I feasted my eyes upon the gorgeous frescoes that adorned the ceiling one more time, then turned to the exit. When I reached the wide doorway, I saw that today (to my great surprise) the forecasters had been right. There was a heavy rain.
Of course, I hadn’t taken an umbrella. Who can properly enjoy walking around one of the most splendid European capitals with unnecessary stuff in hand? One hand is for my camera, another hand is for ice-cream cones. A third is not a given.
I turned around with the intention of going back into the church and waiting out the storm. No such luck. A stodgy man in a black robe blocked the passage. In answer to my wordless question he pointed to the notice board. It stated that the canonical hour would be starting soon, so I went out to the big porch in the rain. There was no choice.
The porch was quickly filling up with people. The rear pushed at the front, perplexed as to why they would stand out in the downpour and not enter. Toward them moved ‘exiles’ like me who had been turned out of the building. A sullen acolyte stood at the centre of this live whirlpool like a hard-shelled bouncer at a night club doorway. It looked like no one was fitting the dress code for this private party today.
I lifted my face to the grey sky and inhaled the heavy, wet air. Some huge raindrops fell on my cheek. I smiled and shrugged my shoulders. There’s always choice.
I covered my head with a leaflet detailing the schedule of canonical hours, and ran to a bar opposite the church. Thank god these sanctuaries are always willing to embrace and warm the sick and suffering. Amen.
by TETIANA ALEKSINA
© All rights reserved 2017
unbolt me 
Tony, just reading this is extremely repulsive to me concerning this scenario… Quite obviously I agree with everyone else here.
“Church” is not a museum for good people. It is a hospital for the broken (–Jefferson Bethke, YouTube).
So, this is exactly why I have been led to deal with such morbidly repugnant issues within “His” people themselves.
Church???!! Really…
In America, all we do is just sit on a pew weekly, watch a man talk behind a pulput on an ego-centric stage with an audience, glance at our watches every 5-10 minutes, and “beat the crowd for our burgers”.
To be blunt, man?? God sees us as a whole as a spiritual whore in His eyes… And it makes me so depressed/furious, as “judgement” begins at the house of God, covered on Alpha Antidote & “pointing fingers”…
VERY much obliged for this… Sharing in my algorithm, if you don’t mind!!!!
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Don’t mind at all, Cay-Dawg. Love the name! 😉
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Whoa…awesome. I’d been working on piece with the same title. Finally set it aside. Good thing. You nailed it! Thanks for connecting. So nice to meet you, Deb
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It’s very cool to meet you too, Deb! I’m very curious to read what you would have written now too! 😛
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Oh I don’t know about that. I worked so long and hard on it that it wore me out. Do you ever feel like you might be caught between two worlds when you write..?
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Actually, I do! I feel like I’m often trapped between the ambition of what I want to achieve and the limitations of my actual capabilities to achieve it. 😛
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Imagined capabilities, I would imagine. ☺️
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Oh, and btw, you encouraged me to return to my version of Come Unto Me. Finished it this morning. Thank you, Deb
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Oh wow! Awesome! Are you happy with the result?
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Yes! Not at all like the version I had agonized over for all those weeks.
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A bar is its own church for the masses 🙂
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Amen to that! 😉
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Oh irony. I find it ironic that those who preach acceptance aren;t always so. Once again beautifully written! ❤
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Ain’t it a kicker how that kinda hypocrisy always tends to happen? Thanks for visiting, Kate. 🙂
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Haha it really is! You are very welcome! Anytime! ❤
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Being of the “unchurched” persuasion, I had to look up “canonical hours” LOL! But I’m used to looking things up when I read your blog posts (both of you)!
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Hee hee hee! We love making people look up stuff. It’s so much fun! 😛
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So sorry religious institutions treat lovely people like yourself in that manner (I.e. bad mannered!). It’s disgusting, and as a ‘faithy’ person it saddens me. Those folks should actually read the good book which encourages welcoming the stranger and living your neighbour. Glad you found a house of hospitality – I usually find God hangs out at the pub 😀
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Thanks so much for visiting with us, Stuart. We’re glad you got something out of Tati’s story. 🙂
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I hope someday to be able to write as well as you did in this short, short story. What was left unsaid is, by far, more noteworthy than what was said. This piece could be used as a springboard for discussion in many venues, e.g., church leadership, social studies class, and a writing course.
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That’s actually a very good point you make there, Rose. It has so many applications when I think about it. I love stories that promote discussion!
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You should have summoned the assistance of the Naughty Nuns. Great piece of writing.
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Those Naughty Nuns would have made short work of those acolytes! 😛
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🙂
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Very lovely writing, enjoyed this!
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Thanks for visiting, Mike! 🙂
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I’ll definitely be back! 😊
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Chucked out of church, welcomed in to an Inn? Mysterious ways indeed. Good to see you retain a sense of irony and humour.
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Tati’s all about the irony and humour, Obbverse. Thanks for reading! 😉
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