I realize this isn't that odd for many people, but for me it's pretty damn (oops!) unusual. But my uncle, who is one of my favorite uncles, recently moved here from South Africa. He's an Anglican priest and tonight, Ash Wednesday, he's giving his first service since he moved here. It's a big deal, and thus, I'm going. More as a show of support than because I've had some sort of religious epiphany.
In fact, not counting weddings, I haven't been inside a church since... 1993. In fact, that time was to see this same uncle. My mother and I had gone back to Cape Town to visit, and he invited us to go. It was... intense. A big reason for that intensity is that this was when Cape Town was still in the throes of Apartheid, and the day we arrived, Chris Hani, who was the leader of the South African Communist party, was assassinated, and as such the country was in even more turmoil than usual.
I suspect this will be far less intense and environment. But the truth is, I'm not a believer. I truly, honestly do not believe in a higher power, of any sort. So I always feel somewhat out of place in church, as if I'm invading somehow. I know that's not the way the other churchgoers feel, but it's inescapable to me. Anyway, I'm actually really looking forward to it. It's somewhat odd that I, a die-hard, unapologetic atheist, would be so close with so spiritual a man. Yet here we are. Some of the best, most interesting and intriguing conversations I've ever had have been with my uncle, so I always look forward to seeing him, regardless of the setting.
In anyway event, that's happening.
By the way - last week in Puerto Rico? Fabulous. Absolutely goddamn fantastic.
Finally, I wrote a review of Ben Nichols' album, The Last Pale Light In The West, that went up today. Click here to read it.
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Now playing: Ben Nichols - Davy Brown
via FoxyTunes
3 comments:
As a believer, I welcome your heathen ass to church. Get behind me Satan.
Very cool that you have more family back in the States.
Head
Dude, can you believe that we have FOUR priests in our family! Three uncles and one aunt. Damn, and all the children need a bit of saving don't we.
I didn't even go to church at Christmas, my dad hasn't let me forget it.
On Ash Wednesday, I found myself sitting across from this whole family in the waiting room. They all had these black smudges on their foreheads, and it made me do a double-take. It took me a minute to realize they weren't just dirty people. Just all religious and shit.
See my fiercely Protestant ass doesn't do the dirty forehead thing, but I discovered there are quite a number of folks here in Texas who do.
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