Jubilee; or, The Goat that Urinated in Church
On Sunday, the university church celebrated its 50th anniversary jubilee. This actually marks the beginning of a yearlong celebration, which, based on this Sunday, will be quite spectacular.
The mass was long. We arrived before 9am for a program that ran until after 1pm. And it was hot. But, there were a few things that made it worthwhile. There was a special wax cloth fabric made for the occasion so most of the congregation (a couple of thousand folks) was in uniforms. The fabric was blue and had a picture of the cathedral painted yellow (as if by Andy Warhol), surrounded by small crosses, and some images of JC and captions listing church committees. The men were wearing shirts made of the fabric, either short or long-sleeve, some with fancy embroidery. But for the women, the fashion show was remarkable. There were hundreds of people wearing dresses made of the same fabric, and each dress was unique. There were skirt-blouse sets and dresses. On the shoulder and off. Most below the ankles, but a couple mid-shin and knee-length. Some side slits, either one or two. Straight cut or flowing. Long sleeve or short. Narrow shoulder straps and wide. Singles straps and double straps and at least one triple. Some featuring beads, others frills. Other fabric added as accent or trim. Embroidery and not. Head wrap and scarf. Plus, the fabric can be cut so that church is on your front or back or side, so JC is on one or both sleeves (if you have sleeves). There were countless variations.
One of the best parts of the mass was group of a dozen or so uniformed girls who performed wonderful choreographed dances during several of the musical interludes. They wore one white glove and held a green and white pom-pom in their other hand. They reminded me a little bit of the images that I have seen of the parades of people wearing clothes with Mobutu’s face celebrating the President in the 1970s. This was a little bit different, sort of cheerleaders for the church.
There were offerings which went beyond the usual cash gifts. People bought wine, rice, palm oil, fufu, pondu (cassava leaves), and goats. Of course, the goats were my favorite, though there was a close call with the first to enter the sanctuary. As the first goat was awaiting the minister’s blessing, it pissed right next to the row where I was sitting. Fortunately, I was seated two seats from the aisle.
Our fortitude in lasting through the mass (and the pissing goat) was duly rewarded with a lovely afternoon picnic in the parish garden with an orchestra.
The mass was long. We arrived before 9am for a program that ran until after 1pm. And it was hot. But, there were a few things that made it worthwhile. There was a special wax cloth fabric made for the occasion so most of the congregation (a couple of thousand folks) was in uniforms. The fabric was blue and had a picture of the cathedral painted yellow (as if by Andy Warhol), surrounded by small crosses, and some images of JC and captions listing church committees. The men were wearing shirts made of the fabric, either short or long-sleeve, some with fancy embroidery. But for the women, the fashion show was remarkable. There were hundreds of people wearing dresses made of the same fabric, and each dress was unique. There were skirt-blouse sets and dresses. On the shoulder and off. Most below the ankles, but a couple mid-shin and knee-length. Some side slits, either one or two. Straight cut or flowing. Long sleeve or short. Narrow shoulder straps and wide. Singles straps and double straps and at least one triple. Some featuring beads, others frills. Other fabric added as accent or trim. Embroidery and not. Head wrap and scarf. Plus, the fabric can be cut so that church is on your front or back or side, so JC is on one or both sleeves (if you have sleeves). There were countless variations.
One of the best parts of the mass was group of a dozen or so uniformed girls who performed wonderful choreographed dances during several of the musical interludes. They wore one white glove and held a green and white pom-pom in their other hand. They reminded me a little bit of the images that I have seen of the parades of people wearing clothes with Mobutu’s face celebrating the President in the 1970s. This was a little bit different, sort of cheerleaders for the church.
There were offerings which went beyond the usual cash gifts. People bought wine, rice, palm oil, fufu, pondu (cassava leaves), and goats. Of course, the goats were my favorite, though there was a close call with the first to enter the sanctuary. As the first goat was awaiting the minister’s blessing, it pissed right next to the row where I was sitting. Fortunately, I was seated two seats from the aisle.
Our fortitude in lasting through the mass (and the pissing goat) was duly rewarded with a lovely afternoon picnic in the parish garden with an orchestra.
posted by irad at 9:57 AM
2 Comments:
What a story! what a scene! I wish I were there. Which omen is the goat's pissing? It's got to stand for something, don't you think?
Ira, were youin the Congo prviuos to this?
Gus
This is my first visit to DRC.
On goats: UniKin just gave an honorary degree to a German chemist. They also gave him a goat, though he made the grave error of naming it "Louise" before it was killed.
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