[Sca-cooks] Lenten ideas for non Christians...

[Laura C. Minnick]

At 12:35 AM 2/20/2006, you wrote:
>'Lainie mentioned:
> >>>
>I grew up in various fundamentalist churches- no Lenten observation,
>other
>than the little kids waving construction-paper palms on Palm Sunday. My
>parents thought Catholics were idolatrous, so most of medieval Christian
>practice was completely off the map.
><<<
>
>Oh! They don't?

Not the ones I grew up in!

I should ask my Dad what if any observances of Lent there where when he was 
a boy- he grew up in Manitoba, in a tight German Mennonite community (Dad 
didn't learn English until he went to elementary school). I don't recall 
him mentioning any. Mom grew up Baptist. When I was a girl we attended 
Conservative Baptist churches for awhile, then a series of Independent 
churches (of vaguely Baptistoid flavor) and then Fundamentalist Pentecostal 
churches (mostly Assemblies of God). When my kids were small we attended a 
Nazarene church, which was similar but less demonstrative. Eastertime 
celebrations were generally a choir cantata of some sort that might include 
a high-production Passion play, the little kids Palm Sunday thing (with the 
paper palm leaves, and a processional), maybe a sunrise service on Easter. 
And potted lilies everywhere. We attended a Methodist church briefly when 
we lived in Hawaii, and that was the first time I'd ever seen the bit with 
the ashes on Ash Wednesday, much less participated in it!

(You may have guessed that we changed churches alot- my Dad has a very 
finite amount of time that he can get along with people, and he takes 
offense easily.)

>And here I was wondering what the differences between the ways
>medieval Catholics and Orthodox celebrated Lent. I guess it never
>occurred to me that the Protestant churches might be even more
>different, other than less strict.  But then the modern Catholic
>Church seems less strict than the medieval one, in most dogma.
>
>But then I was raised Episcopalian, and I've heard folks call that
>"Catholic Lite".

I've heard that too. :-)

Protestant churches vary a LOT. Beside the experience I had in the 
Methodist church, I also understand from my student Laurence (who is a good 
Scandanavian Lutheran boy) that much of his tradition is closer to Catholic 
or Anglican than to how I grew up. (He's funny- he's grousing a lot 
recently because they've started going for a more informal service in his 
home church, and he hates it. Especially the 'praise band'. Nothing quite 
like a computer jock complaining about newfangledness ;-)

James is Episcopalian, and going to church with him is always a new 
experience for me- it is SOOOO different than what I know- it can be more 
than a little disorienting. However, it has given me a different insight- 
and something of a matrix from which to understand period practice a bit 
better. And frankly, I think the robes and the incense and all are cool. 
Smells and bells, and I like it. :-)

'Lainie, who really should shut up and go to bed...
___________________________________________________________________________
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who have much. It is whether we provide enough to those who have 
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