Thats Me in the Corner, Thats Me in the Spotlight

About a month ago one of the youth in my town came over and we had a late night (you know, like 8PM) talk. She’s really involved in her church youth group and I asked her if her religion was very important to her. She said it was and then explained a bit of why. Then she recited some prayers which I love to hear here because they are some of the easiest (and most interesting, linguistically, I think) things to translate. I told her so and she asked me to recite them in English. So, I said aloud for the first time in I don’t know how long, the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

A few weeks ago I went to visit the small community next to the one I live in. I passed by a few homes over there, trying to make the rounds and remind people I’m still here, even if I’m hardly ever here. At one visit, a woman who doesn’t live in the home stopped by. Let’s call her Betty. So Betty had a Bible and a hymnal. After a short conversation including asking me about my religiosity, she took my hand and the hand of the woman whose house we were at, to pray. I wasn’t surprised by any of this, although I haven’t been here too long to forget that such a thing would never happen in the US, or at least not in the crowds I roll with, but here it’s quite common. My host did not seem to be responding to any of it the way I was though, with nods, smiles, eye contact, and the like. When Betty left I asked, or maybe my host even volunteered the fact that Betty is a 7th Day Adventist and she tours the community, praying for everyone, daily. There aren’t a lot of 7th Day Adventists in the area. The 2 main religions here are Catholic and Evangelical.

A couple of days later I went to the south, to a volunteer friend’s house to celebrate with her, and 2 other Jewish volunteer friends, a seder dinner for Passover. It was lovely, and I found the matza. We read from the Torah in our native languages of Hebrew and Spanish… well, I guess no one in the group really speaks Spanish natively… but we did our best to understand, me probably more than the other 3 really needed to work at it.

A few weeks later an Evangelical neighbor of mine came over for the first time and took a look around the house. She was very inquisitive about the items in the house, picking up various things to look at them more closely. She spoke quickly about what she was up to and very soon asked, "Is there a Bible in this house?" I answered slowly, something that is not rare for me, and described that, ‘you know, as a matter of fact, there isn’t.’ My next thought could have been, ‘huh, I wonder how that happened.’ Without missing a beat she began a sermon (not that she was preachy in the secular use of that word, but she was very much so in the religious sense) on the importance of God in our lives and homes. I could tell that she’d given the sermon before. She told me she was then going to say a prayer, I asked if she wanted to sit down, and she said it’s best to pray standing, and so we stood and she gave the prayer. She blessed the house and then sang a song to God. A few days later she presented me with a pocket New Testament, Gideons, in English. I got to admit, it was the first time I’d looked at the Gideons version of the Bible, and I’m pretty sure the emotion I was feeling while reading the first few pages was offended. There was a lot of mention made to people who don’t follow the pages of the Bible and what’s going to happen to them. I think it’s fair to say that in general I frown on negativity, and the message in the introduction of the Bible was quite negative, among other things, in my opinion.

So obviously religion is something that’s really important to a lot of the people I see and work with on a daily basis, and although I consider it a fascinating topic of study, it’s not a major part of my daily life. There is a prayer in every one of the women’s group meetings I attend in the community, to open and close the meeting, and a lot of singing of religious songs there as well, and even the kids and teenagers sing religious songs or chants doing whatever: playing in the park, walking down the street, driving around. The fact that religion is not a large part of my life doesn’t create a problem, but definitely room for me to wonder and reflect. (I haven’t come to a single conclusion. As usual, It’s all just airy and distracted up there.)

As I climbed into bed the other night I was struck with the memory of how my older brother and I used to have to pray before getting into bed. "Our Father", "Hail Mary", and "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep", praying for all of our family at the end of that one, right Mike? When was the last time I knelt beside my bed to pray? When was the last time I went to church for something besides acclimating into my community, because my host mom made me, for a funeral, to sing in an a capella concert, or to take pictures of its lovely interior? I honestly think the last time I went was on September 11th, 2001 because it seemed like the right thing to do that day. I could write for days on this topic, but I think it’d be too self-indulgent and probably not make for the best reading. So instead I’ll just leave you with what I can now remember of something that used to be a part of everyday of my life. I’m sure some of you can relate? Care to share? Or, can any of you remember these better than me?

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. (Never really realized that one ends with the word ‘evil’.)

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee, blessed art Thou among woman, and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen. (Another not so pleasant way to end a prayer, although is that just my American fear of death coming into play and really it’s not so unpleasant?)

Now I lay me, down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, and guide me through the starry night and wake me with the morning light. (And then I think I rattled off the names of people I was supposed to pray for…) and God Bless Mommy, Daddy, Michael, Timmy, and Baby Julie, Grandma and Crampa and Cramma, cousins, aunts, and uncles (I won’t make you read all their names. That one is a lot lighter but I know my Mom changed the words for us from "and if I die before I wake…" to "guide me through the starry night." Much more pleasant, kudos Mom.)