Steven: It was a quiet Sunday here in Houston, My first night with Gil was fairly sleepless, but bearable knowing that I could take a nap today and have a good night's sleep tonight (God and Kofi willing). We spent the morning relaxing then made it to the Emerson Unitarian Church a few blocks away for a simple, but fairly uninspiring service. We did meet some nice people there. It was like the beginning of a bad joke: two gay men walk into a church with their black toddler and mixed-race infant... We got a lot of attention, everyone very disappointed when they learned we were not from Houston.
The first couple to befriend us did so in the parking lot: they were an older white couple, probably in their late 60's with their 6 year-old African-American adopted son, d'Andre (deAndre?). They have been taking in foster kids for the past 15 years or so, a total of 33 to date (there was actually a marital disagreement about the number: he said 33, she said 35). They were so supportive of us and thrilled to meet us. They gave us their phone numbers when we left as well as a recommendation for a child care service nearby if we needed a break from Kofi for a few hours. Very, very sweet.
The next woman to take us under her wing, or her choir robe as it turned out, was Barbara, a nurse who has an interest in early child care and car safety who immediately asked to examine how we had strapped Gil into his car seat (wrongly, it turns out) and the after the service she was practically chomping at the bit to see our car and how we had secured our car seats there (imperfectly, at best). Anyway, she was extremely knowledgeable and taught us both a great deal about infant and child car safety and it made me sad that no one at the medical center had done this for us before we took Gil (or Kofi, for that matter) home with us. Anyway, blessings to Barbara for her kindness and for making our kids safer.
The UUs seem to be nice people, no matter where you are. I liked the service: a lot of good protestant hymns that I knew, but not too many references to Jesus. A Mighty Fortress is Our God and Lobet Den Herren -- two oldies, but goodies: tunes that my ex used to say "everyone knows" in his somewhat christian-centric way. Rob and I are still trying to figure out what, if any, religious/spiritual community we want to join. I think we both like the idea of having a place to go where there is a community that supports us, and a place to go that makes us think beyond ourselves. The UUs are a good fit that way, except, of course, all the talk of God. So maybe we'll explore a little in Boston, UU or some liberal funky Jewish congregation.
Anyway, thanks to the Emerson congregation for making us feel so welcome. Sorry we can't join you and help out your choir!
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