whispered to Dad, "What's wrong with their ears?"
"Oh, they're used to wearing really heavy gold earrings for special occasions," he explained. "The weight stretches their lobes. It's quite common in many parts of the world."
I liked being with Dad when we were just alone, because he acted different; he was relaxed and there were no rules to follow. We'd head out on our own to "seek adventure" he would say playfully. We'd pack a little picnic lunch and set off on the mountain trails around us. The sights were breathtaking, with waterfalls tumbling down from sheer cliffs, rocky little rivers, thick undergrowth filled with birds and huge butterflies, and the most incredible ancient trees hundreds of feet high.
The leeches were the only things I dreaded. They would burrow their way into my socks and I would find at least three or four on each leg, sucking my blood. Dad showed me how to get rid of them by putting salt on them and they would melt away. I hated having to come home, because it meant going back to our commune routine. After a shower, we would join everyone in the main living room for Sunday fellowship, led by Paul Peloquin and Marianne. We always ended our fellowships with the Christian tradition of Communion.
One Sunday, Paul read to us a new Mo Letter, called "Come Union." Mo had received a revelation that our fellowship ceremony had a sexual meaning. We were all one, and part of each other, body as well as spirit.
Do we have complete full communion? Come-union? Common-union? All things common Communion in the flesh as well as the spirit? How long has it been since you've given your body to someone, a brother or sister-or even a fish? Jesus gave his body even for the unsaved! Have you? Maybe you need to get liberated from your selfishness and fears-fear of love, fear of sex, fear of pregnancy, fear of disease, fear of commitment, fear of the future, fear of the unknown, fear of flesh!
Paul stopped reading and stripped off his clothes. Everyone, including the children, obediently followed. He broke out into tongues,
"Haddeda, Shedebeda, Hadaraba, Shadbrada
. Praise the Lord. Thank you Jesus—" and the whole room suddenly erupted into loud chants and babbling, praising the Lord with their arms raised in the air.
I looked around in amazement, baffled at the sight of the adults with tears streaming down their faces. I could not understand the sudden outburst of emotion and euphoria.
I was young, but I had a seeking mind. None of it made any sense to me. What had stripping naked to do with showing dedication to Jesus our Savior? Everyone sat together naked, arms around each other, while Paul finished reading the "Come Union" Mo Letter. But worse was to come when Paul went on to demonstrate a new way to pass the wine.
Now we have signified we're all one body,— he read, "'the bread, and one in spirit, the wine. That's why I like to drink from one cup, which is what they did. These Protestant churches that have a bunch of little tiny cups, they never get the point. And they've got the bread all broken up before-hand, so they don't get the point of that either, that you've got to be one body. Boy, there's a hot one for our Family! One in the flesh, one body, one spirit! Sexually as well, really one Bride of Christ, One wife, One Body!"'
Everyone partnered up, and the men were instructed to take a sip from the communal cup and pass it on to the mouth of their female partner. When the wine came round, my adult partner took a gulp and then fixed his mouth on mine. The warm, red wine mixed with his saliva tasted awful. For a seven-year-old this was as yuck as yuck gets, and I swallowed as little as possible.
Because Jesus had turned the water into wine in the Book of John, Mo had always said that it was permissible to drink alcohol, and in Greece wine was always served with food or enjoyed in the evenings. Now Mo admitted in a Letter of Confession that he was an alcoholic and had ruined his oesophagus and stomach
"Oh, they're used to wearing really heavy gold earrings for special occasions," he explained. "The weight stretches their lobes. It's quite common in many parts of the world."
I liked being with Dad when we were just alone, because he acted different; he was relaxed and there were no rules to follow. We'd head out on our own to "seek adventure" he would say playfully. We'd pack a little picnic lunch and set off on the mountain trails around us. The sights were breathtaking, with waterfalls tumbling down from sheer cliffs, rocky little rivers, thick undergrowth filled with birds and huge butterflies, and the most incredible ancient trees hundreds of feet high.
The leeches were the only things I dreaded. They would burrow their way into my socks and I would find at least three or four on each leg, sucking my blood. Dad showed me how to get rid of them by putting salt on them and they would melt away. I hated having to come home, because it meant going back to our commune routine. After a shower, we would join everyone in the main living room for Sunday fellowship, led by Paul Peloquin and Marianne. We always ended our fellowships with the Christian tradition of Communion.
One Sunday, Paul read to us a new Mo Letter, called "Come Union." Mo had received a revelation that our fellowship ceremony had a sexual meaning. We were all one, and part of each other, body as well as spirit.
Do we have complete full communion? Come-union? Common-union? All things common Communion in the flesh as well as the spirit? How long has it been since you've given your body to someone, a brother or sister-or even a fish? Jesus gave his body even for the unsaved! Have you? Maybe you need to get liberated from your selfishness and fears-fear of love, fear of sex, fear of pregnancy, fear of disease, fear of commitment, fear of the future, fear of the unknown, fear of flesh!
Paul stopped reading and stripped off his clothes. Everyone, including the children, obediently followed. He broke out into tongues,
"Haddeda, Shedebeda, Hadaraba, Shadbrada
. Praise the Lord. Thank you Jesus—" and the whole room suddenly erupted into loud chants and babbling, praising the Lord with their arms raised in the air.
I looked around in amazement, baffled at the sight of the adults with tears streaming down their faces. I could not understand the sudden outburst of emotion and euphoria.
I was young, but I had a seeking mind. None of it made any sense to me. What had stripping naked to do with showing dedication to Jesus our Savior? Everyone sat together naked, arms around each other, while Paul finished reading the "Come Union" Mo Letter. But worse was to come when Paul went on to demonstrate a new way to pass the wine.
Now we have signified we're all one body,— he read, "'the bread, and one in spirit, the wine. That's why I like to drink from one cup, which is what they did. These Protestant churches that have a bunch of little tiny cups, they never get the point. And they've got the bread all broken up before-hand, so they don't get the point of that either, that you've got to be one body. Boy, there's a hot one for our Family! One in the flesh, one body, one spirit! Sexually as well, really one Bride of Christ, One wife, One Body!"'
Everyone partnered up, and the men were instructed to take a sip from the communal cup and pass it on to the mouth of their female partner. When the wine came round, my adult partner took a gulp and then fixed his mouth on mine. The warm, red wine mixed with his saliva tasted awful. For a seven-year-old this was as yuck as yuck gets, and I swallowed as little as possible.
Because Jesus had turned the water into wine in the Book of John, Mo had always said that it was permissible to drink alcohol, and in Greece wine was always served with food or enjoyed in the evenings. Now Mo admitted in a Letter of Confession that he was an alcoholic and had ruined his oesophagus and stomach
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