Some guy I’ve never seen before comes up to me at work yesterday and whispers, “Do you go to SIB?” (I say whisper because he really is very, very soft-spoken.)
“Yes,” I say, about 10 decibels louder. And almost as an afterthought, “Why?”
Turns out he was visiting SIB last Sunday and he recognized me. So I ask the obvious, “How was it?”
He pauses, so I know it’s not good.
He’s from a brethren church you see, and while SIB worship only occasionally registers on the liveliness scale, it’s far more than what he’s used to. He terms it “different perspectives on morning service” (he refers to church as morning service).
“I can understand that,” I say.
He pauses again, so I know it’s still not good.
“Well,” he says. “There was also the speaking in tongues. The Bible has very clear verses on speaking in tongues, especially during morning service.”
I nod. I’m perfectly okay with people having opinions that differ to mine, (unless of course they refer to my arts degree in derogatory terms).
“And this is going to sound really sexist,” he continues. “But I don’t think women should be allowed to speak during worship.”
I raise my eyebrows.
“I’ve never quite known how to say this to a girl before,” he tells me. “I know it must sound very sexist but the Bible does have verses that speak about women covering their heads in worship and not speaking out.”
I think about my spaghetti strap top that I wore last Sunday. He must have thrown a silent convulsion when he saw me. And I must have looked quite harmless sitting behind my desk to warrant this.
But for the record, we had a perfectly amicable conversation, especially considering how things could have turned out were I an opinionated and violent Christian feminist.
“Don’t be a stranger now,” he said as he left for Marketing (which explains why I’d never seen him before this).
