The Best-Laid Plans
Three strikes and you’re out, right? Well, sort of. Last night we decided on going to church at San Francisco de Assisi Mission Church. This unusual and striking adobe church was built by Franciscans in the late 1700s and early 1800s. It is still an active parish, and the whole community works together every June to re-mud the exterior. Georgia O’Keeffe famously painted the church. The website listed services at 9 and 11:30; I’ll let you guess which one four 16-year-olds chose. So we arrived there around 11:10, and we walked into the back of the full church where a service was still in progress. My co-travelers’ greatest fears were confirmed—the service was going to be 2 ½ hours long. We debated and decided we’d sit in the back row of the 11:30 service, stay for a while, and leave when it seemed a good time. Meanwhile, the ladies of the church had set up a spread of cookies, cinnamon rolls, deviled eggs, etc., and they were delighted to have these young ladies take a plateful. ...