[PW] Church Ritual?

[Shari Haber]

Great Brains:

I desperately need help in identifying a church ritual for another 
librarian's client (who it is very hard to get information from).

The client was attending a Methodist Church service when she observed a 
ritual in which a couple faces each other, they place their thumbs on 
the other person's arm, then lower each finger one-by-one onto the arm.

The patron believes this to be some sort of friendship or healing 
ritual, and did not believe that her minister had made it up. (She did 
not want to ask him about it either.)

We have not been able to find out if more than one couple partakes in 
this ritual at once, or if any praying or singing is taking place 
simultaneous to the ritual.

Has anybody seen anything similar this before?  If you can 
name-that-ritual please reply to shaber at mcls.org, or to the list. TIA.

Shari Haber
MCLS Reference Center
shaber at mcls.org