Late comment on an interfaith Sept. 11 commemoration
I used to be more open-minded and/or less traditional about not attending the religious ceremonies of those of other faiths. Years ago, I used to go to Catholic mass with friends, considering myself a respectful observer, not a participant, and thought nothing of it. But I have to admit that, when they started chanting Hare Krishna, I felt compelled to leave the room.
posted by Shira Salamone at 1:32 PM
2 Comments:
i have been in church once. it was christian church in russia. i was kid and my grandmother took me there, because post-sovet union jews knew almost nothing about their religion and ethnisity.my intuition told me that i am in a wrong place for jew. since that time i avoid visiting churches, even if they are interesting from caltural point of view.
Dena, I love architecture, so giving up visiting churches (at times other than during services) would be a major sacrifice. I'll have to think about that.
I'm not well acquainted with the Eastern Orthodox Churches, but the Roman Catholic Church seems to place a much higher premium on gorgeous surroundings for prayer that we Jews do. Yes, we certainly have some gorgeous synagogues, but we're just as likely to have buildings that are "serviceable," but not necessarily worthy of any architecture awards. My personal feeling is that that's for the best. I find that a really beautiful sanctuary can actually distract me from my prayers--I spend too much time staring at the gorgeous ceiling and not enough time with my eyes on my siddur/prayer book.
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