A Failed Attempt at Unity

My first attempt to be a referee between Protestants and Catholics in our quaint fishing town was a failure.

On Sunday evenings in the summer, the local Pentecostal Assembly held outdoor praise and worship concerts in the parking lot in front of the grocery store. There was also passionate preaching about the need to get SAVED, or, ‘sohved’ as the locals pronounce it. This is a beautiful form of evangelism, and yes, I agree, we all need to be ‘sohved’.

However, the sound system used by the group was very powerful, and the message was loudly broadcast throughout the entire town, including into our little Catholic chapel, where we held Masses at the same time !

Since I was the liturgical musician, I approached the Pentecostal pastor and kindly asked him if he would consider turning down the volume at his outdoor services. When he realized that I was Catholic, he put his hands on his hips and glared at me. I left the meeting wondering whether he had heard me. He had not.

The next warm Sunday evening, we again heard the loud music blaring into our chapel. I decided we would have no liturgical music that evening. Instead, we listened to the Pentecostal music. I believe it was I tended especially for us. Perhaps they felt that we were not yet ‘sohved’.

(Photo Credit : Arthur Miranda, Unsplash)