But all I wanted to do was steal a little bit of tourist time.
I have noticed a disturbing trend in Mexican churches. With the exception of some of the larger churches, most church doors are locked when services are not being conducted.
That baffled me until I was told the locks exist for the same reason houses are locked. Even with the presence of local watchers and security cameras, objects are stolen. I suspect thieves hope that God will be forgiving.
The locks are not merely a Mexican phenomenon. I saw them in Spain this year. And our Salvation Army church in Salem finally resorted to locked doors when equipment went missing.
The Mexican church doors are opened for the regular daily masses. If a tourist is quick, he can duck in and out between services.
It is the "quick" part that leaves me out. I am fascinated with church architecture and art.
So, there I was, standing in front of the grill of an ornate side chapel near the front of the church when I felt a change in the atmosphere. I turned around, and there was the priest saying the opening prayer for the mass. And the scattered parishioners were standing with heads bowed.
Now, I can be a philistine -- at times. And I would have been entitled to the Goliath award by walking out the full length of the church while everyone was in prayer.
I took the more honorable course and found a seat I could use when it was time for the congregation to be seated. Of course, that meant a place I could sit or stand or sing when the appropriate response was required.
Not being a member of the Roman church and knowing only a smattering of Spanish, I was at something of a disadvantage in fully participating in the liturgy. At least, that is the excuse I used for letting my mind --and eyes -- wander.
This particular church has a series of stunning crystal chandeliers. But, as I looked at them, something seemed out of place.
It appears the church has gone green. But it will take a bit of time for me to adjust to a light whose very shape seems to be designed to be hidden. Aesthetically, the combination is -- at best -- jarring.
Purists, of course, will point out that chandeliers were designed to enhance candle light. And the very presence of electric lights are not aesthetic.
And a good point it would be. Maybe enough time will pass to erase thoughts of Miss Piggy hanging from the ceiling.
Of course, if I had paid more attention to getting in and out of the church on my tourist jaunt, none of us would have been subjected to this rumination on how the pope chooses to light the places of worship that belong to the Mexican state.
28 comments:
It appears the church has gone green.
It is not done to be green. It is done to save on the light bill.
Hideous--as far as aesthetics...it could have been masked in a better way.
Which in the US, of course, IS green. I guess one should say you are going rainbow in Mexico ;)
The pope has nothing to say about the operation of the churches in Mexico. The maintenance and upkeep is the responsibility of a Mexican government agency. It has been so since the 1930''s. As far as I know and have been told, no money comes from Rome to help with salaries either.
Certainly, the two are not exclusive of one another.
That is why I was having a bit of fun in that last paragraph. And it may be worth a future post. One church in Mexico City has been in and out of the secular circle so often it could be doing a sectarian hokey-pokey.
Before long there will undoubtedly be another innovation that will make us nostalgic for the pig-tails.
Me? Rainbow?
Good story Steve. Thanks for the giggle. I particularly liked the image of Miss Piggy hanging from the ceiling.
Gee, thanks a muti, now I will be seeing a handling miss piggy each and every time I see the CFL (the proper description) bulb slung beneath any fixture.
sad when you think about it that the house of the Lord, has to be shuttered to prevent pilferage......really sad.
When I discovered our church in Salem was locked during the week, sadness was exactly the emotion I experienced.
One of my Kermit moments.
It makes me sad to know that most of the churches are now locked. One of the things I loved about Mexico and the church was the fact that you could go in and worship any time of the day.
Nita
Some of the lager churches are open during daylight hours. But most of the others are simply closed unless mass is being celebrated.
As I have said a time or two (having worked the deparment that had things stolen), the whole building doesn't have to be locked in order to keep things safe. Simply install decent cameras, hire a security guard in the off hours and lock up the valuables in off-limits rooms inside the building like any other church that opens its doors to prayer 24/7 would do. But alas, locking the front door is simply the far easier and cheaper route.
Locking up chapels always seems to be the wrong message.
Yeah....Lockup the gear, not "God's house".
Pig-tails even as far as hair goes, come in and out, haven't stayed, for a reason, will look fwd. to the new look.
In my view the biggest problem with the "Ms Piggy" lights is the color. Instead of choosing a color temperature that matches incandescent, they chose a hideous blue/green color which looks truly awful.
As for greenery, I don't much care whether they chose the lights to be green or to save money. The end result is the same--lower emissions and fossil fuel use.
Saludos,
Kim G
Boston, MA
Where we have a few such lights, but only in high-use sockets, and only at the proper color temperature.
Maybe the color makes the parishioners look more penitent.
Since God is all powerful, I think he should supply free electricity to his houses.
He does. The church plays along with the power company merely to render unto Caesar.
I'm not of the Roman Faith myself but I do like going to mass in Mexico. It is the people and how they react with each other during the mass that draws me in at 6AM. Getting down on my knees together with a hundred or better working people before their day of toil does me a world of good.
For some reason, I always feel like an observer. My lack of Spanish skills is undoubtedly a major contributing cause of the condition.
I am but an observer, an observer of the human condition. I love the sights, the geology, the physical world but I travel to see the people and how they live. I understand almost no Spanish so the sermon is lost on me but watching the people during the sermon is a feast.
Churches in the UK still usually have their doors open, or at least unlocked, during the day. But then, when the thieves do come, locking the doors doesn't do much good. The stuff they want isn't on the inside.
And soon, churches up and down the land will have their last few remaining followers sat in the pews toting umbrellas to keep the drips from the roof at bay.
This, of course, is because of the theft of lead flashing on the roofs. Such is the price of scrap metal these days, and the abundance of ladders...
I suppose the lead in the stained windows may be the next target.
Not being a person of place, I fully understand your "observer" comment. And being a blogger exacerbates the condition. But I also enjoy being a participant in life around me. And I miss that in liturgical services -- even when they are in English.
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