|
CHURCH SERMON |
|
|
| It was in the 1930's that I remember the sermon that was preached especially
for the Stinson family. It was in the Blue Valley Methodist Church, the very place that I had been baptized when
I was but a baby. It was expected that all of the children, when they were young t least, attend Sunday School each Sabbath. We lived in a small neighborhood and everyone knew all of the others that lived there. That is not so in this day and age. The minister of the church was a Mr. Ballard and he took his position as minster to heart. He seemed to think that he was the pillar of faiththat all of us should look to for religious leadership. It was during some very hard times for our family The depression was at its depth and my father had left the home. It was a struggle for my mother to have the six children as her responsibility, but that is the way it was. Fortunately, two of the oldest were boys and they had been given the ability to be musicians. My dad had been a musician and had been very successful. There seemed to be employment for my two brothers at some of the many nightclubs that were to be found in the city. Each night they would go to work at one of those nightclubs and play in the small bands that entertained the patrons. There were no juke boxes in those days so almost every club had a small band so that the people could dance and enjoy the music. Some of the nightclubs that existed were notorious for the strip dancers and bawdy floor shows that they put on. Liquor had been recently legalized with the ending of prohibition but the stigma of drinking was still preached against by most of the religious faiths. All of that aside, it was through the efforts of my two older brothers and their subsequent contribution to the home, that we were able to get by in those hard times. Both of them were able to make a good living, for the rest of their lives through the ability to play their instruments in the band of the day. The fact that they worked so late at night kept them from attending the church that was the center of the neighborhood activity. During these times my mother, myself, and my three sisters were the only ones that attended church and Sunday School. If I recall accurately, it was some time in the spring of that year that we walked to the church for our weekly sermon by Reverend Ballard. It was a day that I will always remember because of the effect that it had on our family. When that day was over, my mother never attended the services of that church again. We were poor but we were proud of the fact that we had been able to get by without the aid of welfare and charity. To have accepted that kind of help would have been too much to bear. Everyone knew of our plight and many of them were in the same boat. It was this day that the Reverend Ballard decided to make an example of the Stinson Family. We were to be placed before the congregation for the manner in which we allowed my brother to earn a living. The Reverend gave us no warning, but instead, launched an attack on my mother "for the manner in which she allowed her sons to earn money in the houses of evil." I don't remember all of the words, for I was too young. But I did realize that we were being held up as an example of how it should not be done. It seemed like forever as he waxed hot on the evils of the nightclubs that my brothers were at each evening. He ranted that they were being cast into the furnaces of Hell for the reward of a few dollars. Half way through the service he began his attack on my mother for allowing all of this to happen. She was a divorcee and that didn't sit well with the congregation. The five of us sat in the pew knowing that it was our family that was under attack. We blushed with embarrassment and hoped that it would all end shortly, but still the Reverend Ballard delivered his prepared remarks to the congregation. I didn't realize it until later how hard it had been on my mother. Being divorced had not been entirely her choice. Having the family of six children was not entirely her fault. She had been a protective and attentive mother and had done her best to be teh sole head of the house. The fact that her oldest sons were musicians in the local night clubs was out of necessity and not design. It seemed that no one understood the fate that had befallen our family. We had all been taught to be proud of whatever we had accomplished and there was no remorse for the fact we had taken the path of survival that included earning a living in the entertainment industry. Finally, the Reverend Ballard ended his discourse and the service was over. The final hymn was sung and the congregation was dismissed with a prayer. Mother stood and all of the attending children stood with her. She led us out of the church in single file. We walked past the minister without the usual commend and greeting. Down the church steps we went. Not a word was spoken on the walk back home. When we arrived at our house, I remember mother speaking to all of us. "Never be ashamed of what you do to make a living. All honest endeavor is acceptable to God," she said. We were all in a state of shock and the embarrassment was still felt. That was the last time that I can remember my Mother going to that church. Although the children were sent off each Sunday, she preferred not to attend. That was her choice and her way of letting them know the way that she felt. The churches of today are not like that one of the 1930's. There are trained ministers that would have possibly expressed themselves in private conversation, but never do it to humiliate a person in public. The ministers of that day were looked upon with fear of their power and ability to ostracize a person from teh community. Thank God that those days are gone forever. |
Copyright © 1994, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 by Glen Stinson & Mark Stinson