Today at work I received two e-mails that have made me wonder about the proverbial line that should not be - but always is - crossed. The first one included a revelation and was an invitation sent to everyone in my department. It basically said, "Hi, I'm an evangelist and I'll be speaking this Sunday. If you'd like to experience a very lively church service then see me for details."
Okay, for backstory purposes this person just got hired officially (they'd been working as a temp for the past few months), and professionally speaking, I question the move to send out an invitation to EVERYONE in the department inviting them to attend a church service. I'm all for cultural experiences, but I, as a Baptist, have a fairly good feeling that "very lively" and black lady evangelist with burgundy hair, wayward chi'ren and man trouble veers towards Pentecostal/Holiness. It's bold enough to invite the people with whom you gab daily - I mean, I know her, we've laughed and joked - but I consider it a significant step making the transition from work-friend to friend-friend and hearing groups of people hollerin' in tongues is not the best method of making this transition. Nevermind that we work with a crew of people who are completely ambivalent about religion - not agnostic or atheists, but ambivalent. I mean, co-worker Judy? Every time she says something crazy (which is often) we refer to it as a Judyism and she's Catholic by birth.
I just think it's an admirable gesture, but perhaps a bit misguided and has now unleashed mini-conversations about the likes of Jim Bakker, Jim Jones and Jimmy Swaggert. Mentioning this now of course makes me wary of any preachers who go by the name Jim/Jimmy.
The second e-mail was a request for those of us who'd like to purchase Avon. The list of purchases we all make to aid our co-workers and their children is endless - Sally Foster, anyone? - but this one struck me as odd because it was the co-worker's husband's aunt, which to me means stranger, which means that I can just buy the Avon from the lady who sells it every weekend at the strip mall a few blocks from my apartment. I mean, I'm willing to help you and your home business out and all, but I need more of a connection - did we meet at your baby shower? Gimme something people dern.