Thursday, November 17, 2005
Confessions Like Reed During Ren Fayre
This is from another blog -- not mine. It is so freaky wonderful, I just had to share this. Fact is, I'm associates with a gentleman from work who is a Priest for Wicca and one of the organizer's for the Wiccan community in Charlottesville, Orange, Madison & Louisa. I'm going to see if he'll let me do this Confession Booth during Beltane.
The link for this Christ like person's blog is Here
Confessions Like Reed During Ren Fayre
"Oh my gosh," he said as his hand covered his mouth.
"We want to confess on behalf of the church," I said, as Kellie and I sat looking onward in our monk-like dress. "We apologize to you for the violence of the crusades and the many people who were killed upon this pilgrimage in the name of Jesus. Also for the Inquisition and those who were burned alive for their beliefs. We apologize for those who've sat and yelled at you from the street corner for your beliefs, and we confess for the persecution you've endured from those who seek to impose a Christian standard of living upon you, when you've never made such a decision to follow Jesus."
And the man sitting before us in his black attire, decorated in pagan emblems suddenly began to cry. The witch sitting to his left holding her hands to her eyes was doing the same. "Oh my gosh," he said again, "We have waited so long for this. I can't believe I am hearing it. Thank you! I just can't thank you enough!"
We continued and in roughly 15 minutes time we all stood up together and embraced one another - male, female, witch, Christian - the sins of the Church had been confessed. And the healing began.
Another 15 minutes must have passed when some of the practicing witches returned. This time they were dragging another witch who was also part of their religion into our confessional booth. And a similar confessional episode transpired. Soon after, another was led in. And soon another. And another. Witch after witch arrived in our confessional booth, and confession after confession was given. And soon enough the absolutely unthinkable came to pass.
As I switched from the booth in order to change places with another volunteering confessor, I stepped out onto the walkway to call attention to our confessional tent. I stood for no longer than 4 minutes when a witch I recognized returned with a very emotionally broken woman in her arms. I recognized the witch, as Kellie and I had confessed to her only 20 minutes before, and she said to me, "This woman needs to hear what you have to say." Nodding, I directed her to one of the chairs sitting before the two monkish figures and backed out of the tent, returning to the street.
Only minutes before, this emotionally broken woman had decided to pay for a tarot card reading. The woman reading her cards was one of the witches in our confessional booth only minutes before. As the witch turned over the first tarot card, she looked at it, and then slowly back at the woman. "You've lost your faith," she said to her. Nodding the woman agreed and proceeded to tell of her recent falling out with the Christian church. The witch said to her, "I know who can help you," and immediately escorted her out of the reading hall and into our confession booth. Thankfully, Jeff Menasco and Kellie were able to talk with this woman about what had happened back in her church. And they provided a listening ear and sound counsel.
This is all so dream-like, so crazy, so INSANE! I mean . . . a witch we confessed to did an acurate tarot reading for a disenfranchised churchgoer, recognized she wasn't the one who could best assist her and led her back over to us? Unfreaking real!
I can't begin to describe on this blog how wonderful this day was. And I can't begin to put into words how much God was at work in the city of Salem today. Thanks to Don Miller and the fellow Christians on the campus at Reed College who had the guts to put this "Confessional Booth" idea to work. And we are thankful also that the idea hasn't yet been too popularized that it has become spoiled. We look onward to the forthcoming weekend.
I hope to be able to do this. Please if you read my blog, pray about it.
I'shalom
The link for this Christ like person's blog is Here
"Oh my gosh," he said as his hand covered his mouth.
"We want to confess on behalf of the church," I said, as Kellie and I sat looking onward in our monk-like dress. "We apologize to you for the violence of the crusades and the many people who were killed upon this pilgrimage in the name of Jesus. Also for the Inquisition and those who were burned alive for their beliefs. We apologize for those who've sat and yelled at you from the street corner for your beliefs, and we confess for the persecution you've endured from those who seek to impose a Christian standard of living upon you, when you've never made such a decision to follow Jesus."
And the man sitting before us in his black attire, decorated in pagan emblems suddenly began to cry. The witch sitting to his left holding her hands to her eyes was doing the same. "Oh my gosh," he said again, "We have waited so long for this. I can't believe I am hearing it. Thank you! I just can't thank you enough!"
We continued and in roughly 15 minutes time we all stood up together and embraced one another - male, female, witch, Christian - the sins of the Church had been confessed. And the healing began.
Another 15 minutes must have passed when some of the practicing witches returned. This time they were dragging another witch who was also part of their religion into our confessional booth. And a similar confessional episode transpired. Soon after, another was led in. And soon another. And another. Witch after witch arrived in our confessional booth, and confession after confession was given. And soon enough the absolutely unthinkable came to pass.
As I switched from the booth in order to change places with another volunteering confessor, I stepped out onto the walkway to call attention to our confessional tent. I stood for no longer than 4 minutes when a witch I recognized returned with a very emotionally broken woman in her arms. I recognized the witch, as Kellie and I had confessed to her only 20 minutes before, and she said to me, "This woman needs to hear what you have to say." Nodding, I directed her to one of the chairs sitting before the two monkish figures and backed out of the tent, returning to the street.
Only minutes before, this emotionally broken woman had decided to pay for a tarot card reading. The woman reading her cards was one of the witches in our confessional booth only minutes before. As the witch turned over the first tarot card, she looked at it, and then slowly back at the woman. "You've lost your faith," she said to her. Nodding the woman agreed and proceeded to tell of her recent falling out with the Christian church. The witch said to her, "I know who can help you," and immediately escorted her out of the reading hall and into our confession booth. Thankfully, Jeff Menasco and Kellie were able to talk with this woman about what had happened back in her church. And they provided a listening ear and sound counsel.
This is all so dream-like, so crazy, so INSANE! I mean . . . a witch we confessed to did an acurate tarot reading for a disenfranchised churchgoer, recognized she wasn't the one who could best assist her and led her back over to us? Unfreaking real!
I can't begin to describe on this blog how wonderful this day was. And I can't begin to put into words how much God was at work in the city of Salem today. Thanks to Don Miller and the fellow Christians on the campus at Reed College who had the guts to put this "Confessional Booth" idea to work. And we are thankful also that the idea hasn't yet been too popularized that it has become spoiled. We look onward to the forthcoming weekend.
I hope to be able to do this. Please if you read my blog, pray about it.
I'shalom
