[PW] Re: Church Ritual?

[Bob Boyce]

   I attend a United Methodist church and have never seen or heard of this or anything like it. (Hugs, handshakes, yes--thumbs and fingers, no.)

Bob Boyce
Reference Department, Lincoln NE City Libraries
r.boyce at LincolnLibraries.org

---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: "Shari Haber" <shaber at mcls.org>
Reply-To: list at project-wombat.org
Date:  Wed, 18 Oct 2006 13:01:12 -0700

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
 

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