[Vision2020] Woman embalmed, bronzed in favorite pew

[Art Deco]

“What if more people request the same thing?” one woman asks. “Pretty soon
the church will be filled with bronze statues.”

At least the statues won't be ripped off for tithes, and they'll probably
be just as attentive as many of the other congregants.

w.


On Thu, May 2, 2013 at 7:55 AM, Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com> wrote:

> Courtesy of Lark News at:
>
> http://www.larknews.com/archives/301
>
> -------------------------------------
> Woman embalmed, bronzed in favorite pew<http://www.larknews.com/archives/301>
> [image: Woman-embalmed-bronzed-in-favorite-pew.jpg]
>
> MOSCOW, Idaho — Longtime church-goer Gert Rizzoli was so devoted to her
> spot in the pew at Featherside Congregational church that when she passed
> away last month, her family received permission to bronze her body and set
> it in the pew. Now, to the consternation of some church members, her body
> is permanently located in the aisle seat she occupied every Sunday for
> forty years.
>
> “She loved gazing at the pastor from that spot, being the first in her row
> to receive Communion, having quick access to the bathroom,” says daughter
> Sofia. “It gave her a sense of deep, spiritual comfort.”
>
> But fellow church-goers also remember Gert’s stiff response to anyone who
> tried to take her place.
>
> One man was shooed away by Gert on several occasions when he arrived early
> and inadvertently took her spot, he says. Now the bronze statue serves as
> an irritating reminder of the encounter.
>
> “It’s like she’s still there defending her seat,” he says.
>
> When church members enter the sanctuary now, they can’t help but catch the
> glare of light off of Gert’s bronzed pate. Visitors find it inconvenient to
> climb over her, and children have stubbed their toes on her hardened shins.
>
> “She was a Christ-like lady, except when it came to giving up that spot,”
> says a family friend. “She had a real sense of her turf. To her, it was
> like the Israelites: Once you get land, you don’t give it up.”
>
> Pastor Len Kerralt, who agreed to the odd memorial, looks upon Gert’s
> frozen smile each Sunday from the pulpit.
>
> “It’s nice to know at least one person is enjoying the sermon,” he quips.
> But others still mumble about the nuisance.
>
> “What if more people request the same thing?” one woman asks. “Pretty soon
> the church will be filled with bronze statues.”
> -------------------------------------
>
> Seeya round town, Moscow, because . . .
>
> "Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
> http://www.MoscowCares.com
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
> "There's room at the top they are telling you still
> But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
> If you want to be like the folks on the hill."
>
> - John Lennon
>
>
>
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-- 
Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
art.deco.studios at gmail.com
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