1) You take a secret delight in attending church in jeans instead of "a nice church outfit."
2) You take a secret delight in being anonymous within a congregation for the first time in your life, knowing that you do not stand out anymore than any of the other parishoners and therefore are not held up as example or cautionary tale (see #1).
3) You have favorite hymns and read ahead in the bulletin to see if any of them are listed.
4) You are disappointed when one of your favorite hymns is listed as one of the last to be played during communion because you know there's never enough people taking communion to stretch the music out that long.
5) You hum (or sing along under your breath, if you're not thinking) the pastor's part of the liturgy because, hey, you know it by heart.
6) You have a strong preference for either the green book or the red book (green book all the way, baby!) (This is probably specifically part of being an ELCA-pastor's kid.)
7) You know, without looking, that hymns numbered above 600 are in the "blue book," also known as WOV and yes, you know what that means. (Yep, this is probably ELCA too.)
8) You know, again without looking, what color the altar cloth should be during Advent.
9) You have eaten more than your fair share of potluck dinners, which likely included dishes with the word "funeral" in them. (e.g. Funeral Potatos, Funeral Chicken, etc.)
10) You know exactly how far the pastor can see out into the congregation...and yes, he CAN see you all the way in the back whispering, falling asleep, writing out your grocery list, and filling out the offering check during the sermon. (You're also relieved that you're not going to get in trouble for it over lunch anymore..unless you still attend your dad--or mom's--church!)
What else? Any thoughts, Beck, Susan, any other PKs out there?
9 comments:
You know you are a PK when you are the lowest paid babysitter in the congregation.
You know you are a PK when you correct the reader's pronunciation of the day's readings.
You know you are a PK when you don't jump for the slamming of the bible on Good Friday.
You know you are a PK when the first Sunday of church you ever missed was the first Sunday after you started college - far far away.
You know you are a PK when you are sitting in church with mono and strep throat.
You know you are a PK when you are the last family to go through the church buffet lines - and you continue to wait even after you go to your own church out of habit.
I'm sure I missed some, but here are some good ones for you. I LOVED the favorite hymn one and the note about communion - it's just so true!
Anonymous, your list is awesome! I particularly identify with the one about correcting the reader's pronunciation, sitting in church even though sick and being the last to go through line.
Perfect!
Hey...send me an email, either sklemstein@msn.com or the email address on my website. We need to exchange war stories, so to speak. :)
The liturgical and hymnbook knowledge, and the view of the congregation is also for those of us in the church Choir. You forgot the This Far By Faith hymnbook, but perhaps your church never had that one. Our choir does, but it isn't in the pews. The Green book liturgy, well, you can have it. I'll take the blue book liturgies for beauty any day.
when the majority of your social life includes volunteering to do something involving helping and church, for which you do not recieve class credit.
when people complain to you about a problem in the bathroom or kitchen because obviously you are the only person in the whole entire congregation with the abiliy to fix it.
when crazy people that need help somehow find you, and expect you to become their best friend but end up screwing you over. (we all have our "projects")
when you are the only kid that doesnt expect your pastor parent to show up to your games or awards night at school because they are helping people in need. which gets old.
when you come to church in your PJ's and get away with it using the excuse that you know better than to hide from God.
youve made more pots of coffe in your short lifetime than a long-term starbucks barrista.
you aced your Martin Luther quiz in school even though you missed the last two weeks of school from catching strep throat during the passing of the peace.
you have to be careful not to have any cuss words on your facebook because someone from church would see it, and your pastor parent would get in trouble. for your facebook.
Kari! What an awesome list. And you're absolutely right! :) Especially the part about not expecting your pastor parent to show up at events. My dad almost missed my high school graduation because of his job! :)
when you have your own check-in spot on on the staff board, but unlike the secretaries yours is in permanent marker, not dry erase.
when all the old people treat you like their grandchild.
when you know which ministry is in church every night of the week and who to talk to to get food from them.
when your sick of sweets by the time Christmas comes around because October is Pastor's Appreciation month and in November every one is either giving early Christma, being thankful for your family, or late Pastor's Appreciation.
when at Bible studies where you obviously weren't paying attention you can answer any question with examples, verses, cross references, and word origins.
when you were eight, you dad's Greek class would drill paradigms with you, so they could answer their homework.
when you spend more time at the church then you do at home.
when you never get asked out cause every guy in your church is terrified your dad will call lightening down on them.
when everywhere you go you see someone who your dad has counseled
when your stuck at the church at 5 am cause of dad's Bible study you connect your iPod up to the churches speakers and sock slide on the linoleum floors.
You know you're a PK when the word "fellowship" means food
When people sensor themselves around you
When someone asks a question about the bible and suddenly everyone's staring at you
When you get home frim school and find a homemade casserole waiting for you from a church member
When you can't talk about some things because your parent might get in trouble
When you've moved eight times in twelve years
When you always get a living room with ugly wallpaper
When you get in trouble for drawings on the walls as a kid
When you get weird looks for not paying close attention to the sermon
When you're typing this from your pastor parent's computer while simultaneously folding bulletins
You know you are a PK when everyone knows you on a first name bases and your like "wait who are you?"
You know you're a PK when:
- You're always seeing strangers in your house and you never question it
- You join in EVERY production, charity function, church festival, or any other function. You're not asked and you don't expect to be, its not a choice
- You know the words to all the songs in 'Prince of Egypt' off by heart but none of the pop songs
- Even as an adult, you're afraid of what you do in public, in case someone tells your parents
- You were THAT kid that liked to correct their Sunday school teacher
- You still find it weird walking into a church where not everyone knows who you are
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