Nov 16th See Zen Benevolent Society. 10171 107 Street NW

So this is officially the start of what I call my “wild cards”. This is #1 . I intend to mix it up with something beyond a regular church every 10 articles and hit up a mosque, temple, smudging.  etc. So welcome to the Tao Buddhist Temple of the See Zen Benevolent Society.

            I had a friend help me with this trip today, my wonderful co-worker Lonney. ( sorry if I didn’t spell your name right…)  and as you can tell it was snowing…a lot. 

I was informed before going there that some of the people there would not speak any English but even with everything that went on that night, I never saw it as an issue. After trudging my way there I walked into the main lobby downstairs to take off my boots, and at that point I realized that this place was defiantly going to be different. ( my boots were 3-4- sizes bigger than most of the shoes on the rack.)  so after hanging up my coat, I put on some one-size-to small flip flops and was escorted upstairs where I had a tour of  a few different rooms, including a office, meeting room(decorated in blue Christmas lights) and the temple space all glowing in their bright yellow walls (supposed to encourage happiness).

            I was not sure how to imagine how a Buddhist temple would be laid out before I came but no I have an idea. I looked over into the temple area and it was just a open part of the upstairs with one small alter at the front with a much larger  one laying along the back wall. I was surprised to see 5 figures on this back alter. One large Buddha in the center, but standing beside him was 4 slightly smaller figures. I inquired about them and in a brief explanation I was told that they were “the goddess of mercy”, “the teacher”, “the god of justice” and a 2^nd god also known as “the teacher”. This 5 figures also are said to represent the 5 major religions and how we all take differ spiritual paths to end up at the same location. It was emphases to me repeatedly that Buddhist do not shun other religions and we are all ok to take our own path.  I have to take a moment of to note that “ the goddess of mercy” is also referred to as “the mother of god” and get this one….she can even be referred to by some as “mother marry”.  Crazy huh? Lol. And after taking a moment to think about it, Kuan Yin kind of looks like Virgin Marry. What do you think? 

Over on the main alter we have incense burning along with a  large pot of smoldering cedar with a specialized air fan  of the ceiling to suck out the smoke. In front of this pot was a whole assortment of rough tooth pick size cedar stick grouped into 3. My co worker explained that they place each of them to their forehead and ask god to remove their anger, greed, and stupidity.

            Off to the left side there was an area with photos of elders that have passed on to recognize and remember them, amongst the worshipers and floral arrangement that filled the alters.

Most of the people were dressed in long back Chinese style shirts with a mandarin style neck line and collar. I was concerned about how I was dress but they said that I didn’t need to worry as long as I am not to exposed (there were two teens right beside me in t-shirts and jeans so i don’t think they were too concerned on how I looked) .

            During the actual ceremony there were about half a dozen people that begin with bring forward the fruit laid out on decorative risen platters towards the later to be blessed. I noticed that the quantities on each plate were all in odd numbers. I was told that is because there are no “bad numbers” in the Chinese language. By that I mean that because the language has some words that sound similar they can be mistaken when they are spoken and sound like something bad. Also, even number are considered to be related to perfection, which we are not and must always strive towards (hence the Chinese kid in class that always needs to get 100 on everything) . And apparently they also have  some really scary numbers like 14 cause when you say the number “14” on Chinese it sounds like “we are going to die”  so that explains why there is no 14^th floor on buildings in China. I mentioned the bad vibes we have around the number 13. Which for them is funny, because to them 13 is an extremely good number, but for us represents the devil.

After that was done everyone brought out their own knelling stool from the pile and set up in rows facing the alter. I was asked if I would feel comfortable participating in worship, and I said I would do they best and fallow the person beside me, and they laughed :P .

Their worship is lot different then anything I have yet encountered. In some ways it is the same, you have people at the front leading the worship and some form of chanting going on but this is a work out. These people move around a lot more than a catholic mass. Every 10 seconds it is get up, get down, on the stool, off the stool, forehead down, forehead up and hand movements. I seriously burnt some calories during this worship. And the crazy part was there was a 90+ year old lady next to me doing it all like it is nothing. The elders at this temple are unbelievably strong for their age.

I had a lot of meet and greet going on, bowing and shaking hands with everyone and trying to remember names amongst the 2 dozen attendants. With everyone being super friendly even if some of them didn’t speak my language. But that didn’t matter, because after temple it was dinner time. :P

Also the temple has a puppy that they dress up in super cute little outfits and runs around looking for love and table scraps .

Tao Buddhists are ovo-lacto-vegetarians the do not use onion or garlic. So it was all meet free Chinese vegetarian food at this dinner, which I was slightly learly about to start with but it all turns out to be delicious. (Including the tofu dish that the young boy at my table insisted I try). After blessing the food it was all eyes on me as everyone was curious on how I would react to the odd setting of being squished around a small round table with 11 other Chinese people having new kind of food put in front of me. But I did well, ate everything. I actually had someone stop to complement me on my chopstick skills. Win :P

There were no beverages served with the meal so I asked for a glass of water which my co-worker kindly brought me. Then she made a joke about it being “holy water”, and then was I was drinking it her son piped up and said something to the effect of “now you can spit on any vampires that might attack you on the way home”. Lol. When I first met my co workers son he was looking very serious and professional and helped lead the service. But after that it all came off and I had him sitting down the table from me in his jeans and t-shirt cracking jokes, stuffing his face with food, all while wearing a Santa hat??? Lol.

I had long talks with one of the ladies that works in the temple and despite the language barrier we did our best to inform each other about what we see and understand is both of our religious views. I found it all very enlightening. She lent me a mini book on Taoism which I hope to get read this week. But but one thing we talked about was her concern for me. This is something that I have heard more than once, that she feels that I might be weekend by not having a regular spiritual community to lean on to keep me supported as I work on my mission. And like others I assured her that I am a strong woman and that when my work is done I will be ready to settle down in the right place. I am not made weaker by what I am doing, I am becoming stronger and I am more loved and have more friends every day.  And with this she told me I was amazing and said “I will pray for you”.

So after finishing my notes and taking home a load of blessed fruit and veggies, I thanked them all and made my way out into the snow with a full heart and stomach. Thank you so much and bless you all.

Church #9. St. Basil Ukrainian Catholic Church

Ok, so if my count is right this is church number 9 for me and technically my second catholic church. Goodie. :P this is one of those ones that I have been eager to go to just for the sheer size and large domed roof.

I got there in good time, did my regular sit at the back and get out the note pad type deal. The place was pretty big, lots of seating space on the floor and even more up on the sides of the building with the attached balconies.  Walking in the door this place was immediately familiar to me with the strong sent of incense used in worship.  Went to a Ukrainian orthodox summer camp as a kid, and in all honesty the services were almost identical.  The only noticeable thing that I really saw to be different was the acknowledgement of the pope in the prayers and some nuns.

When we all stood up to start the worship there was a pleasant surprise. Church bells. The big loud bellowing kind that one would think to be in old cathedrals, I like it, was a nice touch. I counted 80-100 people-ish. Almost everyone was retirement age with a few exceptions. Once again, a church with beautiful art. Including a massive Greek style tile mosaic on the wall directly in front of us with Christ on the cross displayed on it. Seen below this monstrous wall of art was 30 feet worth of 7 foot high gold gates running along the front of the church all mounted with framed images of  a variety of important figures from the bible. ( be honest with ya, I couldn’t tell you the identity of a single one. Lol. )

This church is a good place for someone that just needs the world to be quite. And on this particular Sunday that is exactly what I needed ( I was still recovering from the party the  night before.) But if anything my hands were busy, and if they were not partying then they were over to my side taking notes. I had allot of questions in the service, A LOT. So let’s get this list rolling.

#1. There was a piece of art at the front of the church with Moses and the burning bush , which seemed odd to me because you have Moses on the ground laying there freaking out while inside the bush there is a image of Madonna and child. I know what you’re thinking…. How the heck did Mary and baby Jesus get in there? The explanation I got apparently has to do with some old long standing practice and the split of the church etc. And apparently somewhere in the bible they mention merry to be “like the burning bush”. I will let you know in my readings when/if I see it.

There was a lot of talk about merry in this service including the fact that there was a quote brought up in the service saying “o a virgin before childbirth, a virgin in childbirth, and still a virgin after the childbirth”. How the hell dose that work? According to father Mark it is all true, Mary experienced no pain in this child birth and her hymen was not broken. I’m quoting the priest here. Lol. But if any of this is even half true it must seriously be an act of god. :P

There was also mention of the death of Joseph on the service today, talking about how Jesus as a boy needed to be strong even in witnessing his father’s death. I remember asking about this in bible camp and from what I gather, Joseph is there when he is born and thru part of his childhood and then just drops out of the picture, so people just assumed he died. I also remember asking about Mary’s death and both summer camp and this church basically gave me the same answer; she “fell asleep in the lord” and suffered no pain.

And as if we haven’t talked about dear Mary enough I have one last tidbit for ya. Ok so Mary is sometimes referred to as the root of Jessie. Apparently this was her great grandfather or something, and he is not really mentioned in the bible. The only reason this Jessie dude is important is that he is a descendent of King David, which apparently is a big deal. Not all sure why, but it’s a big deal. :P I know reading thru mark they always refer to Jesus as the “son of David”  meaning that King David was one of his far back ancestors.  (Which according to Farther Tim at summer camp is not 100% true, if you look back apparently Jesus descended from David’s brother? I think? And not actual King David himself.)  

Next thing was the girl’s choir. so it was 8 girls between 8-11 years old and they had an interesting uniform for sure. They had little capes, in baby blue and they were wearing veils, mid back length with a blusher attached. ( I sell wedding dresses for a living, that’s how I know this stuff) . I inquired about the colour and apparently blue represents Mary, I asked why and apparently it just dose. So fact of the day, Mary’s favorite colour was blue and that’s how she rolls :P . But what can I say I have always been a purple girl myself. lol.

They were led out by an order of nuns, and I am told that this particular bunch on nuns was from the order of the Sister Servants of Mary the Immaculate. Better known as SSMI for those of you those are nun-knowledgeable.

Final note, took communion, the wine was real, and white???? First time I have seen that one. The bouquet was robust and had lovely fruity after tones.   Yes I am  well aware it might be a sin to analyze the flavor of the wine used in communion, but I was trained to be a pastry chef at one point so what do you expect?

Stay tuned for next week when I visit my first Tao Buddhists temple and I’m bring some of my friends along for the ride! J

Church #8. City Center Church

Are you a 20 something year old in college, dead broke, confused, stressed and living on a diet of instant noodles and beer?  This might the church for you.  For real’s, this is YOUR place to feel alive.

 I was pretty excited to go to this place because I had an old friend there who works as part of the church and was the person that headed the grant mac bible study on floor 8. Yes I am talking about you Ryan :P  . I knew this place would be different for many reasons, first being that the service is held in an old movie theater that is one block from my work downtown.  This is the highest population church I have been to yet, 200 on an average Sunday I am told (but I could swear it looked like more) , almost all 20 something year old college students and 85% of them girls. At least half of the service was provided by the church “worship team” which included 6 college age girls and guys all playing guitars keyboard, drums and vocals rocking out some modern worship music. There is no sitting quietly in this place most people are standing with their hands raised to the lord, dancing, singing with their kids on their shoulder you name it they are doing it.  

Another thing that caught my eyes was a rough natural looking cross likely made of two huge logs aprox15 feet high and sticker-ed in band aids. This apparently came from the service one week earlier, where church members went up and stuck a band aid on the cross and took a moment to think of a blessing that they enjoy in their daily lives that they often forget about and are often ungrateful for.

Overall, it’s a  pretty casual place, everyone just kind of rolls into church wearing whatever they feel like. But one thing that I noticed when waiting for the bathroom is that a lot of girls still came in some form of dress or skirt. This I find interesting because this church is not traditional or conservative in the least. Even the head speaker of the church for that day looked like a 27 year old hipster.  There was a lot of interesting quotes that day. My personal favorites include “Jesus is on Facebook!” , “Jesus is on Instagram!” “Everyone is talking about Jesus” , “ I don’t remember what I had to drink that night” ,  “ Starbucks gave us free coffee, say WHHHAATTTTTT? :P"

I felt like this church is really with the times.  They had a few announcements and a lot of them were very interesting and refreshing. Such as; they required a need sound person to be trained to work the sound boards and directly encouraged women to step up and apply for the position because the stereotype of the “sound man” has reigned for to long. That and they are the first church where I have seen the option to pay your offering by E-transfer, debit or automatic bank withdrawals.

There was a lot of speakers that day….ho man :P

We had a short speech from a female Cree Church leader who was announcing a new church community group that has the goal of encouraging first nation’s people to come together and feast and draw themselves closer to god. She spoke of how she lived in a polluted world as a young person full of drugs crime, hatred, suicide and murder. Her cousin was the only church leader in the community, he was 19.  And that in one night the elders build a fire and some of the young people came forward to purge themselves of all the evil within them.  And after that the whole community changed for the better.  This woman called for the revival for the native population and totally inspired me and hopefully others in the room.

Then we had another speaker that went for much longer, he was what looked to be a young enthusiastic 30-ish year old man with the style of an Alberta cowboy meats Southern preacher.  I wish I could compile all of the heart and power of that mans speech into a blog but sadly I can’t.  But I can tell you what I got from it, that we all play an important part in gods dream for the world, that we need to trust god and be brave and fallow it no matter how daunting the path, and that there are others with a common dream that will be willing to help you along the way.

Lastly there was an advertisement for the men to get together  for a “simulcast”  and the name of this event was “For  god sake fight”, obviously orienting  themselves toward the notably small male population there.  Which bring me to my topic of focus for this week. Men aren’t showing up to church, straight up. And its true. And that is probably even more true in the churches orientated towards young people as far as I can tell. And just by looking at the crowd you can tell that half of the men that are in there were coaxed into coming by their girlfriends.  But I noticed that 5% which was the men that were there on their own free will, where totally into it and had no questions, no dough’s, no shame and all love for what they were doing on Sunday mornings.  Everyone has theories on why men don’t wanna  go to church. But here is mine.  In order to open yourself to god’s love you need to leave yourself vulnerable open and at his love and mercy. Men hate feeling vulnerable even on a good day, if you have ever been in a relationship with one? It’s like pulling teeth for them to even tell you about little things never mind throwing their soles down before god! !! so here is my advice, men GO TO CHURCH AND ENJOY IT!!!! Or at the very least pretend to enjoy it!!!! You don’t need to go to the bar on ladies night anymore, there are more cute young women looking for a man of god in this building then you can shake a stick at! They say church is the best place to find your future husband, and who know you might even get lucky ;)

Overall one of the best church experiences I have had yet and I really hope the rest could even come close to this. So much love and god bless all of you and heal you from your hangovers and help you scrub the permanent marker off your forehead.