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Thursday 28 March |
Holy Thursday of the Supper of the Lord
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When Carrie Fisher was a nun

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Deacon Greg Kandra - published on 12/27/16

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As  the world mourns the loss of the actress who created one of the iconic characters of her generation, some of us remember a moment in her career when a young Carrie Fisher played the role of a nun on Broadway.

The play was John Pielmeier’s three-person mystery “Agnes of God,” and Fisher took over the role of the young cloistered nun who has inexplicably given birth—a part created on stage by Amanda Plummer.  (In an interesting piece of synchronicity, Fisher and Plummer were both children of Hollywood.)

It’s worth noting, though, that she also played a nun in a couple movies—notably “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” and “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle.”

And in one more twist, her mother, Debbie Reynolds, famously played “The Singing Nun” in the early 1960s.

Fisher’s own religious leanings were not widely publicized, however RNS notes:

Remember that she was briefly married to singer-songwriter, Paul Simon. He sings about their relationship in “Hearts and Bones” —  “one and one half wandering Jews, free to wander wherever they choose….” Fisher was that “one-half wandering Jew.” Fisher’s father was Jewish. Her mother was not. Theoretically, Fisher could have been considered Jewish by Reform and Reconstructionist Jewish streams in the United States – had she been raised and educated as a Jew. In fact, Fisher was raised “Protestant light” by her mother, but now identifies as Jewish. She and her daughter had attended Shabbat dinners in the homes of Orthodox Jewish friends, and sometimes they attended synagogue services.

Meanwhile, last year she did speak up about religion, in a way: 

Star Wars actor Carrie Fisher has blasted UK cinemas for refusing to show an advert by the Church of England which features the Lord’s Prayer after citing fears that it could offend people. The 60-second advert was due to be shown before new episode Star Wars: the Force Awakens. But it has been turned down by Digital Cinema Media (DCM), which represents leading chains Odeon, Cineworld and Vue, despite being passed by the Cinema Advertising Authority and the British Board of Film Classification. Fisher, who reprises her role as Princess Leia Organa (now known as General Organa) in new episode The Force Awakens, told the Mail on Sunday she could not conceive of the short film offending cinemagoers. “I have no idea why they would do that,” she said. “Offended? No. People should get a life. I don’t think it is offensive to have a ‘power of prayer’ advert before Star Wars.” Fisher, 59, compared the advert to the presence of a copy of Gideons Bible in a hotel bedroom. “I have never seen an advertisement like this, but if the theatre is like a hotel room, then they have every right to put up a power of prayer advert,” she said. “It’s advertising, so it has to be advertisers that are objecting.”

Rest in peace, sister.

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