Religion: In the Garden

"In the name of God," cried the Rev. James Murchison Duncan last week from his pulpit in Washington's Episcopal Church of the Ascension and St. Agnes, "I forbid you attend the flower show at the Armory!"

What offended Pastor Duncan about the flower show was a life-sized tableau depicting Christ praying in the Garden of Gethsemane before his crucifixion. Every 45 minutes, the azalea-banked exhibit, fresh from a two-year run on Atlantic City's Steel Pier, lit up and went into a 15-minute "performance" controlled by an impressive set of electronic equipment behind the scenes. Three minutes and ten seconds after the deep,...

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