Graven images

I will say up front that I like graven images, despite the Biblical prohibition of them. And nobody can do graven images as well at the Catholic Church. Today we visited St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Sand Springs as part of the week-long observation of Lent. (Except they don't call it Lent, but something else (Countdown to Easter) in order to accommodate one denomination.)

Anyway, there is quite a change in appearance in a Catholic Church, as opposed to a Protestant Church. I think the first thing that strikes one is the presence of statuary. There is not a lot of statuary at St. Patrick's, but there is a noticeable absence of statuary in the Protestant Churches in the area. They are big on candles, too, at St. Patrick's. I must have seen at least a hundred candles today.

The minister gave a sedate talk, which was thankfully short. A dynamic speaker, he was not. The entire service lasted no longer than 20 minutes, including the singing of three hymns.

After the service the gathering moved downstairs into the fellowship hall for a meal of beef stew. This portion of the event lasted at least 40 minutes. Most of this time was spent waiting in line to be served. The hall was packed. The Methodists were probably the largest group there. Few Baptists and Catholics were there.

After leaving St. Patrick's, we paid the city utility bill at city hall, and went by the post office to mail a letter. From there we went to TCC to walk. I walked just thirty minutes today, quitting early due to a pain in my hip. I suspect this pain is related to my back problem. It feels similar to the pain I experienced prior to my back surgery in 2007.

After returning home, we watched the next lecture in the Philosophy of Religion series.