Chanitok, L.I.

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The following morning Gwen stepped into the kitchen. Her mother was seated at the table, reading a local newspaper. The woman sighed and groaned, with her head in her hand.

“When you’re a candidate for anything,” she said, “you have to be so careful what you say in front of a reporter.”

Gwen asked, “He didn’t say anything mean or nasty, about me and my friends, did he?”

The woman shook her head. “What he wrote here is that I stopped to talk to my daughter, who was at the All You Can Eat with a few of her friends. He said that you all denied that you were Born Again Christians.”

“Beth was really upset about that, Mom. She thought she had to lie about that, to keep herself and the rest of us safe from being harassed; and that just wasn’t right.”

Her mother said, “I found it very upsetting myself, hearing my own daughter’s boyfriend say that he thinks of me as a one of his ‘Conquerors’, and that he and your other Born Again friends feel ‘helpless before me’.”

Gwen said, “Well during last night’s meeting, he pointed out that Jesus said that we should ‘Beware of false prophets who come to us as sheep, but inwardly are ferocious wolves.”

“Is that what you think I am?” her mother asked, “’A wolf in sheep’s clothing’?”

“Well Mom,” Gwen told her, “Maybe you and every one of your ‘Politically Correct’ and ‘Inclusive’ associates, should stop viciously harassing everyone who disagrees with you; like those Gay Rights Activists, who are trying to bring total destruction to everyone who they imagine is against them; like Snacking Kings.

“They’re trying to put Snacking Kings out of business. That’ll put thousands of their employees out of work, and you support that? It’s wrong for people to harass and intimidate Gays, but does that make it all right for them to harass and intimidate, and bring total destruction on anyone who they imagine might dislike them?”

“Those are the tactics girl, which will eventually lead to a world in which there is true Social Justice.”

“Justice? Reverse intimidation is Justice?”

“I’m sorry you feel that way Gwen.”

“You’re sorry I feel this way? You’re sorry I’d like you to be honest and truthful? You know Mom, it might be helpful, for you and everyone in your movement, to just occasionally take a look at yourselves; and maybe actually listen to your critics.”

“Right.” Mrs. Sandrell said, “We might actually learn something.”

“On Sunday morning Pastor Cabell actually told me, that he can’t wait for the day when they begin rounding up all Evangelical Christians, and sending them off to concentration camps. Is that how you plan to bring about a world in which there is ‘true Social Justice’?”

Her mother told her, “I’m not going to answer that question.”

“Why not? Is it true?”

The woman tapped the newspaper with her finger, and told her daughter, “What I meant about being careful what you say to reporters, is that here he’s saying that I maligned the entire Motel Industry.”

“You did?”

“Remember, I said that instead of allowing High School Kids, like you and your friends to have safe sex in motel rooms, I’d prefer having all of you sleep over in your parents’ homes. Then I mentioned the fact that unsavory characters do hang out at motels; which is a fact.”

“Oh come on Mom. Do you really think you’re opponent’s gonna find anything wrong with you saying that?”

“I can’t take that chance. Before he does, I’ll have to announce my full support for the right of every unsavory character, to spend the night in a motel room.”

“In that way you hope to avoid losing the unsavory character vote?”

The woman sighed. “Exactly. We’d never have got as far as we have, without the help of unsavory characters.”

Now Gwen prayed, “In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I ask God the Father Almighty, to send forth the Holy Spirit, and cast out the Devil from Chanitok. Amen.”

Later that morning at Chanitok High, Gwen was seated in History Class. Ms. Morris was lecturing.

“The Holiday we call ‘Thanksgiving’, which we celebrate with turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, yams, pumpkin pie, cider, ahhhh!...”
The students chuckled.

“Along with some of us going into the City to watch the Parade, while the rest of us watch it on television. Then in the afternoon the men watch football on the TV. Can anybody tell me exactly what we are celebrating?”

A boy raised the hand, “It’s the Harvest Celebration.”

“Indeed.” The teacher told them, “There is in fact, nothing more important than the harvest. Even in our high tech, sophisticated world, without the harvest, there would be nothing to eat, and we would all cease to exist.

“Now can any of you tell me exactly what harvest we are celebrating, when we celebrate Thanksgiving?”

Gwen raised her hand. “We are commemorating the First Thanksgiving, when the Pilgrims thanked God for helping them survive their first winter.”

“No.” Ms. Morris told them. “That celebration was held, to thank members of the local Indigenous Native American Tribe, without whose help, none of them would have survived.”

Gwen said, “That was part of it Ms. Morris; but first of all they were thanking God.”

The woman spoke firmly. “As I said the other day, we are forbidden to discuss anything about religion in this class.”

“That’s not true. I spoke to my mother last night. She said we students do have as much of a Constitutional Right to discuss religion, as we have to talk about our sexual experiences.”

The entire class laughed.

The teacher said, “Well we’re not discussing anything about religion in this class. We will discuss the First Thanksgiving, without any reference to religion.”

Jimmy raised his hand. “The Pilgrims Thanksgiving was actually not the first one.”

Ms. Morris asked, “Was there an earlier one in Jamestown?”

“No.” The boy said, “Much earlier than that. The very first Thanksgiving celebration that was every recorded, was held by Cain and Abel. It didn’t turn out well. There were some serious problems.”

The class laughed.

The teacher said, “That mythical story was all about a conflict in religious beliefs, which resulted in Cain murdering Abel, his brother. I won’t be leading any discussion, which might lead to any of you committing murder.”

Gwen prayed silently. “In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I ask God the Father Almighty, to send forth the Holy Spirit, and cast out the Devil from Chanitok High School. Amen.”

That evening, Gwen attended Choir Practice at the Church, in the choir room downstairs, beneath the narthex. When she arrived, Beth and Mark were already there. She went over to them. Beth was peeved.

She said, “As soon as I arrived Pastor Cabell asked me to come into his office. He said he’d been hearing rumors that I’d contracted some sexually transmitted disease.”

“He’s heard the rumors?” Gwen asked. “He’s heard some of those really nasty lies that someone at school’s been spreading about you?”

Mark said, “Yeah. ‘Somebody who will remain anonymous’ has been spreading them around. Do you believe that? The false accuser can remain ‘anonymous’, but the falsely accused can’t?”

Gwen asked, “Do you have any idea who it is?”

He looked across the room at Katie, who was laughing with some other girls. “Do you have to ask?”

Beth said, “I told the Pastor it wasn’t true, and he took my word for it. He also asked me if it was true that I’m a Born Again Christian. I told him I was.”

Gwen asked, “Did he threaten to send you to a concentration camp?”

“No. He didn’t say a word.”

The Choir Director now entered the room, accompanied by Pastor Cabell. The Choir members all stiffened up.

“Miss Sandrell.” The Pastor spoke firmly. “I have been informed by your friend Beth here, that you invited her and Mark to your house last night, along with another fellow, who is not a member of this Church. While they were there, they held a Bible Study that was unauthorized by the Church.”

“Unauthorized?” Gwen asked, “Since when do we need anyone’s permission to read the Bible at home? I’d think you’d be glad to know that some of us kids are reading it.”

“Every member of this Church has been informed that no Bible study is to be held, without having a monitor present. By holding an unmonitored Study, you have violated those instructions.”

Gwen snapped, “So what business is it of yours? What we members of this Church do in the privacy of our own homes isn’t any of your business.”

The other kids started nodding and speaking in agreement.

“Silence!” The man ordered.

Everyone quieted down.

“Here is something that none of you are apparently aware of.” He informed them. “According to Church Law; in a family, which has membership in a congregation, the parent is the final authority in the home; and the pastor of that congregation, has authority over that parent.”

Everyone was startled by that statement. A few spoke angrily.

“What are you talking about?”

“Yeah.” Mark said, “Who the hell do you think you are, mister? If my parents want your advice, they’ll ask you. After this, you won’t be hearing from them!”

“Yeah.” Beth added, “You stay away from my parents, and stay away from me! Don’t ever talk to me again!”

The man raised his hands, and made a patting down gesture. Everyone again quieted down.

“I apologize,” he told them, “for upsetting all of you. I may have gone too far with that statement.”

“Do you think?”

He said, “I was merely expressing my concern that the unsupervised study of scripture might lead to a distorted understanding, of what the reader reads.
One might become ‘zealous, but not from knowledge’. It might have an erroneous effect upon what the unguided one believes.”

Gwen spoke. “I know what I believe Pastor. What we read and discussed last night, reinforced it.”

“Indeed? Now tell me Miss Sandrell. What do you believe?”

She told him and everyone in the Choir Room, “’I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost; born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified dead and buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from whence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

“I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.’”

“I see.” The Pastor told her, “You know how to repeat the Apostles’ Creed. Do you, a girl who spent Saturday night doing the naked horizontal dance in a motel room, actually believe what you just repeated?”

Gwen glanced at Katie, who was getting hostile looks from every girl and guy in the room. Then she looked back at the Pastor.

“Yes” Gwen told him, “Every word.”

Now he spoke firmly to everyone in the room. “That is about to change!”

He told them all, “There has been a New Revelation; which has nullified all of our old beliefs. The details of the New Revelation will be announced this Sunday from the pulpit of this Church. I advise every one of you to be here in attendance on Sunday; along with your families, and all of your friends.”

He looked at Gwen. “By ‘everyone’, I also include anyone who is not a member of this Congregation.

“The World is about to be turned upside down this coming Sunday morning! It will be one of the greatest days in history! I want to see all of you here in attendance then!”

The Pastor turned around. He stepped out through the doorway and was gone from the Choir Room.

Gwen snapped at Katie. “What did you do? You told your father what I was doing with Jimmy? It’s the same thing you were doing with…”

“I didn’t say a word.” Katie told her, “You’re the one who told him what you were doing Gwen. You told him on Sunday morning; when you asked him about Marge and Dave.”

Gwen nodded and sighed. She returned her attention to Mark and Beth.

Beth asked, “All our old beliefs have been ‘nullified’?

Mark wondered, “The Apostles Creed; all the words that Gwen just quoted, don’t count for anything any longer? This Church is gonna be teaching heresy? That’s apostasy.”

Gwen said, “Talk about a wolf in sheep’s clothing. We’re surrounded by them. My mother, some of our teachers like Ms. Morris, and Pastor Cabell.”

Jimmy told them, “Jesus also said, ‘I send you out as sheep among wolves, so be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.’”

The Choir Director now spoke. “Okay everyone. It’s time to stop arguing and start rehearsing.”

Mark and Beth joined the others, while Gwen stood alone for a moment.

She again prayed quietly. “In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I ask God the Father Almighty, to send forth the Holy Spirit, and cast out the Devil, from the First Presbyterian Church of Chanitok; in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”

Then Gwen came over and joined the other members of the Choir.