An Ecumenical Weekend

We sometimes forget how rich and diverse is our cultural but this past weekend was a perfect example of how fortunate we are in North America. Being the Christian Easter weekend, the most important holy day of that religion, there were many reminders of the coming day, beginning with Good Friday. Good Friday being just another day for we Humanists, we dined out (both ordering a fish dinner, not because of traditional Roman Catholic teachings, but because we were near the ocean) at a Greek restaurant. As we left, we wished the receptionist and the owner who was hovering nearby, a Happy Easter.

Years ago we were in Greece when they celebrated the Greek Orthodox Easter, and knowing that my wife would remember the Greek Easter greeting, I whispered, “Say it in Greek.” She who remembers all, said to the owner, ‘Christ is Risen’ and he smiled ear to ear and replied, in Greek, “Indeed He is Risen’. You could see it made his day. We escaped before he thought we spoke the language. That’s one of the good things about being a Humanist; we get to sample any and all of the religions without believing in any.

Saturday, the Christians in the area held their Easter Egg Hunts and in several places the adults were out hiding eggs for the 11 o’clock start. I saw a large pink bunny in one field and my wife calmed me by saying it was really there. Later, on Saturday evening at an antique car show and dance, we talked to friends who had been invited on Friday evening to celebrate Passover. They found it very educational, and being lapsed Catholics, had no qualms about eating brisket along with other Jewish delights of which they were not entirely sure of the pronunciation. This led to a general discussion of how interesting it was to share the culture associated with the various religions in the area. Outside, employees were busy setting up chairs for a sunrise service in the area normally reserved for playing outdoor chess.

When asked if we were attending the service we said no, having to explain again that Humanists are atheists and that it was not another branch of Christianity. Early Sunday morning, we set out for our Taoist Tai Chi class. Taoism being a mixture of Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism now practised in much of China, is more a way of life than a religion, so we practise the soft martial art without too much attention to any religious aspect of Taoism. Daoism focuses on the way of the world, while the ageless sayings of Confucius are often found in fortune cookies. The Buddhist aspect is the spiritual side, and is interesting if only for the connection to the Dali Llama. It turned out that this was a Buddhist religious holiday.

Invited by our fellow Tai Chi practitioners to join the festivities, which included a lunch of authentic Thai food and a tour of the new temple, one could hardly refuse. The Thai people in the Tampa Bay area had responded so generously to the victims of the Tsunami a few years ago that the King of Thailand sent them enough money to construct a temple on their grounds. The Buddhist monks had already established a monastery but as yet did not have a temple. It was interesting to see the monks in their saffron robes saying prayers, and inside the temple, giving a homily in Thai. At least I think that was what was going on. One thing that was easy to observe was the respect for the elders, one of the basic tenets of Tai Chi that we are supposed to practice. There was certainly much respect for the monks.


The food was excellent and all donated by local restaurants. One gave a suggested donation for a bowl of noodles and vegetable soup, a skewer of chicken or a spoonful of sticky rice accompanied by a delightful peanut sauce. There were a number of concession stands on the grounds, selling everything from plastic water guns to TV sets – all made in Thailand. Firecrackers snapped and oriental music played.

It was a weekend when it was too easy to forget the economic woes and all the strife in the world. The flowers were in full bloom; the bees were buzzing gathering honey; the birds were busy doing their spring nesting, and even the cows in the field seemed oblivious to the problems of humans. The way of the world was unfolding as it should except for the humans who seemed to be caught up in performing all the mortal sins of every religion.

We are fortunate indeed to be living in a society that allows us freedom of and from religion for it is not so in many places on this little planet we call home.

It was a weekend full of religious festivities. And then a fellow called Angel won the Masters.