Side
Trip - Tuesday,
Have
traveled about 340,000,000 miles.
I took a
little side trip this week – to the meeting that’s held yearly by The Escondido
Clergy Association.
What a
wonderful meeting it was.
Not
represented were Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and other non-Christians, but this
amalgamation of Escondido Christian denominations was so positive and upbeat
that I would be tempted to join them weekly should they put such as that
together.
More
obviously not represented were Christians who are not ready for such gathering
together – The Jehovah’s Witnesses – The Christian Scientists – The
Pentecostals. There were doubtless denominations not part of the actual program
– the man next to me was Congregational (His wife was singing in the choir.)
Not
many years ago, Catholics and Mormons would have stayed away also. Progress of
this kind is slow in coming. Religions tend to be conserving of their status
quo. (Conservative.)
The
choir was made up of the choirs of several churches – the Catholics among them
had beautiful robes with gold crosses on them. Others had robes also – except
the Mormons in the choir, who were dressed the same as the audience. The
mixture was wonderful – a kind of acceptance of all. The pieces sung by the
choir were led by different leaders from several churches – Mormon – Catholic –
Methodist. It appeared to me that each leader was a bit enthralled to lead it.
Is there something in us all that likes this “inclusiveness”?
On the
program were Mormons, Catholics, Methodists, The mayor of
This
meeting is held in a different church each year. Guess what – this year it was
at our own
In case
some do not know – here it is:
A chain
is as weak as whatever link is the weakest in the chain. That’s the way a
“link” works – it is, as an electrician would say, organized in series. Each
link connects to the next – and the whole chain is completely dependent on each
link. Only one of them must fail for the whole organization to fail. (Some
Christmas tree lights are like this – in series. If one light fails the whole
string is off.)
A tent,
on the other hand, is held in place by stakes, not links. If one stake fails,
the tent may lose a little shape, but it will not fall down. The stakes work
together in parallel rather than in series. This is the way the Stakes of the
Church work. If one has a failing, the others will work a little harder to hold
everything together – while the lost Stake can be repaired and allowed to find
itself back in place. (Better Christmas tree lights are like this – in
parallel. If one light fails, we can fix it now – or wait ‘til later, because
all the other lights continue to work.)
Tonight,
we, the Mormons, functioned a little like a stake of the Christian community,
and this at our own
Now
some of these people don’t know exactly how to act in one of our buildings. I
was impressed, however, that after wonderful renditions by the choir, there was
no applause, though it felt imminent each time. There were no announcements
concerning this – nor any instruction in the program not to applaud. To tell
you the truth, I was surprised at the somehow gained knowledge of the
attendants, for I have been to their churches – and they like to clap.
This
was also the first time I have ever seen a “collection” done in one of our
buildings. Plates were passed and filled to overflowing – money falling out on
the floor – and laughter of pride coming from many, for the success of the
offering. Someone from the stand said, “Our cup runneth
over!” The money will be used for the charity work of the Interfaith Community
Services in
Most of
the churches I’ve visited during the Trip Around The Sun have such a “pass the
plate” collection. Some use a cloth bag, so that what is offered is not
visible.
The
meeting was a mixture of patriotic and Thanksgiving songs and words. We sang
several patriotic songs – my favorite “
The
choir sang more general religious songs. “We Will Praise You,” led by the
Catholic director, “Come Thou Almighty King,” led by the LDS director, “The
Lord Bless and Keep You,” led by the Methodist director.
At the
beginning, colors were posted by the scouts – and then the Pledge of
Allegiance.
A
welcome message was given by our new Stake President, who appeared satisfied to
represent the host of the event for this year. It set a nice tone for the whole
meeting.
Invocation
was done by our own good Mormon Bishop (Kyle Denning) – with emphasis on the
Savior and our gratitude for Him and what He has done and is doing.
Benediction
was given by the Methodist minister. Report 18 was the visit to the
She is
enthusiastic and positive. There was the distinct feeling that she was very
comfortable in this gathering of denominations – she could have well functioned
as the minister for the group, I think because she had never thought of any of
them as illegitimate while in her own church. This is a feature of Methodists
and of Nazarenes and of Swedenborgians.
The
benediction was more of an enthusiastic talk than it was like a prayer. It
included an admonition to continue beyond this meeting such working together.
Then
the choir sang their “Chorale Benediction,” what we would call the “Closing
Song.” “The Lord Bless You and Keep You.”
Then
the congregation lost it – big applause. (Such control can only last so long.)
It was fun to see the Mormons in the choir – enthusiastically clapping in the
chapel.
But
nobody was getting up to leave – it was as if it wasn’t quite over. The woman Methodist
minister (Her name is Faith), started to leave the stand – went back to the
microphone and said, “We’re leaving – you can too.”
Big
Laughter – and friendly banter – and then cookies – lots of them.
It was
just a side trip – heard about the meeting – invited myself – glad I did.
This
was a happy gathering.
Side
Trip - Tuesday,