A young college student, a Jewish girl named Michelle, walks up to the front, surprising the minister
S
unday, July 26, 1981. The scene: a small, one-room church filled with rows of pews.The congregation sings a hymn, after which Joseph, the minister, invites anyone who wishes to confess their sins or be baptized to come forward. A young college student, a Jewish girl named Michelle, walks up to the front, surprising the minister.
Joseph’s eyes widen. “Are you sure?” he asks.
“Yes,” the girl says.
The congregation sings another hymn, and a curtain opens at the back of the church, revealing a baptism pool. The girl dons a plastic robe, immerses in the water, and is pronounced a Christian.
As a child growing up in a Chicago suburb in the late 1960s, I dreaded Sunday school at the Reform temple. I hated missing Sunday morning cartoons on TV, and I didn’t understand why I had to learn Hebrew and hear all about Israel.
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