7/20/11

The last Preacher and other stuff.

When I was young, we called the leader of our church "Preacher". Not, Reverend Jim or Brother Smith. Just Preacher.

When I was young, I went and talked to Preacher about my gay friend. I had met a gay friend...my first gay friend...the first person I ever knew, that I knew was gay. I explained to him that I had a friend that was gay and I was going to invite my friend to come to church with me and I would appreciate it if he didn't preach anything anti-gay when I did. I was extremely polite about it. He was open to my request.

Next time I went to see Preacher, it was to tell him that my gay friend and I had had an affair and I liked it and what was I supposed to do about it.

To his credit, I don't remember him saying anything disparaging or calling me a sinner, or calling down a bold of lightening. He explained that my parents were not going to accept that. I should keep it pretty quiet. And, he didn't say anything to my parents about it.

I remember that when I came out and shared that I had already talked to Preacher, my Mom was furious. She felt that Preacher should have told them. I don't know why. I don't know what difference it would have made.

And, he was right. My parents had trouble with it. And, eventually, we found a relationship around it.

After that, I went to church less and less. It was hard to reconcile my feelings that Jesus loved me no matter what with the church's teachings on the horror of homosexual sin. After I moved away, I only went to church a few times when visiting my parents. Finally, I just told them I wasn't going anymore and stayed home to prepare a big Sunday lunch. So, not all my sinfulness was wasted...at least it resulted in a good meal.

That made Brother Glenn my last preacher.

This morning, my Mom shared in an email that Bro. Glenn had passed away a few days ago. That makes me retrospective. I'll always remember that the advice he gave me was right, even if it wasn't what my Mom thought he should do. No regrets. Just a bit of a sad feeling about the passing of my last "Preacher".

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Okay, on to happier pictures. Remember that I've had a bunch of pics that didn't get uploaded last week. Here are a few of those and a few new ones.

This is a new one. I finished these fun socks last night and am wearing them today. I love knitting socks. So portable and they don't take too long. Next pair is tan.


This is another new pic. This is the sorting ceremony at the house last night. I friend of mine lost her Parents over the last couple years and she and her sister are cleaning out the house. R's Mom was a crocheter and I got a big box of patterns a few weeks ago. They inspired me to start a rug and a doily. Anyway, this is what was in three huge bags. In the background, there's a beautiful ripple afghan that is about half done and enough yarn to make at least one more. I'll finish the one that's started for Linus and then maybe make one for us from the leftover yarn. It's a real beauty. The rest got divided between Linus and my stash. Linus gets full skeins and I get short skeins that will work great in another of my scrap afghans. The crochet thread goes to my stash for tying Linus quilts and more patterns and books. There's even a skein of lavendar cashmere that I think is going to be a scarf for Sydney for cmas.



This little quilt was a save. It was made by a Girl Scout troop and they donated it to Linus. It's the Cinderella story. In the upper right corner was a block that had Li'l Cindy crying and the block said "Dad died". That's true to the story, but what if this little quilt got to a girl who's Dad had died. Linus was going to donate it to a third world country because of that one block. So, I took it home, took it apart, colored over the words to make a black cloud and the new words say "Sad Days". I put it back together, gave it some really cool quilting and a real binding and turned it back in last Saturday.





I promised pics of the afghans I made and donated. Here they are. This is my second afghan to ever make. The green yarn with the purple highlights came from Linus with one skein of the purple yarn. I added another skein of purple and this is what I came up with.









On this one, I was going for the look of an old wool blanket. I think I got pretty close for someone that was making their third afghan.







And this one, you've seen recently. My Mom donated the brown yarn and I added scraps of the other colors. Those short skeins from R's Mom will help make another one of these.



Okay, so that's it from me on this Way Back Wednesday that has stuff from as far back as yesterday.




Take care and we'll see ya' round the www.




Lane
























7 comments:

Margie said...

Since my personal beliefs and politics are way too liberal for most,(I live in one of "those" states) I find stories like yours so touching. I believe God will bless you for many reasons.
Your crafting is amazing. When are you going to learn how to tat?

Becky said...

Lane, there is no doubt that God loves you very much. Preacher was a wise man. Your Linus donations are very pretty.....they will make many folks happy! Whatcha got on tap for the weekend?

Elizabeth said...

I love the tan & blue afghan that looks like a wool blanket. That is really lovely and will be such a blessing to whomever Linus gives it to.

All your Linus work is really nice. Good for you.

Sorry about your Preacher. I'm glad he was there for you.

xo -E

lindaroo said...

I also encountered a preacher in my younger days who blessed instead of cursed, and I thank God for his influence. Now I'm married to a preacher man, who is not welcome in many circles because he's so grieved by ignorance and unkindness found there. Your decision to remain gracious in the face of rejection is a sign of true communion with the Holy Spirit.
Blessings!

Kathleen said...

Lane, we love your blog and you because you are so wonderfully warm and open...

I, too, came from a very conservative church background, that emphasized all the people who were going to be damned to hell... years later, when I found my way to some more liberal and accepting philosophies, a friend of mine remarked, "I think there will be some very surprised people in heaven when they see how many people have found their way there.!" While I no longer accept the idea of an actual heaven, I do believe we all are just beginning to learn how to truly embrace and accept people who are different from ourselves... and the good news is that we ARE learning. I hope we keep learning - I am optimistic that we will! Your openness to share your own life and thoughts is an important part of that progress. You are a dear!

qltmom9 said...

I am a fundamentalist, Bible-believing, radical for Christ, conservative Christian. And, I'm glad your preacher was good to you, even if he didn't tell your mom. I love reading your blog, and learn a lot from you...about quilting, colors (your yarn creations are amazing in your color play, BTW), and relationships. You seem to have a sweet heart.
After all, 1 Corintians 13:13
Right now three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

And, I do know I am a sinner, saved by grace. I hope I am welcome mostly because you help me know better how to deal with my girls Sydney's age, and I just plain enjoy your wit and crafts.

So, what do you cook?

Lucy~

lw said...

Great post! I have a lot of respect for your preacher. He was compassionate, he gave good advice and he knew how to keep a secret.

I had some of the same problems with my Christianity as you did. Jesus wasn't sexist (as demonstrated by His chat with the woman at the well,) but St. Paul sure was (cover your head, don't talk in Church, don't even think about teaching a man anything and your husband owns you like property.) I've often wondered if they had the same split over gayness; St. Paul was horrified (based on the New Testament) but Jesus never said anything about it and on the whole, seemed to be strongly in favor of love outright. In any case, you'd be welcome and respected just as you are at my Church-- the United Church of Christ.