As long as I’ve known my Uncle on my Father’s side, which is to say, as long as I’ve been alive, he has been a preacher. My Family attended his Church for the majority of my childhood. I wrote about this subject to some degree in my entry on religion, but I thought I might expound a little bit more on the man himself.
Dad and Granny say that he was quite rebellious in his youth, drinking beer, swearing frequently due to his hot temper, getting in fights. But the only remnant I ever saw of that was an occasional tendency to snap at somebody when he gets really ticked. He mostly keeps everything under control now. No, as long as I’ve known him, he’s been the picture of Christian Righteousness.
[REDACTED AS POTENTIALLY COMPROMISING]
Despite whatever Sins my Uncle may be guilty of, talking with him is like talking with a close confidant who is absolutely assured of his Spirituality. He emits a certain Peacefulness, a Calmness, that resonates with you and tends to affect your own Mental State. He seems to speak with Authority on Religious Subjects, and when I have found myself struggling in life, I have often gone to Uncle to try to make sense of it.
I most recently did this a couple of weeks ago. Usually I come away bumfuzzled at how much Faith is required to live a lifestyle like his and it doesn’t help me very much, but occasionally he has swayed me into returning to Church or dipping my toe back in the Fold.
He used to be quite the “Spiritual Warrior” in his Youth: his Church was filled with people shouting in Tongues at the tops of their voices, interpreting the Tongues, making Prophecies, becoming “Slain in the Spirit,” and other eccentric displays. But as he and the Parishioners have aged, the Church has calmed down a lot. There’s not as much shouting, and not as many elements of “combat” being described in the sermons. Uncle once told me that the 80’s were “A Time of War” and that now is “A Time of Recovery.” I have no idea what the Hell he is talking about. More likely it’s just age mellowing him out.
Back then, he, Dad, and the rest of the Church interpreted almost everything in terms of Demons. Demons were everywhere, tempting you to sin, and they could inhabit people, objects, even fictional works. The movie Dirty Dancing might have a “Spirit of Lust,” or the movie Ghostbusters might have a “Spirit of Witchcraft.” If you exposed yourself to these Demonic Influences, you could find them infecting your own spirit and altering your behavior until you got rid of them with Prayer, Supplication, and Repentance.
But they don’t worry so much about that anymore. Uncle and Dad both go see mass market Hollywood films without many qualms. The only things they really can’t stand are nudity (of course, since Fornication is still one of the worst Sins) or lots of foul language (an objection that seems petty to me now).
Uncle has also stood in as a Father Figure on occasion. He used to take us on regular fishing trips when we lived with Granny Bernadette in High School, and although I didn’t enjoy them all that much at the time (fishing is pretty damn boring), I remember those trips fondly these days. We never did catch very much, mostly just bottom dwellers using hooks and worms. Uncle also has the same goofy sense of humor that my Dad has.
Presently Uncle has a new Church that he purchased as a gutted, burned out husk for a bargain, and with the help of his Parishioners he fixed it up and made it quite appealing. He purchased himself a piece of land and hopes to build a house on it one day. I don’t see him very often at all, usually only on the Holidays or on rare occasions when my and his trips to [REDACTED] coincide. He’s also a very busy man, always in Prayer Meetings or Church Services or helping out one of his Parishioners with some other project. I text him sometimes, but he rarely responds. It’s a shame, because I would like the chance to talk with him more often.