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 Sunday,
January 18, was our 34th wedding anniversary and so after church we
went down to the river to take a brisk stroll along the
river walk in the
crisp weather and bright sunshine. We stopped and watched several people
as they were skiing, skating, and fishing on the river. Then we noticed an
unusual event taking place. Not far from us a small group of men were
using a chain saw to cut a large hole in the ice. As we drew closer, it
was obvious they were cutting the shape of a large cross in the
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about 10:45 the next morning, were heading to the river to observe the
service, but we met the processional coming away from the river, meaning
the service must have started at 10:00. After watching the priests and the
parishioners walk by, we went on down to the river to see what was going
on. There, we observed people filling water bottles from the river. I
asked them what they were doing and a couple of folk explained that
the water had been made holy by the priest and that one could
drink it throughout the year to keep good health. |
  Then
we observed that across the river, in an area where the current was slow
during the summer, that another large rectangle hole had been carved and
there were people taking a plunge into the freezing water!
Several were dunking themselves three times and making the sign of the
cross in between each dunk. Others were getting in and getting out
after a single dunk. Again, we asked why the people were doing this, and
the answer from many was that it would make them holy and give them good
health. We asked how long it would make them holy, and the answers varied
from one day to a week, month, and even the entire year. Most of our
conversations were simply about the reasons for the day. We must admit
that this event caught us totally off guard and unprepared, but next
time we'll be ready with several ways to engage people in deeper more
meaningful conversations. We've already marked January 19 in our planning
calendar for the next couple of years! |
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