We've already discussed one topic of considerable discomfort this week: politics. Today I say one good controversial topic deserves another. Having done very minimal research on the topic, I'd like to discuss how religion has changed from the 50's until now. Just kidding...we'd be here all YEAR.
I would, however like to address the change in how a church congregation might have esteemed their priest or pastor in the 50's versus how people might do so today. Obviously, there can be no generalizations - every congregation is different, today, as well as in the 50's. However, because this is meant to be a short musing on the topic, generalizations will have to here suffice. My apologies in advance if anyone is somehow offended by my "trying as hard as humanly possible not to be offensive" blog post.
I think there are probaby two major differences in a clergyman's relationship to his congregation back in the 50's vs. today. And I use "his" knowing full well there are many women pastors out there. However, all the churches I have attended have been pastored by men, so forgive me for being a bit sexist...again with the generalizations, I know!
The first difference was that the clergyman was a bit of a town celebrity back in the 1950's. It was definitely noteworthy if you saw the priest while out doing errands or out for dinner at night. He had this allure of speaking in front hundreds of people on Sundays, this authority figure to be listened to very carefully. Today, he's just another guy in the supermarket. And with all the churches in a given town, he might just as soon go unnoticed all together on any given day. Well, any day but Sunday, that is.
On the way out of church, a mother may shake the priest's hand and say "Good morning, Father." And he might smile and say a cheerful good morning in return. The mother secretly envied the person in front of them to whom he responded "Oh, good morning Martha. And how's little Davy this morning?" Because he obviously knew these people. Well, at least he knew their names. In a large congregation, this would be something only a small percentage could hope for. Because although he was an authority figure in the church and possibly the community at large, he was still only human...and that's a lot of names to remember!
The 1950's priest or pastor also had an air of mystery about him. Not many in the congregation knew how he spent his days or interacted with him socially. But many families wanted to. Again, it was the celebrity-ish appeal. And the allure of being on friendly terms with a pseudo-celebrity. I'm noticing that a lot of people cared a great deal about "keeping up with the Joneses" and keeping up appearances in general in the 1950's. This is not to say that people who hung out with their pastors always had ulterior motives, but come on, admit it...people would have probably been impressed when you casually mentioned at tea the next day that you had the pastor and his wife over for dinner last night. Because they, like everyone else, want to know about him. What's he like? What's she like? Was he normal?
As a teacher's wife I compare it to a student seeing their teacher outside of the school they go to. Especially out in a social situation like having dinner with friends or taking the little one out for a walk in town - the kids often do a double-take, like "what are you doing here?" Because, as we all know, teachers, pastors, and family doctors typically stay 24/7 in their schools, churches, and offices, respectively.
And so the idea of becoming friends with a priest or pastor served two puproses: one - friendship. Two - social status.
The second major difference between the 1950's clergyman and one now is that today, on the whole, they seem a little friendlier, a little more down to earth, and that they don't want to remain under the facade that they are anything other than just a normal human being. Who just happens to know a lot about the Bible. For example, the pastor at our church uses himself as an example of what not to do almost weekly - he's humanizing himself! Which, believe me, is a lot easier to listen to and relate to than someone telling me how much better than me they are or how much "work" I have to do in order to get closer to God. Frankly, that's just not how God operates. And I like a pastor who acknowledges that!
Well anyway, thanks for enduring my "controversial" topics this week. I'm certain the next post will be business as usual. To close, I'll leave you with a bit of education from Amy Vanderbilt. When addressing a priest in writing it's:
Reverend Father or Dear Father Cullen
And wouldn't you know, it's the same darn thing if you're addressing him in person. Thanks for keeping it simple, Amy.
Until next time, God bless!!
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