5 /5 Will Juntunen: Woke up this morning and looked up the local Episcopal church. Auburn must be a deeply religious community because the local paper can print an entire page of church listings, giving the names of the ministers, contact details and even the times of services. A half sheet has been the most Ive seen dedicated to church listings, usually published free of charge. St Peters stood across from the city library, built of stone in 1833, making it the citys oldest church. I took a snap of a stained glass panel. A woman noticed and she gave me a thick brochure documenting all of the windows, a fine document. Ill have to read the story more closely. In 1919, two daughters of the congregation traveled together to take up teaching posts in Colorado. The two remained in Colorado for the rest of their lives. Yet, their funerals were observed in St. Peters. One of the two wrote a book about the experience, published not until this century. I love that stained glass speaks so eloquently about the past, but rarely with this many thought provoking details. For a moment, I felt sad for the congregation, the smallest I have counted in my visits to Upstate New York churches. I counted fifteen. Plus I counted eight in the choir. Then, the organist performed the New World Symphony by Dvorak as a prelude, which sounded incredible on a pipe organ. The minister, who introduced herself as Mother Julie, began cracking up the choir with her sermon. "Jesus healed the woman of her illness. And then she arose from her bed and began cooking. How sexist is that. This part of the Gospel has always raised my hackles". For the sign of peace, she made sure we knew where to find the hand sanitizer. "Shaking hands is okay. But I started my career as a nurse and I want you to stay healthy. Might I suggested the fist bump, the peace sign or the thumbs up"? The men still wanted to shake hands. Except for one man in the choir who gave her the Vulcan Peace Sign. "Live Long and Prosper", she responded, hardly missing a beat. No, I didnt feel sad for the congregation at all after all that.
