Kenilworth United Church of Christ in Buffalo recently did something really awesome or completely blasphemous, depending on how you feel about a mass in which the congregation is encouraged to wear Buffalo Sabres gear to the house of prayer.
What better way to celebration the Feast of Saint Vanek than by having your child baptized while swaddled in a Sabres jersey? Via Lindy Ruff's Tie and WIVB, here's young Eli David meeting the Lord while dressed like Pat Kaleta:
"Heavenly Father, surround this child with your love, protect it from the Bruins. Fill it with the Pegula spirit and receive it unto the family of your church, heretofore known as the F'N Center."
Seriously, how great is a Sabres-themed mass? If only because it increases the chances that Rick Jeanneret would do a reading from the Old Testament.
The Stanley Cup has been used as a baptismal font on several occasions, with Sylvain Lefebvre of the Colorado Avalanche having his daughter blessed in the Holy Grail back in 1996 and Tomas Holmstrom of the Detroit Red Wings doing the same for his niece in 2008. Neither of those children, however, were rocking a proper NHL sweater during the event.
What a moment this family will cherish until Eli reaches his rebellious phase and becomes a basketball fan or, worse, a Leafs fan.
Meanwhile, we can only hope our friends in New Jersey are inspired by this, and send us dozens of awkward videos in which a child in the Devils' jersey is baptized in a church.
All in all, a blessed day and ... hey, wait a minute:
Suddenly, Father Merrin bursts through with a gallon of holy water screaming "THE POWER OF FOULS COMPELS YOU!"