John Z writes:
When Theology and Dating Collide
Jason,
Prayers go out to Rick and his family.
I had a date with a good friend who happens to be Mennonite this past Friday (you can put in your jokes about Lutherans drowning Anabaptists here). Dinner and the Boston Pops Orchestra. It was a concert commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, with Holst’s “The Planets” and some other cool stuff. There was an indication there was going to be a smattering of some patriotic stuff too. I worried that it would bother her but she said it’d be fine. Of course it ended up being more than a smattering; it was the Star-Spangled Banner, the Pledge of Allegiance, the Battle Hymn of the Republic (gotta love that “as He died to make men holy let us die to make them free” line in a later stanza), and some other stuff. I’m personally OK with patriotic expression (so long as it’s not in church), but if you’re taking a Mennonite out on a date it’s something you ought to avoid. Thankfully she still had a good time, and I think she actually enjoyed watching me squirm out of concern for her having a good time.
The lesson learned is to buy tickets far in advance so you get them before the Sinatra show sells out and you can avoid this problem in the first place. Probably won’t ever come up again, though.
