Chanitok L.I. / Chapter 3

3

Gwen got into the family car, along with her Mother and Sarah.  Mrs. Sandrell backed out of the driveway, and drove off toward the Church.  As they drove through the center of Chanitok, she went past the parking lot of a local strip mall. They usually stopped here on Sunday morning for a snack before Church.  Today she didn’t turn in.

Gwen asked, “Aren’t we gonna stop at Snacking Kings Mom?”

 “No.”  Her mother spoke uncomfortably.  “The Church is boycotting the establishment. All members of our Congregation have been advised to avoid patronizing Snacking Kings, in opposition to its homophobic policies.”

Gwen said, “But those stories we’ve been hearing on the news reports, aren’t true about them.  They don’t discriminate in hiring, due to sexual preferences; which is illegal in the first place.”

“Yeah.”  Sarah added, “And the only one of their customer’s ‘preferences’ they ask about, is what they prefer from the menu.”

“That doesn’t matter girls. The company’s owner said they run a ‘Family Friendly Organization’.  Those are code words, meaning that their entire organization’s policies are homophobic.”

Sarah said, “But that isn’t what he meant, and everybody knows it.”

“Whether it’s true or not, doesn’t matter Sarah.  Remember, I am a pro-gay Candidate for a Seat on the Town Council.  This franchise that we’re boycotting is being watched by members of Gay Rights Organizations.  If one of my own daughters is seen going inside that establishment, I might lose their endorsements.  So please have some consideration.  Don’t patronize Snacking Kings again, at least until after Election Day.”

The First Presbyterian Church of Chanitok, Long Island, New York, had stood on the same spot since 1678.  In that year the town was founded by Puritan Dissenters from New England. 

The present structure had been constructed in 1822.

“That was 193 years ago.”  The Pastor, Reverend John Cabell told everyone, “We do not look to the past for direction; neither historically, nor theologically.  We deal with things as they are now, the way God leads us now.”

Gwen arrived with her mother and her sister Sarah, about 20 minutes before worship was scheduled to begin.  They parked in the lot behind the religious structure and entered through the back door, walking along a corridor between the Sanctuary and the Christian Education Building.  Then they entered the narthex; the lobby between the front doors and the Sanctuary. 

A few people were already here.  One of them was Katie Cabell, the Pastor’s daughter.  She was one of Gwen’s classmates, who had danced horizontally at the motel last night, and whose name was listed on the “skanky bimbos” page of the students’ party website.

Gwen and Sarah went over to her.  They saw that the girl looked shocked and had been crying.

She sniffed, “Have you heard about Marge?”

Gwen nodded.  “It was on the News, just before we left.” 

Now Pastor Cabell came over to the girls.  Gwen figured that he’d try to speak words of comfort to them.

“I know things like this make it hard for us to understand why God lets such thing happen.  There are no easy answers.”

Gwen thought, Those are not comforting words.

“Pastor.”  She told him, “Marge was with us last night, and we were all getting…I mean doing things which the Bible calls sinful.  Now I’m really beginning to wonder if this was the wrath of God, and a warning to us all?”

The man sighed deeply.  Then he told Gwen, “I hope you haven’t been listening to any Evangelical preachers on television.”

The girl was taken aback.  “No.”  She shook her head vigorously.  “No. No.  Not at all.  Never.” 

He told them, “To be honest about it, I can’t wait for the day when they begin rounding up all Evangelical Christians, and sending them off to concentration camps.

“Listen carefully girls.”  Their Spiritual Leader said, “The Bible is a collection of ancient myths and sayings, which are very outdated, and can not always be applied to life as it is today.  I’m sorry to say so, but we can’t always trust what the Bible has to say.  We just have to work things out on our own, using our own best understanding.”

Then the man headed away from the girls, going over to greet other members of the Congregation who’d also just arrived.

Gwen, Sarah and Katie now went downstairs to the choir room.  Other members of the Youth Choir, who were also their classmates at Chanitok High, were putting on their robes                           

Now Sarah spoke quietly.  “Tell me Gwen.  Was it all right for you to tell the Pastor that his daughter here was” she whispered “getting laid last night?”

“We don’t have to worry about that.”  Katie told her, “He’s inclusive and permissive.  He approves of me being a complete woman.”

“Right.” said Gwen.  “Just like the parents of every girl in here, who’s putting on a robe.  Most of the parents in our ‘Permissive Community’ are like Mom.  They think it’s good for high school girls to have sex, as long as we’re careful.”

The Pastor’s daughter told Sarah, “That’s right.  Gwen and I are high school girls who get laid and do it safe, and most high school girls get laid, safely.  Any high school girl who has access to safe sex equipment, and doesn’t get laid, is a loser.” 

“I’m not gonna be a loser.” Sarah insisted.  “I’m no longer a virgin, and I practice safe sex.”

“Good for you.”

Gwen said, “My sister is now among us complete women.”

Now Katie snapped at Gwen. “But you shouldn’t have asked my father if Marge and Dave are now in Hell.”

“That isn’t what I said.”

“Well that’s what you meant.”

“No it wasn’t.  I just don’t know how to deal with this or what to ask.  I thought he might have some comforting words to say, but he didn’t.”

Worship was about to begin.  The Youth Choir, now dressed in their robes, climbed back up the stairs.  

Everyone entered the Sanctuary.  Sarah sat with her mother in a pew unoccupied by anyone else.  Most of the pews were either unoccupied, or had only one or two people seated in them.  Gwen, Katie and the other robed members of the Youth Choir were in their Choir section, to the left of the pulpit.

Worship began.  When time came to read the scripture, the Elder stood at the pulpit, opened the Bible and said, “Listen for words of inspiration.”

Gwen wondered, Not “Listen to the Word of God”?

The Elder read from the Book of Job: Chapter 7: verses 16-21.

 “I despise my life; I would not live forever.  Leave me alone; my days have no meaning.

“What is man that you make so much of him, that you give him so much attention, that you examine him every morning and test him every moment?  Will you never look away from me, or let me alone for an instant?  If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of men?  Why have you made me your target?  Have I become a burden to you?  Why do you not pardon my offenses and forgive my sins?  For I will soon lie down in the dust; you will search for me, but I will be no more.”

No “Inspiration” or comfort in those words. Gwen thought.

The collection was taken, while the Youth Choir sang the inspirational song, “I Believe”.

As she sang the words, “I believe that someone in the great somewhere…” Gwen wondered.

“’Someone in the great somewhere’?  Not ‘I believe in God the Father Almighty, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord’.  That’s what I believe.  I believe that Jesus died to take away my sins.  Doesn’t the Pastor believe that?”

The song ended and the Choir sat down again.

Then the Pastor, Reverend Professor John Cabell: PHD, read from the New Testament.  Matthew Chapter 7:  Verses 1 & 2.

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you…”

Then the Pastor slapped the Bible shut.

He announced; “I cannot continue reading this passage, due to the way it has been so powerfully violated!”

He’s not gonna point me out, is he?  Gwen thought, I did not say that I thought Marge and Dave are in Hell.  I was asking for comfort.

The man at the pulpit said, “As soon as I arrived here this morning and went into my office, I received a phone call.”

Gwen relaxed.  Then this won’t be about me. She thought.

Pastor Cabell went on. “The caller asked, ‘Does your Church preach Christ or Political Correctness?’”

The Pastor shouted, “’Preach Christ’?  Indeed!  I told him, ‘Get down on your knees!…’”

He then declared, “As long as I am Pastor, this Church will never preach any Insensitive, Judgemental, Evangelistic, Fundamentalist, Sexist, Racist, Homophobic…”

Even less comfort in his words.  Gwen wondered, There was no comfort in the words of “Bible Banging Bob’s” Evangelical preaching, and never any comfort in Pastor Cabell’s manipulating words.  Does anyone ever receive any real comfort from any religion at all?

After politely sitting through almost an hour of the Clergyman’s usual, intellectual droning, about all the social injustices caused by the capitalist system, supported by the Evangelical Christians, the worship service ended.  Gwen, Sarah and their mother drove back home. As soon as they arrived, Gwen went into her room.  She sat down at her desk and switched on her laptop computer, to see if there were any messages from her classmates.

She logged on to the Chanitok High, student website’s “skanky bimbos” page, and went to her profile.  She found posted, beside her posed, smiling nudie photo the message:

      GWEN SANDRELL«««««+

“Gwen and I did the horizontal thrust and wiggle dance on Saturday night.  She gives great wiggle and giggle. I’d like to dance with her that way, regularly.”

              Jim Davis.”

She smiled.  What a nice thing to say!  He’s told everybody at Chanitok High, that he’d like to get horizontal with me regularly?  I’ve just got to give him a five star rating too! Reading this makes me feel a lot better than anything I’ve heard today from either preacher.

If he wants to be my steady boyfriend I can’t think of any reason to say no.  I’ll let him know tomorrow.

 “Gwen!”  Her mother’s voice called through the door.  “Will you come out here a minute?  There’s something I have to talk to you about!”

She switched off the laptop and went out to the kitchen, where here mother and Sarah were seated at the table.

“Mom!”  She giggled.  “I just saw a message from Jimmy!  He’s told everyone at Chanitok High, that he’d like to do the horizontal dance with me regularly.”

“I just got a call from the Church.”  The woman said, “I was told that The Pastor’s daughter Katie said, that you were saying that Marge and Dave were now in Hell.”

Gwen was horrified.  “What?  You’re kidding.  She misunderstood me.  I’d never say that about anybody, especially not them.  They were both my friends…”

“She said that you asked the Pastor something about them suffering the wrath of God, because they were getting laid like the rest of you.”

“That isn’t what I said.” Gwen insisted.  “I was just asking him about what the Bible has to say about it.”

Now her mother sounded distressed.  “You asked him what the Bible has to say?  Him of all people?  He doesn’t want any of us reading the Bible, unless we have someone like him standing right beside us, to show us where it’s in error.  If any member of the Congregation reads it on their own, without a ‘Monitor’ that member might start getting harassing e-mails.”

Sarah asked, “Harassing e-mails?  From Katie’s father?”

Her mother shook her head.  “They’d be ‘anonymous’.  I hope that won’t be happening to any of us, because of this.  Both of you be careful what you say to Katie Cabell from now on.”

Gwen said, “I was just looking for some words of comfort Mom.”  She began to sob.  “But there was no comfort at all!  The Church is not a place for comfort!”

Then Gwen began to cry.  Her mother came over and put her arms around the girl.