FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2023 - SPIRITUALITY

 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2023 - SPIRITUAL THOUGHTS

Recently a friend told me about a group - The center for Contemplation And Action.  I find it interesting and relevant to me in the LOVE WINS, LOVE TRANSFORMS concept.

There was a recent podcast about “Are you ready to leave Christianity” that was interesting to me - through this CAC group

But I’m going to work toward that discussion, but take a side trip through “Cultural Christianity”.

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The speaker on the podcast suggested that all religions are ‘cultural’.  Arabs and Islam are definitely one - the cultural and political aspects of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other Arabic-majority countries are very wrapped up in Islam.  

Likewise, other Islamic countries (like Iran and Turkey) are not of an Arab majority, but their culture and politics are distinctly Islamic.

When I lived in Connecticut - a few years before I moved there, there were several Catholic Churches that were tied to particular cultures.  St. Patrick’s parish was the Irish Catholic parish and center of Irish heritage in New Haven.  St. Josephs was Italian (as were a few other parishes).  When I was in Winona, Minnesota, St. Stanislaus Parish was the Polish Catholic Church; in Cedar Rapids, St. Wenceslaus was the Czechoslavican Catholic parish. 

Jewish culture is centered in a Jewish synagogue (or temple).  Leading up to a Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah Jewish children learned Hebrew in their local facility 

Lutheranism also has had cultural flavors over the years - Norwegian Lutherans, German Lutherans, and Swedish Lutherans.  

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But, those cultural factors also have changed over the years.  Being a Christian in the United States in the 1850s would have white churches and black churches.  (I find it interesting that the predominantly black church at that time was the AME Church - the African Methodist Episcopal Church.   

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Can you imagine being a Christian in a Boston Church in 1700?  The Pilgrims came first to the United States, but the largest group in New England was the Puritans.  If you weren’t in church in Boston on a Sunday, there were men who would come to your house to find out why you weren’t in church.  

England officially had the Church of England - an Episcopal group as the approved church.  Norway had the Church of Norway - a Lutheran Church.  

As a melting pot, Americans couldn’t remain quite as tied to a particular ethnic background and cultural identity.  As New York became more diverse, there were many churches and groups in the community.  The St. Patrick’s Day parade is run by the Loyal Order of Hibernians - an Irish group that stops the parade going up Fifth avenue to get a blessing from the Catholic Bishop at St. Patrick’s Church. (There are splinter groups of LGBTQ and Women that want inclusion in the St. Patrick’s Day parade - but are not accepted).

With cultural aspects, some traditions have continued.  First a story

St. Joseph Church in rural Finley North Dakota was a three-way parish.  The same priest visited Cooperstown, with Mass on Saturday night at 5:00, Finley with Mass on Sunday morning at 8:00, and Northwood, with Mass at 11:00 on Sunday.  The priest (who was located in Northwood), would drive to Cooperstown on Saturday and then back home to Northwood (unless the weather was nasty).  On Sunday, he would drive the 25 miles to Finley, and then the 25 miles back to Northwood.  

The old St. Joseph Church in Finley was a large gothic style with red brick and stained windows.  It took a long time to warm up the church in winter.  Elton Wagner was the parish janitor and would go about six on Sunday mornings in the winter to turn on the heat.  (But some days when the wind blew and the wind chill was about 40 degrees below zero, it would barely be warm by 8:00 Mass time.  As the people arrived, they gathered in the entry which had a space heater and warmth.  When the priest arrived they took their seats in the pews.  This became a tradition.  In the entry, the people would visit until the priest arrived.  Sometimes the priest was late, maybe due to bad roads.  The people would warm up and wait until he arrived.  As winter became spring, they would still gather in the entry to talk and visit.  As spring became summer, they would gather in the entry.  Year-round they gathered in the entry until the priest arrived.  It was a community tradition to gather in the entry and wait for the priest.  One year a tornado damaged St. Joseph Church in Finley and they built a new church.  And, the people still gathered in the entry of the new church - tradition had become the norm. Even though the new church had good heat (and even air conditioning) the people liked gathering in the entry to visit.  

Traditionals can both be meaningful and not so meaningful.  Some people this week got ashes and were attuned to the lenten journey and lenten practices. Others were there because it was “what you did on Ash Wednesday”.  They weren’t particularly religious, but it was part of their culture, upbringing, and expectation. 

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When I was first married, I got elected to the church board.  There was a man on the board who didn’t seem too religious, but it was good for business to be seen in this particular church.  Cultural Christianity.

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I’ve seen many cars in my community with Rosaries hanging from the rearview mirror.  I sense that the drivers don’t stop and pray the rosaries but it is a cultural aspect of being Hispanic.  Of course, when you got a new car, you sprinkled the car with holy water and put a rosary on the rearview mirror.  It’s just what you do.

So, is religion - however you see it - part of your life or just part of your family's tradition and culture?  Is it meaningful to you - or not?  Do you stay with it because it is your heritage or do you search for something that will give you meaning and direction?

I’m not condemning you if religion is part of your life or not.  But, are you looking for meaning in your life?

Interesting thoughts - I will explore more in the next weeks leading to Passover and Easter.

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

KAREN ANNE WHITE, © FEBRUARY 24, 2023