WE GATHER TOGETHER by Edward L. Woodyard

We Gather Together Chapter Ninety-Two

Julia McCulloch took Sam's hand as they entered the church for the Thanksgiving service and saw that Annie had saved a pew for them; Jason and Kelly were waving and announcing, "Grammy, Grampy, over here."

Sam smiled and waved back as Julia went ahead of him to the pew, both recognizing others in the church and acknowledging them. Jason and Kelly insisted that Grammy sit between the two of them, so Annie shifted her seat, allowing her to be between her son and her father. Sam needed to sit on the end since he'd be reading a poem during the service.

As he nodded to familiar faces seating themselves in surrounding pews, Sam scanned the inside of the church. It was decorated for this service with pumpkins and gourds, along with some bittersweet vines and chrysanthemums, reminders of the earth's bounty and the rewards of hard work.

St. Simeon's itself was a reminder to the village of Castlebury of the power to be found in giving of one's self to one's beliefs. Its solid white-painted wooden pews edged with natural mahogany, their original doors to the aisles having long since been removed, and its imposing yet serene altar made the church an inspiration to spiritual strength and constancy, as Sam's grandfather J.J. used to tell Sam and Tom. Sam didn't understand it at the time, but now he did. St. Simeon's and the town that it had created would prevail long after anyone seated in that sanctuary would. Like the church itself, Sam felt that people should be stewards of duty and responsibility to the past, obliged to the present and hopeful of the future, cogs in the wheel of time. But, as Sam knew all too well, not everyone felt as obligated to those ideals as he did.

The rustle and anticipation in the church slowed with the opening hymn. It wasn't a selection from the hymnal but a popular song heard often on the radio, "You Raise Me Up." Every time Sam heard it, he thought of Julia and how she had made him "more than I could be." Hearing it now in a mystical context gave the song a greater resonance, making Sam realize that his love for Julia had also been spiritual.

At the song's conclusion, a communion of local clergy assembled at the altar; in addition to St. Simeon's rector, there were a rabbi, a priest, an evangelical pastor, a Methodist minister, an imam, and an Eastern Orthodox monk. Behind them was a choir comprised of members of eight congregations in the area, most in robes but some in shirtsleeves.

The imam stepped forward to give a call to prayer, as an adhan would be done by a muezzin from a minaret. As Jason and Kelly began to fidget and giggle because of this unfamiliarity, Julia calmed them. Annie looked at the program, which got her thinking that her kids wouldn't last the whole service; she began planning to leave after Sam did his reading, which wouldn't be too far into the observance.

The rabbi from Temple Israel, who was also a volunteer firefighter and EMT in town, read two psalms, which were followed by a passage of scripture from Philippians recited by the pastor who then explained that the exclamation "Alleluia" meant praise and thanksgiving, urging the congregation to declare "Alleluia" even though it wasn't Easter.

The choir sang "It is Well (Grander Earth Has Quaked Before)" and was joined by the congregation.

Outside the church, Jack Drexler parked his Corvette on the street in front and stepped out of it. As he heard the singing inside, he slid his suit jacket over his tattersall shirt and saw Annie's Suburban parked in the crowded lot. He started to pocket his car key when he felt his wedding ring, which he quickly slipped off the carabiner and onto his finger.

Inside the church, the hymn ended and it was Sam's turn to approach the lectern to recite Thanksgiving by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. Being a citizen of the town, he had been chosen to represent the laity in the observance.