Chapter 22 go a little further

Obert.Lewis may have practiced to the point that a Christian nurse would call him for help, but religious bias is not usually so easy to overcome.Remember when Moses claimed to be a foreigner from the Gentiles?When the Archmage first came to Hatton Heights, New Jersey in 1948, he could have made this title into a signboard and hung it at the door. At that time, this area was a suburb where the railway line passed, with trains running west to Philadelphia and east to the Atlantic Ocean.There are eight churches in town, but only one synagogue to call it that and a makeshift three-story Victorian home.There is a Catholic church on one street and an Anglican church on the other.These churches all have bell towers and a brick facade, but the church of the Grand Master has a porch, a classroom converted from a kitchen and a bedroom on the first floor, old chairs from a movie theater are installed in the worship hall, and there is a church in the center of the house. Roundabout ladder.

The original congregation consisted of about thirty families, and some people drove forty minutes to come here.They wrote a letter to the seminary begging to send a rabbi; if they couldn't find a rabbi, they couldn't survive, they couldn't continue to operate, and they might have to close down.From the early days of the synagogue, nearby Christians signed a petition to express their opposition.They hadn't heard the idea of ​​the Jewish community and found it threatening. As soon as Orr took the job, he set out to correct the perception of the outside world.He joined the local clergy association.He made friends with clergymen of various denominations.He visited schools and churches, trying to overcome antipathy and prejudice.

People in some places are more talkative, others are not. On one occasion, he was sitting in a church classroom, explaining his religion to students.A boy raises his hand in question. Where are your horns? The archmage froze. Where are your horns?Don't all Jews have horns? The archmage sighed, and invited the boy to the front of the classroom.He removed the yarmulke (or kippah) from his head and told the boy to run his hands through his hair. Have you touched the corner yet? The boy continued to touch. Still looking.Yeah? The child finally stopped. no horns.he whispered. oh. The boy sits down.

Where did I go?The archmage said. On another occasion, the Archmage invited an Anglican priest to address his congregation.The two of them had a good friendship, and the archmage thought it a good thing for the clergy to come to each other's synagogues to communicate. It was Friday evening service.After singing the prayer, he introduced the pastor to everyone.He went up to the pulpit.The congregation fell silent. I am very happy to be here.He said: I also want to thank the rabbi for inviting me Suddenly, tears welled up in his eyes.He praised Obert.Louis is a good man, when it comes to getting emotional, he blurted out: So please help me, let your rabbi accept Jesus Christ as his savior.

There was a dead silence. He is a lovely person.The pastor said with regret: I don't want him to go to hell There was another dead silence. Please, let him accept Jesus Christ.please Those present will never forget that service. On another occasion, one of the Archmage's own congregation, a man named QuintTrevors' German immigrant, running in during the Great Feast service, pulled the Archmage aside. Quint's face was gray and his voice was trembling. What happened?asked the Archmage. Apparently Quint was outside supervising parking a few minutes earlier.The Catholic priest ran over angrily and complained loudly that there were many cars parked around his church. It was Sunday and he wanted to reserve the parking spaces for his congregation.

Get the car away.Kunti said that the priest shouted: You Jews, drive right away! But today is a big festival.Quint said. Why do you have to order it on Sunday?the priest growled. This date was fixed three thousand years ago.Quint replied.He is a recent immigrant and speaks with a German accent.The priest glared at him angrily, and then said something unbelievable. They haven't eliminated you enough. Quint was furious.His wife spent three and a half years in a concentration camp.He wanted very much to beat the priest up.Thank goodness someone stopped.Quint, trembling all over, came back to the synagogue.

The next day, the Archmage called the bishop who was in charge of all the Catholic churches in the area and told him what had happened.Another day, the phone rang.The priest called and asked if he could come and talk. The Archmage greeted him at the door of his office.They sit down. I want to apologize.He said. yes.The archmage said. I shouldn't have said that. It really shouldn't.The archmage said. My bishop has a suggestion.said the priest. What do you suggest? Well, you know, our Catholic school is in session right now.But class is about to end The Archmage listens. Then he nodded and stood up.

Then, when the class bell rang, the classroom door opened, and when the children rushed out, they saw the Catholic priest of the Holy Rosary Church in Lima and the Jewish rabbi of the Peace House Church arm in arm, walking on the campus. Some children blinked fiercely. Some children were dumbfounded. But everyone saw this scene in their eyes. You may find this truce awkward, as the two big men were forced to walk around the campus arm in arm.You might think that some kind of animosity lurks between the two of them.But over time, they also became friends.Many years later, the Archmage still entered that Catholic Church.

Go to the priest's funeral. I was invited to help the priest.The Archmage recalled: I read a prayer for him.I think, at that time, he might still think it was quite good.