Monday, March 16, 2009

Just How Pious are your Sundays?

Because with an active family and fidgety teens, (okay, maybe the family is fidgety and the teens are active) three hours at church oughta just about fill up the sabbath-y part of the day. I do try not to let the rest of Sunday disintegrate into stuff that would make it feel like Tuesday or Friday or Saturday. But don't we LOVE to shed our Sunday threads and slink into sweats or PJ pants? Mmmmm.... It's like dessert for the body. And typical to our Sundays is having someone over for dinner or dessert. And also traditional is the 'question of the night.' It's a great way to get to know people, give everyone at the table a voice, and learn some things we might otherwise not have known. It's also a great distraction: a way to break away from an awkward pause, spilled milk or quarrelling. But none of those things ever happen at our table--just mentioning the distraction attraction bonus because I'm kind-hearted and like to think of others' needs like that. SO, because sometimes I plan things out perfectly in my head before they ever happen in real life, I thought in addition to our question, it might be entertaining to read an excerpt from 'The Naked Quaker' to our dinner guests. Let me point out that I borrowed this book from my mother, who is always eager to learn things about our predecesors, and I picked out bits from the chapter titled 'Sunday Meeting.' I thought, who wouldn't want to learn about Massachusetts in the mid-1600s? A book about true crimes and controversies from the Courts of Colonial New England is sure to have some unique and interesting conversation fodder. The chapter dealing with Sundays seemed somehow conducive to maintaining more of a Sabbath feel to the day.

Well ~WOW!~ was I wrong. I began by expaining that in the 17th century there was a law in place requiring ALL residents of Massachusetts (regardless of religious preference) and those areas under the jurisdiction of Mass. to attend Puritan church services. And they weren't required to attend for an hour, or even three; the Puritan services typically lasted six to seven hours, with a brief break for lunch. Enter a church in Newbury. Imagine the surprise of the congregation when a Quaker woman, angry about being fined (for missing 20 consecutive Sundays!) and persecuted for not choosing Puritan-ism chose to disrobe in the church and use nudity as her form of protest. I think the rest of the interesting facts I was sharing with ears-at-table were lost in a sea of blah-blah-blah, as my husband's jaw dropped, and the four guests were stunned into silence. The kids thought it was an entertaining story, however, mentioned to me later that the point of the telling was lost in the experience. My husband thinks my name should be changed. He's worried about the fact that I was fine with discussing nudity with first-time dinner guests over salad. So what did you talk about over your roast or ham or whatever you have on Sunday? Maybe your attempt at maintaining spirituality was more successful than mine.

7 comments:

Michael Stokes said...

Nude congregations... angry parishioners... high fines

Of course it's Massachusetts. I am glad you gave your husband something to wring his hands over; keeps him on his toes. :-)

Aaron H. said...

If Mr. Safety can release the safety valve at will, I see nothing wrong with a little story about naked worship.

Jo Jo said...

Okay, I needed a smile to jumpstart my day today. Would have loved to been that pesky fly on the curtain yesterday!

Darleen said...

Such a liberal-minded woman--love it!!! Wish you were at our house yesterday to add a bit of flavour to our ham dinner!

shirlgirl said...

Hey, people, this is HISTORY!! Guess it wasn't for dinner entertainment, but it wouldn't have bothered me to hear you read from the book. Good for the Quaker woman for standing up for her rights--of course, I don't think it was too wise to show her all to the congregation--she could have been a little more discreet.

Christy said...

You and my husband are too much alike! He never has a problem with "touchy" topics and I get ultra embarrassed!

We were home sick yesterday, so tried to make the best of it. Our home primary efforts were great, but over by 10 am! Too many hours left. It is hard to stay spiritual.

Cathy said...

I was unable to get a word (or two) in during dinner. Our guests had plenty to say, so the dear husband and I sat and listened. By the end of the night I told my husband, "My ears hurt."