The Sunday Morning Christian Cross

Sunday morning, I remember the steam radiators, in the 10 to 15 minutes before the service began, they hissed and popped. The church was always warm in the fall, winter and spring. In the 1950’s, women wore big hats with feathers and colored berries. They wore white gloves. The organ played quietly up front on the right. I don’t ever remember seeing an organist during a service. The choir came in just before the minister. I remember the sound of their shoes on the hardwood floors. They took their places quietly on the left. In the mid 1950’s, my feet didn’t touch the floor. I remember my legs quietly swinging. I had a jacket, a white shirt, necktie and black leather lace-up shoes. I remember the weekly program. It was a standard sheet of paper, cream colored. The front had a line drawing of our church with the elm tree outside, the steeple was set against big white cumulonimbus clouds . Over the years, I logged dozens of hours studying the drawing. I thought it was beautifully done.

The interior of the church was classic Congregational cream. The ceilings, the walls, the lectern, and the pews. The top edging of the pews and the ends of the pews were stained dark natural wood. Here is my one negative memory of Sunday mornings: the backs of the pews were too straight and the cushions on the back and the seats were too thin, which made the service of an hour and 15 minutes to an hour and 30 minutes seem too long.

After the weekly brochure with its line drawing of the church, I spent a lot of time studying the stained glass windows. I was age 4,5,6. Children not only see color, they feel color, and the stained glass, Palladian arched windows with pure reds, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple held my attention for years. The windows depicted scenes out of the Bible in pure reds, yellows and blues. These colors were so strong, I can still see the windows. Church was an immersive experience.

For some reason, when my feet touched the floor they invented Sunday School. I remember it was on the second floor of our church. Barbara had blond hair, blue eyes and sat across from me. Barbara wore a gold cross like our X4413. Barbara and I had such a good time they switched my class. I think that was my year of second grade. Barbara’s cross looked good. There’s a lot you don’t notice as a kid and a lot you do.