I'm back in Geneva after a whirlwind Christmas break in Portland, and today (being the first of the month) was communion day at the Church of Scotland. For some odd reason, the only time the C of S passes the peace is when there's communion, and I've missed some previous communion Sundays...so I was interested to discover today that many people at the C of S use the standard Geneva greeting when passing the peace: three kisses on the cheeks. So, if you greet five people, that's 15 kisses. It becomes a bit ridiculous after a while - especially as with each new face you have that moment of deliberation when you're trying to figure out if this will be a handshake or the kissing ritual, if kissing, which cheek to head for first, and whether or not there will be lip-to-cheek contact or just the "mwah!" sound in the air.
I don't think we covered this in our sexual harassment seminar; in any case, my usual trick for avoiding unwanted hugs - clasping both hands of the incoming parishioner - doesn't work in this scenario, as people come in for the kiss anyway.
I'm not sure this is quite what Paul had in mind when he told the churches of Rome and Corinth to greet one another with a holy kiss...
2 comments:
I've never done well with the kiss-kiss thing. I blame it on being from Oregon or from Swedish people because I didn't encounter the kiss-kiss thing till I was in my mid-30's and its rather startling to start the training at that age. The cues are either too subtle or perhaps not there to signal which of the options you describe i.e. just the air or will it be cheek contact or in the case of one university president (that's university, not seminary!) a lip to lip peck.
LOL
I had just about perfected the "kiss the air" technique before I left CA. I don't believe these Hollanders will attempt such antics!
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