Letter 3/Dear Skipper: I Say a Little Prayer for You

This, young lady, is why I make you go to Mass.

I believe in the power of prayer. Image from HERE.

Dear Skipper,

You are 13, and you ask why you have to go to church, as our Annie asked years before you. Your close friends — sister and brother L and M —and also, a nice boy named Y, go to Hebrew school. Your friend next-door has talked of dreidls, latkes, challah, matzo ball soup, a menorah and nightly Hanukkah gifts over the years.

You like to say you’re Jewish, but it’s entirely untrue. In fact, you have even made a point of sharing that fib in religious education (CCD) class, just to get a rise out of the students and teachers. I did indulge you and order two traditional honey cakes in a Rosh Hashanah fundraiser last month, and picked up a pretty braided yellow challah loaf at Wegmans.

Because of you, I have been involved in some embarrassing high jinx at our Catholic church. The time we brought L and M to Mass with us, and L would not remove the red sequined headband with devil ears (a gift from you) that she wore every day. A lady whose face I’ve recognized for 30 years shook her head at us and made a negative comment to someone else on the church steps. (By the way, in my book, that lady was not showing kind or Catholic behavior.) The Sunday you begged me to let your nonCatholic friend V come with us, and had her walk up…