitarians seem to have a good approach – especially for kids – their religious education / sex ed programs are right on – teaching tollerance and diversity and the interconnectedness of all things.
And then there’s the fact that a lot of the UU congregations take the summer off. Remember Frank Lloyd Wright – a famous UU said, “I know what God is but I spell it N-A-T-U-R-E”.
A fundamental statement could be “Churches are communities”.
Some communitites are bad and boring and mean and some communities are good but the real goal should be to find a community that encourages you to think for yourself and to feel free to express yourself in those heartfelt ideas and questions.
If you really want to discourage the church-going thing — find a nine o’clock boring service and make him get up for it for a couple of Sundays. It helps if you keep him up late the night before.
I was an altar boy in the Catholic church, went to Catholic grade school and three years of Catholic high school before throwing in the towel. We don’t attend any church, and our children have only been in churches for weddings. I miss the community, but I simply strongly despise anyone telling me who God is or what God wants. The only thing I’ve told my kids about religion is that churches will try to tell you that they have the inside scoop on God, and that really, no one knows. That’s all there is to it. My mom had great faith, and it was a blessing to her. I often wish I did believe, because things would be simpler. My atheist grandfather on my dad’s side used to point out that most of the great wars throughout history came from religions, and I guess I’d agree with that now.
I think that is the perfect task for Pastor Bob: define the function of the church, in relation to “the president that died” and in terms a very quick five year old (who just happened to name his kitten after him) can understand. I would appreciate a video tape of that conversation! I miss you. I apologize for a being a daily lurker who never comments. I do, though, write long emails to you in my head. I have started a tiny little herb garden in our back yard the size of a postage stamp and I think of you whenever I water it. love, Sarah
HA! perfect comment Sarah—I’ll have to tell Bob! I completely understand about emails in your head—-I write them to you too!
Don’t worry…I love daily lurkers…especially you….