Spirituality

I just didn’t get it. My teacher practically force fed the answers to me. I still did not understand what a mustard seed had to do with religion and Jesus. I had to give a fifteen minute talk for this little church in southern Ohio on Sunday morning. I was the special speaker, and I was all of 14 years old. Somehow I wrote out something on a couple pieces of paper to read, but I never really understood what I was saying, nor do I to this day. I understand the crucifixion, I understand the virgin birth, I understand the Last Supper, I understand the loaves and fishes, the Philistine met on the path, and many other Christian stories. They were stories to me, however, not real events or anything magical. Just stories that illustrate moral virtues or points. To me, Christianity can be summed up in one sentence: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Our church youth group went to a poor rural town in Southern Ohio by the border between Ohio and Kentucky. The boys were assigned to paint the church white, and the girls were teachers in a children’s summer bible camp. The only thing I remember was having to give the sermon, and how hot it was.
Our First Congregational Church youth group was quite large and very active. We met every Sunday night. I met my first boyfriend there. He was Catholic. Our youth group was so much fun and active, people brought their friends from other religions to participate in the parties and activities. The biggest thing we did, besides paint the Southern Ohio church, was a trip to Salt Lake City to meet up with a Mormon Youth group and exchange ideas and friendship. Our church youth Sunday school spent many Sundays going to other churches to learn about other faiths. I liked the Jewish religion the best, but after we met the Mormons, I thought that was cool also.
To raise money to go to Salt Lake City, we washed cars, had bake sales, and collected soda pop cardboard six pack containers. We had a contract with a recycle company to sort out the containers. Every Saturday for months a big truck would pull up to our church and dump off these cardboard containers. All of us (20 or 30 would show up), would sort through the mess and put the Coca Cola ones that were still okay in one container, the Pepsi in another, the RC Cola and the Hires Root beer, Verner’s Ginger ale, 7 up, Orange Crush, and other soda brands in specific containers. We would fold them neatly and throw out the bad ones. For this we got paid.
We were able to raise enough money for all of us to ride a bus across country to Mormon country. We stopped to see the National Park sites along the way, and stayed on the floor of churches, whose church women would also feed us a spaghetti dinner. One night to dispel the tensions of a long day on the bus, the counselors went into town and bought shaving cream and eggs. They staged a fight between the boys and girls. It was quite a free for all fun time. Everyone was a mess.
When we arrived in Salt Lake, we met with a youth group our age for the afternoon and evening. They were really nice and good looking and fun. We had a big party at a park. Some of the Mormon boys played guitar and sang. The food was good. The kids were really friendly and talked about how they would be going on their missions soon, and how fun it was to be a Mormon. They didn’t use the term Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at all. We held a worship service together the next morning. I had a crush on one of the guitar players, but we had to leave and get back to Ohio.
First Congregational Church was one of the biggest churches in Akron, OH. Our whole family went there, both sides. It had a huge organ with real pipes that were in the front of the church. The organist was up there, too, to the left. The choir was also up front in the balcony, the men in the back, the Sopranos on the right and the Altos on the left. We had four professional singers who sang the solos. I was a soprano in the youth choir and then from about 8th grade until I graduated from high school in the regular choir. We had special robes and weekly choir practice. I knew all the major hymns. I loved Christmas and Easter music. My brother David was also in the choir and had to do a solo once. He moved his mouth and looked great, but no sound came out of his mouth! He was petrified. I never had to do a solo.
We would go to church about 9:00am so we could go to Sunday school. I don’t know what my parents did, they either went to an adult Sunday school or just had coffee with the other parents. Our church was so big they built a huge addition for all the classrooms. We had a big social hall, reception area, and the huge auditorium where the services were held. It was in a round formation, not straight aisles like most churches. The pulpit was raised on a half circle, with three big chairs, one for the minister, Dr. Pelletier, one for the Assistant Minister/Youth minister, and one for the Lay Leader. There were lots of ushers, one at each aisle; I think there were four or six aisles. We always dressed in our best dresses with petticoats, shoes (maryjanes) and camel hair coats to go to church. At first men had to wear hats and so did women. Then the men were not allowed to wear hats. We usually also wore gloves. I had several pairs of white gloves. We also had a balcony. When I was older, my brothers and I would sit up there because we didn’t want to be seen with our parents. I remember deep red carpet, dark mahogany pews, little holders on the back of the pews for the grape juice cups for communion which was once a month. We used bread cubes for the body of Christ. The ushers would bring this to each row. They also took the offerings.
I remember I liked getting dressed up, seeing my friends, hearing and singing the music and sometimes even the sermon. It was a nice, quiet, reflective time.
The last time I was in Akron, OH a few years ago, I drove by the church. It looked the same, the grey stones, the tall steeple, the imposing façade that you had to walk up many steps to get to the doors, but I was told that it was almost closed, that people didn’t come downtown anymore to church.
Dr. Pelletier was the Minister for over 40 years. He died soon after I moved to Alaska. One of his Assistant Ministers came to Seattle where David and I were living while he was in Law School. My Mother said we should go to his small church. We avoided it for quite some time, but she insisted and made a point of letting us know where it was. It turned out the church was within walking distance, so we went one sunny day. David kept looking at the Minister, and finally said he thought he knew him! Sure enough, by the end of the service, he remembered that Steve Bauck had gone to Whitman College with him and was in his class! We then started to go to his church regularly and became good friends. When we needed a minister to get married, he married us. He still lives in Seattle, although with a different wife. He visited us here in Alaska once.
When David and I moved to Anchorage, we lived in Turnagain. We somehow started to go to Turnagain United Methodist Church. The Minister then was quite dynamic. We had babies and had them baptized in this church and became part of the church community, going to the social events, Sunday school and services on a regular basis. I even joined the choir for a time. Our favorite family event was the Christmas eve candlelight service. Just hymns and then we sang Silent Night while lighting candles from one candle.
Aaron benefited most from TUMC. He was in the most active youth group, led by the then Minister, Dennis Holway. They lived right behind us on Esquire drive, and their two boys were the same ages as Aaron and Andy. Aaron went several times to Indian reservations where they did construction work on houses. By the time Andy was that age, the Holways had moved on. Aaron learned all the hymns and Christian stories and culture, but Andy didn’t want much to do with it and it seemed to pass him by. After the boys went to college, we attended less and less, and then when David joined the Opera Board, we decided that our budget could only handle one thing like that, since he had to contribute about $2,500 per year to be on the Board. So we dropped church, and then eventually officially dropped our membership. David was on several committees and served as a popular Lay Leader, and we were ushers a lot, but the ministers started to change frequently and we had other friends and other interests. David used to say that he was an atheist, but church was the only place where you could discuss moral and religious issues and relate them to the times, but that finally wore off and he is now a devout atheist and not even interested in the new “cool” churches.
We once went to the Anchorage Baptist Temple Christmas and Easter pageants, just to see what it was like. We were overwhelmed with the commercialization and drama, TV broadcasting, huge auditorium, etc. But you could be saved if you wanted to be!
4/3/2009