Ecumentalism

While I was working at the Institute ofTexan Cultures under the supervision of Henderson Shuffler he called me in and told me to take a Roman Catholic nun from the nearby convent to lunch. "By the way, take George Washington with you," he said. We went to the Driskill Hotel dining room, one white man and one black man, and we met the mother superior, who was large and overweight) and one of the sisters, who was much younger. At the front desk we ran into some confusion as the host tried to separate is. It is unusual for the dining room to serve such a mixed group. The nuns were wearing black gowns, of course. When we ordered the mother superior ordered a large meal. Henderson had given me some money but it was not enough but fortunately I had enough in my own wallet to take care of the bill. It turned out that George's wife, Emma Lois, had attended the convent. George and I were Episcopalians but Emma Lois had once been catholic. The mother superior had contacted Emma Lois who had referred her to the Institute, and Henderson Shuffler had assigned us to talk to them. They wanted to be sure that we were not going to offend the Roman Catholic church and I assured them that we were not.