Mt. Zion United Church Of Christ, Cleveland, Ohio - A Review.

     Page Two Hundred Ninety.

     I may have written prior that I really enjoy going to church. I'm Jewish and my definition of God falls squarely within the parameters of traditional Orthodox Judaism, but I also enjoy a good Protestant sermon. When ministers start going on and on, I simply translate the term "Jesus" to "God" and then I'm able to access most pulpit messages with great ease. However, if the sermon is actually about Jesus, i.e. his life; his struggles or what have you as opposed to his teachings, i.e. love one another; don't be a hypocrite, etc. I'm bored to tears and zone out. That really doesn't happen often though. Thankfully, most sermons really are about his message.
     How I got to this point in my life is a separate blog which I won't deliver now, just know that many, many Sundays, if I don't have to work at the museum, I'm darkening the door of some nearby Protestant church. (When the ministers sense me coming, they run and hide.) Quite often I'll even attend 2 different churches on the same Sunday, attending 9.30AM service at one, then 11AM service at another. I refer to these as "Double Features". In past blogs, I've implied that a REAL lot of people know who I am. This is one reason why.
     So, Sunday morning, November 16th,  I was in the mood for something really different. I went to Mt. Zion United Church of Christ down in University Circle. I've mentioned before that University Circle is Cleveland's arts & cultural hub, and also home to some glorious houses of worship. Well, Mt. Zion isn't one of them. It's in an old, huge mansion with a large, 1960's sanctuary added on in back. But, brother, they get the job done.
     I met the minister of Zion at an event last summer and liked him and had also heard of the church in the past, so that's what prompted me to attend. I was surprised to find it 98% Black. I was expecting an integrated church for some reason, don't now why, just was. So, this happened to be a special Sunday for a variety of reasons: it was potluck Sunday; it was a celebration of  male prayer and there was a visiting minister who'd be delivering the sermon. This visitor was from a nearby Seventh Day Adventist church, but had a nationwide reputation for his preaching skills.
     So... where to start... where to start... where to start...
     How about the music? It was the real deal. This was the music that James Brown, Aretha and Little Richard grew up on. It was serious. It was worth the price of admission. Fabulous!
Music: 10/10
     Sermon. This guy was unreal. In the African-American tradition, some ministers deliver a message in a loud, fast voice. That message is sometimes so loud and fast that the words, themselves, are unintelligible, and indeed, almost unimportant (but the congregants would never, ever say that). But, the spirit and emotion of the delivery and the spirit and emotion of the room is what lifts away the congregation. Truly, the message itself is unimportant (but again, they would never, ever say that). By contrast, this guy was sometimes very loud, and sometimes spoke very fast, but EVERY SINGLY WORD WAS UNDERSTANDABLE AND THE MESSAGE WAS FANTASTIC! His message was this: you are God's child. You are entitled to his blessings as any child expects his or her father to take care of them. Have the audacity to expect to be taken care of. Have the nerve to not take "No" for an answer. Keep praying over and over for blessings. Live in prayer and never give up the prayer. Expect answers and expect blessings. It was extraordinary.
Sermon 10/10
     Comfort/grace/reception. I was received graciously. This was a congregation clearly used to visitors. They were friendly and appropriate. It goes without saying, but I'll say it, I ran into people whom I knew. Nobody bent over backwards to make me feel welcome, but that's okay.
Reception of the newcomer/visitor: 8/10
     Children. I adore kids, of course, and savor kid energy. The more children that are in a congregation and the more the congregation values those children, the better. In this group of 100-125 warm bodies, there were only about  8 children. That's not a good sign in my opinion. The number of youths should've been double that. But I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps a bunch of kids were home with colds.
Children: 6/10
     Total experience: 8.5/10
     Remains to be seen what the congregation is really all about. Demographically, as already stated it's 98% Black. Appears to be solidly middle-class and upper-middle class as evidenced by the number of BMW's in the parking lot. The congregation was absolutely NOT dressed to the nines. That's very unusual for a Black church. I suspect that's another sign of their financial stability. Politically, I'll have to do some snooping. We all know that Black churches can run conservative on social issues, but I'm assuming that some conservatism in this particular church may be tempered by the fact that Mt. Zion is a member of the United Church of Christ, a denomination widely recognized for it's extremely and intensely liberal stance on social issues. And, there are very few Black UCC churches around. So, I'm thinking that there may be something very magical happening at Mt. Zion.
     I plan on phoning the minister and setting up an appointment to sit, have coffee and chat. I'll let you know what I find out.

An Unfortunate Benefit

     Page Two Hundred Eighty-Nine.
     I'm not going to go into details here, but for the first time in my life, I'm refusing to go to a benefit which I've helped plan.
     I've been on so many planning committees over the years I can't even tell you. I was the ongoing chairman of the decorating committees for two different organizations' benefits for 10 years each, and indeed, one of those well-know Cleveland arts organizations made me volunteer of the year in 1998. I've served in so many different capacities on so many committees for so many different worth causes it's just nauseating. But never have I been as frustrated as with the current situation.
     The party is very soon and I'm simply not going. Thanks for letting me vent.

Notarizing Autumn

     Page Two Hundred Eighty-Eight.

     Last spring I became a Notary Public. A friend told me of an iffy job prospect which required a person to be a Notary as the first step and I thought "why not"? So here I am.
     Sometime during the 1960's there was strip in Peanuts in which Linus presents Charlie Brown with the "first official leaf of autumn". CB responds "what's so special about this leaf" They've been falling for weeks?"
     "I had this one notarized", declared Linus.
     So a few weeks ago, I presented a good friend with a beautiful, oak leaf which I'd notarized. She appreciated it immensely.

On Working At the Cleveland Museum Of Art Store

     Page Two Hundred Eighty-Seven.
     I still can't completely wrap my head around the fact that I work at the museum. Granted, I don't have enough hours and the pay isn't great, however, I am networking and that's exactly what I'm supposed to be doing right now. But also, the fact that I work in their store is amazing. It's kinda fancy and expensive. Please don't break anything.
     Last Sunday, our sales goal was an unrealistic $6600.00 while $4500.00 would have been much more attainable for a typical Sunday. As it was, we ended selling $10,100.00. Afterwards, we realized it was Labor Day weekend and it's the last week of a special exhibit on Yoga Art. So there you go. It's a modest-sized store, perhaps 1/2 the size of a Walgreen or CVS, but it can generate over $10,000 worth of sales in one day. And it's not even December yet, Lord help us. I'll bet you anything that we'll have 15 or even 20 thousand days in a couple of months. I sometimes feel like I work in Tiffany's.

An Emergency With A 12 Year Old - Update

     Page Two Hundred Eighty-Six.
     You may remember a blog from about a month ago in which I wrote about babysitting a 12 year old boy, unexpectedly, overnight. I ended that blog by saying that I barely made the final cut for his older brother's Bar Mitzvah a couple of years ago because their father and step-mom had no clue how fond their boys were of me. (I'm typically employed by mom.) I was however hopeful that this summer's emergency situation would educate dad and step-mom appropriately so as to invite me to the younger one's upcoming Bar Mitzvah with greater awareness. They did.
     The shindig will be in 6 weeks and looks like it will be plenty fancy. I should start saving up calories now. 

Vermont Super Club - A Review

     Page Two Hundred Eighty-Five.
     I arrived in New York on Friday Evening, stayed the weekend and then drove up to Vermont on Monday morning. I'm still very good friends with Diana, the woman who hired and supervised me at Fancy-Shmancy Nursing Home, in 2003, until she retired in 2004. She has a place in Vermont and when we discovered that we'd both be in New England the same week we knew that I'd have to go up and say "Hi!". My hostess's husband died some months ago, and she's not getting younger, so who knows if this was my last time up there? Subsequently, I only wanted to savor every moment among those trees and hills. This was my 3rd time visiting and it's absolutely beautiful. Hardwick, a tiny pocket of the world with a few thousand inhabitants, is quite far north, just a short drive from Canada and the scenery is spectacular. It's also the largest village for about 20-30 minutes in any direction. So it's the buzzing metropolis for that part of the galaxy.
     Diana's daughter, Julie, and her boyfriend, Jim, live in the Vermont home year round and one evening Diana, Jim and I went to dinner at Vermont Supper Club, a nice place nearby. Julie didn't join us due to her work schedule, but she and Jim both declared it to be a good eatery. It was tres fancy by Vermont standards (Vermonters, ultra-sophisticated and well-educated as they are, do prefer to wear their plaid and denim) and the food was good. Not great but good, I'd recommend it.
     It's decor was casually elegant. In Cleveland, it's tables would have had white tablecloths and chrome candle sticks. But as it was, the tables were polished wood with contemporary, white porcelain salt and pepper shakers. There was complimentary bread and butter, though the butter was mixed with something which didn't add to the effect. Also, each table received a plate of freshly fried shrimp or crab or something. It's unexpectedness was quite charming and whatever it was tasted very good.
     I got a burger with onion rings and a salad as Diana was treating. The rings sucked as the ratio of batter to onion was sinful. I mean really, REALLY sinful. We're talking Sodom and Gomorrah here.  But you know what? I'm not even going there. I know going in that most places ruin their rings. I'm just always fascinated by the new, creative and unusual ways by which they do it. But my salad and burger were strong so I was happy.
     My salad was interesting, not skimpy and also accompanied by a good house dressing. My burger was presented medium as ordered, anther surprise, and juicy and flavorful. As I was in Vermont, I felt obliged to get Cheddar melted on top and it was nice and sharp. Diana and Jim were also happy with their meals of large dinner salads. Upon exiting we all felt satisfied, pleased with the decor, prices, presentation, service and food experience. I liked it and would go back.
     Vermont Supper Club - Hardwick, Vermont (seriously... the middle of nowhere). My rating 7.5/10
(Would be higher if not for the rings.) 

Almost Famous - A Review

     Page Two Hundred Eighty-Four.
     There was only one thing on my agenda concerning sightseeing/shopping while in New York. I wanted to go to a fantastic used DVD store. Buying used DVD's is my primary hobby right now and I wanted to find some great place where I could indulge in my whims and browse for hours through racks of classic/obscure/cult/silent/foreign movies. Deb, my hostess, did some research and found the perfect spot: Academy Records & Cd's at 12 West 18 Street in Manhattan was just the place. I browsed for a long while and bought way more than I should have. I purchased a couple dozen movies, many of which I've never even heard of. They simply looked like I couldn't possibly live without them.
     One of the few movies I purchased which I had heard of, let alone seen, was Almost Famous. This coming of age/comedy/drama from 2000, is one of those movies I didn't want to end. Directed by Cameron Crowe, it tells the story of 15 year old William, who gets hired by Rolling Stone magazine in 1973, to write a behind the scenes expose of one of his favorite rock bands. The movie is highly autobiographical for Crowe as that was exactly how he got his start in entertainment. Rolling Stone hired him in '73, when he was 16, to do a cover story on the Allman Brothers Band. He'd go on to write many more cover stories for them prior to writing his first mass-appeal book: Fast Times At Ridgemont High.
     All the performances and plot points were believable and the level of endearment is off the scale, but with nary an ounce of sentimentality. It's the first of all the newly purchased movies which I've watched and I'm pleased with that decision.
     Almost Famous. My rating: 9/10
     Should my next movie be To Be Or Not To Be, 1942, with Jack Benny and Carole Lombard; Jean Renoir's Boudu Saved From Drowning, 1932, (one can TRULY see the influence of the father's painting style when viewing cinematic works by the son); or Saw, 20004? I've never seen any of these. Hmmmm..... How will I decide? How, how, how?