REAL Catholic Mass, For Fans & Fan Creations

[Runa]

"Authors, artists, screenwriters, set dressers, cosplayers: Have you ever wanted to better authenticate your rendering of scenes set in or involving a Roman Catholic Mass, but not known whom to ask? Thor Hilander is a fan of anime and sci-fi and a friend of Creation Station, who happens also to be a converted Catholic and, at only 33 years old,  a practicing Dominican Religious Priest, as Father Augustine at the Newman Center of University of Oregon. He will walk us through a 1-hour Sunday Mass, explaining each step as he goes along, with 15 minutes afterwards for questions & answers. Everyone is welcome, from any faith or philosophical orientation.  Panelist: Father Augustine (ThorHilander). Start time: 3pm. Duration: 1.25 hours.

* Yes, for those of you who are Roman Catholic, this WILL fulfill your Sunday Obligation.

[RemSaverem]

Just a quick word from the purveyor of this event:
Hi *waves* I'm Rem from Creation Station. Let me tell you a little bit about Father Augustine. He is not like any clergy I've ever met. He really is into anime & sci-fi and is *so* excited to come meet everyone and run this panel. Basically, he's going to go step-by-step through what it would be like if you were at a Mass in a church, explaining what each of his ritual steps and implements are, and then take questions at the end. This is way cool for someone like me, who's only ever been in a Catholic church once, as a kid, yet who is inundated with pop culture imagery of such settings, with no way to know what's real, what's respectful, what's accidentally or deliberately blasphemous. Then for those who would normally be taking sacrament but happen to be at con, there's the bonus of not having to leave con for the service.
So please check it out! Everyone is welcome.

[Legoman]

Be careful with this one. Religion as a whole is a very charged subject and Catholicism is very nearly the forefront of this. I suggest you get Admin's approval before continuing with this and everyone involved needs to choose their words very carefully.

[RemSaverem]

Ok...Just to review: I'm personally Jewish, from a family of Rabbis, with a history of what others call witchcraft. I've gone to Hindu ceremonies, I've lived at a Buddhist Retreat Center (Tibetan Dzogchen) for a summer, and for years, I've been a copanelist on Religion in Anime & Manga panel at Kumoricon. Among the topics that always comes up, every year, without fail, is how to know when something in a work of popular media, and/or in a fan creation inspired by popular media, is accurately, or at least respectfully, replicating a ceremony, outfit, piece of jewelry, ritual object, chant, or other aspect of a religious service, whether Shinto, Zen, or any other belief path. There are so many manga and anime out there that have focal characters who are said to be Catholic or other Christian clergy (e.g., in Hellsing, Trinity Blood, etc.). For someone like me who grew up knowing lots of Jews, Hindus, & Buddhists, but very few Christians, a panel like this is really helpful. That's why I personally proposed it, when I happened to meet a really cool otaku & sci-fi geek who, randomly, happened to mention that he also was a priest, even though he himself had not grown up Catholic. The idea is not "here's the one religion that gets to hold a service at con". The idea is "here's one genuine fan, who happens also to be a religious professional, who is willing to drive all the way up from Eugene between his professional duties, just to help folks understand what is and is not authentic, when a Mass is portrayed in canon or fanon." Hope that helps, Sincerely, Rem from Creation Station.

[Runa]

It's true that something like this is rarely offered. The last time a Catholic Mass was offered at a convention was CascadiaCon in 2005. The Mass was led by a priest from California who just happened to really enjoy Science Fiction and who was more than happy to offer Mass as a "panel" during the convention. Several Catholic fans attended the Mass and a handful of non-Catholic observers sat in the back observing the Mass. Afterward, the priest fielded questions from the non-Catholics about what they'd seen. Nothing unusual happened - no protests, no one made a scene or did anything extraordinary.

This will be similar, except this time the priest lives much closer    No one is required to attend, and there are other activities happening at the same time which people can go to if they are not interested in attending the Mass.

Other religious panels I've seen at conventions include:
 "Pagan drum circle" at Orycon at midnight run by a local Pagan group
 "Religion in Anime" at Kumoricon 
"Religion in Science Fiction"  at Orycon - both panels discussed various media depictions - both correct and incorrect - of religious activities.

[RemSaverem]

As the person who solicited and planned the panel, here are a few important clarifications. 1. Anyone who attends will be able to sit or stand anywhere, regardless of whether observing or participating. 2. No one will be pressured, but everyone will be welcomed. 3. This is, in fact, a panel. This is not a typical Mass. The priest doesn't typically go meta and break the 4th wall and involve show-and-tell with every step. It is no less of a typical con hands-on how-to panel for newbies for it having religious content. It is not an attempt to convert anyone but to alert any curious person of any faith or philosophy of what would be an authentic portrayal of this aspect of this culture. To me this is no different than if I took lessons in Ikebana or Taiko to better authenticate my portrayal of such in a scene set at a Ginza holiday. That it meets the service needs of some folks is a lovely bonus gift from the generous panelist. But it's not why I asked him, and it's not why he's coming; cultural awareness is.

[Admin]

I do agree with holding a panel in the spirit of cultural awareness.

If someone from any other or no religion, traditional background, etc, takes the time to make a panel in this manor I don't have a problem with the convention hosting it.  What would not be acceptable would be a panel hosted to put down or berate others belief or lack there of or a panel that did not hold to any of our themes.

[RemSaverem]

I do agree with holding a panel in the spirit of cultural awareness.

If someone from any other or no religion, traditional background, etc, takes the time to make a panel in this manor I don't have a problem with the convention hosting it.  What would not be acceptable would be a panel hosted to put down or berate others belief or lack there of or a panel that did not hold to any of our themes.

I agree, thank you. To further clarify: When I initially spoke with Thor (which is how I met him and how I refer to him when it's just him & me chatting; he's totally informal that way, and walks around in jeans & T-shirt like any other young otaku), it was to see if he would be interested in joining me & Guy & Jeni (who is Pagan) in our Religion in Anime & Manga panel for next year's Kumoricon. The idea was he'd be like any other panelist, and in plain clothes or cosplay, but he'd be able to speak with a little more formal study behind him than most, as to which portrayals of Catholic characters, clothes, jewelry, rituals, Latin, sigils, etc., in anime & manga had any accuracy to them, or might have interesting backstories to them, etc. The Mass walk-through was a corollary to that idea. That it would "count" for avid practitioners is a fact; but it is not the reason for the panel. Thor & I had thought we were also going to have a "Religion in Sci-Fi & Fantasy" panel for MEW, but especially this time of year, his schedule did not permit him to be away from Eugene long enough for 2 panels, & Guy already has like 6 other panels plus AMVs 'til 6am. So we picked this panel.  Thanks for the support, Love, Rem.

[Raven]

I like this idea. Its great for people who want more knowledge about why people of various religions do waht they do. I enjoyed going to Bon Odori and learning about why things were done. Exchange of information is good.

[RemSaverem]

I like this idea. Its great for people who want more knowledge about why people of various religions do waht they do. I enjoyed going to Bon Odori and learning about why things were done. Exchange of information is good.

Yay! Agreed! Thanks! What is Bon Odori? Is it related to the Bon Japanese festival and Obon dancers? Or is it related to Bon, Tibetan Shamanism?

[Raven]

Bon Odori is a Japanese festival and is related to the Obon dancers. Its a lovely festival. I've attended the ones in Seattle and Olympia and I enjoyed both of those.

[kuroki-neko]

Bon Odori is a Japanese festival and is related to the Obon dancers. Its a lovely festival. I've attended the ones in Seattle and Olympia and I enjoyed both of those.

i think i have attended the one in seattle once before...

[RemSaverem]

Ooh! I hope to see one some day. When I used to coordinate commemorations every August 6th or 9th honoring those bombed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki (R.I.P.), we had Obon dancers. Very graceful and dignified.

[kuroki-neko]

Ooh! I hope to see one some day. When I used to coordinate commemorations every August 6th or 9th honoring those bombed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki (R.I.P.), we had Obon dancers. Very graceful and dignified.

yes it would have been better if my parents that i went with did not act like such ganjins  >.<

[RemSaverem]

What is a ganjin?