/Users/jeanurbanski/Desktop/337844724_518458650453344_3025841628547072029_n.jpg March 25 is the Feast of the Annuciation. This date is nine months before the date set by the ancient church to celebrate Christmas, which was called feast of the nativity. Somehow, the annunciation became a highly-favored subject for Renaissance painters. For some very-disrespectful reason, these pictures always make me chuckle. When I was in Florence for a month with a bunch of students, the depictions were ubiquitous. Seeing the first few, I just smiled. A beautiful, well-dressed-fair-skinned young woman, often painted reading a book in a beautiful courtyard is depicted calmly glancing up from her book, to see a huge, winged, very fancy angel confronting her with the news. Often, simultaneously, she is being impregnated in her head by a bolt of light from the heavens, usually emanating from a dove. She doesn’t even flinch. You would think, even though she was purportedly only about fifteen, she might have thought about it for a second and said thanks but no thanks. What we have her saying is, “My soul doth magnify the lord, and my spirit rejoices.” Clearly, these paintings and these words were by men. I remember being very happy when I discovered I had fallen pregnant, but I was a married woman in my late twenties. Still, I had lost of qualms. Over the centuries, the church came up with lots of names for Mary, some of them relatively recently. “Queen of Heaven” comes to mind.”T he Immaculate Conception” is an idea the church put forth in the late 1800’s to make sure everyone understands that Mary was born without original sin. From her conception, she was immaculate. There is also a lot of art depicting her bloody heart in an open breast. Sometimes, Jesus is painted and sculpted this way too. People worship and adore the depictions of the “sacred heart.” I find particularly troublesome, Mary’s being referred to as “Mother of God.” From that I infer that she existed before God. From what I remember from Sunday School, nothing existed before God. I love Renaissance art and I envy people who are child-like, unquestioning people of faith. But I think the traditional faith of my childhood was lost somewhere in Florence. Too many annunciations

I’m an old, retired English teacher. Emphasis on “‘retired.”

I make lots of grammar errors and I will never correct anyone else — although I do flinch visibly when I hear “Me and my mom seen that movie.” I understand that a language like English, to live and be useful around the world, must be organic.

I am trying to adapt to: “The police apprehended a suspect, but they are not releasing their name.” Clearly, the police want to avoid revealing the suspect’s gender as well.

The last time I audited a class at Willamette, I was asked to place a placard on my desk listing my preferred pronouns. Apparently, some students are offended by gendered pronouns and prefer to be referred to by genderless ones. By that, they mean using plural pronouns in singular ways, not wanting to be referenced as “him” or “her,” but neutrally as “they.” I spoke up. I do tend to do that. I contended that if speaking to me, the only pronoun you need is “you.” If you are going to talk about me, please don’t! Moreover, English has a neuter pronoun. It. Ironically, I may call someone “they,” but not “it.” No one wants to be referred to as “it.”

Then there is the use of the reflexive pronoun “myself,” because one doesn’t know whether the nominative or objective case is needed. “Should you have any questions, email Tom, Dick, Harry, or myself.”

For many years I have taught English to foreign speakers. I love my mother tongue, and I want my students to love it too. Nevertheless, I find myself constantly apologizing for it. It is only randomly phonetic, inconsistent, the spelling is absurd, and in conversation, we do not say what we mean. Properly, for past tense, we should say, for example, “I did,” and for future tense, “I will.” But no! Instead we say, “I used to; I’m going to.” Actually, what we say is “I’m gonna, and I usta.” And that’s the way my adult English learners want to sound: Like us! I do flinch when I write ”I’m gonna” on the board.

They also want to know how to use common idioms. Think: “It’s on me. It’s my treat.”

My personal favorite is: “We’ve got this.” It’s what someone says to you when you are going through a hard time and he or she comes beside you, puts a hand on your shoulder, and says, “We’ve got this.” It means so much more than just those words. Your concerns are immediately reduced because they are shared.

Recently, in the parking lot after class, the faithful Subaru wouldn’t start. I have Triple A on speed dial, but Seferino and Moises had the hood up and jumper cables in place before I could work my way through the AAA menu. They were speaking to each other in their mother tongue, but turned to me and said, “We’ve got this.” Wow. Just wow. On several levels.

Being able to communicate clearly and succinctly is so much more important than grammar. I’m trying to learn not to flinch.

As I’ve mentioned here before, I am no longer a person of traditional faith, but I cherish some of the traditions I have practiced since I was a little girl. I love church on Sunday mornings, although these days I watch it online. I love the hymns and sing all of them. I love seeing that community of people. Almost every Sunday morning, something happens there that blesses me.

Many things have changed about church since I was a little girl and I am no longer a member of the denomination of my childhood. Still, I was blessed by many of the things I learned there.

Now, it breaks my heart that many congregations in that denomination are voting to “disaffiliate” in opposition to updating gender regulations. “Open doors, open hearts, open minds,” their mission statement, just rubs some of them the wrong way these days.

The denomination I joined in college and the parish in my old neighborhood is the one I watch on Sunday mornings. I print out the service leaflet here at home. At the top of it is the following:

“WELCOME!
As followers of Christ, we strive to be an inclusive and affirming congregation. Everyone is welcome to participate fully in our community life, regardless of race or ethnicity, national origin, citizenship, age, political views, education, physical ability, economic or employment situation, relationship status, gender expression, sexual orientation, or any other markers of identity people sometimes use to create division. All are invited to receive Holy Communion. As St. Paul wrote in the Letter to the Romans, “Nothing can separate us from the love of God.” Well wow. Just wow.
,
I’m pretty sure Jesus did not exclude anyone. To exclude means to be exclusive. Makes me think of a Gentile country club or a gated community. The Gospel this morning was the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well.

Almost every time I “watch” church, something touches me deeply. Today it was this:

Click on it a couple of times to enlarge it. The woman circled has been worshiping at St. Paul’s this year, now that she lives in the neighborhood. I believe she grew up in the Catholic church, seeing as how she knows when to kneel and cross herself. She has been rejected by that church and has been an Episcopalian for some years now. The two men standing at the back are her bodyguards. Welcome Governor.