Where: Mission San Jose (43300 Mission Blvd, Fremont, California 94539)
When: All year, by appointment for guided tours.
Who: Elementary and up, 4th graders usually cover California history
Cost: $10/pax (as of April 2022)
A HEART member, who loves history, arranged this field trip in April 2022. The first thing to note is that, despite its name, Mission San Jose is actually in Fremont. It was relatively easy to arrange a field trip with the Mission volunteers, most of the communication took place over email.
The drive was straightforward, and parking was ample in the lot beside the Mission. The best place to meet is at the entrance to the museum and gift shop, which is in a smaller building besides the main chapel.
Our docent was knowledgeable and patient. He started by showing us the original grounds of the mission - it had been mostly destroyed during the 1868 earthquake and rebuilt. We could see the foundations in the courtyard. The main building still has the original adobe bricks, and we could peek at them through a covered cut-out in the exterior wall.
Within the main chapel, there were ornately dressed statues. The docent drew our attention to the level of detail in the head and face, but the comparative lack in the hands. Could we guess why?
The answer lay in the cost/challenge of shipping. It would have been prohibitive to send an entire statue from Europe so often times the heads were carved and sent to the overseas missions, where they were affixed to wooden bodies carved locally. Since the local acolytes were usually not trained, there would be a difference in the degree of workmanship.
The mission is still in active use and the main altar, which naturally drew our eyes upon entry, was cordoned off. There was much to study about it - note the figurehead at the top. If students would like to guess whom it represents, ask them to recall the name of the Mission - it is Saint Joseph, or Jose.
The guide described how a service might have appeared to the acolytes, with its elaborate liturgy. A student volunteer was asked to come up and ring the bells on the wheel besides the altar. With the bells ringing, the priest would then step out from behind the curtain with chanting and incense, which would have made an impressive sight for those attending.
Outside the chapel, there was a courtyard. Here, the docent drew our attention to various gravestones. This one had always captured his attention - why does it say "departed this life" and have a birthdate but not date of death? Does the anchor figure hint, perhaps, that the husband's ship was lost at sea on an unknown date? It made us think too. Memento mori - "Remember man, that thou art mortal".
Our tour then ended, and we stayed for the second half of our visit which was activities. Since it was cold and rainy outside, we had a quick lunch and browsed the museum. The Oholone artifacts were beautifully arranged.
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| Water filter made of porous stone |
A second docent then showed us a couple of games played in the mission. One was tossing sticks - points would be awarded if an odd number of sticks came face up. Another (not shown) was hiding an acorn in clenched fists, and having the others guess. The students enjoyed the games, and we appreciated how they could make a new game with what was easily found. Afterward, we finished with a walk around the Mission garden, admiring the native plants and serenity.
One aspect we appreciated about the visit was its attempt to let the artifacts speak for themselves. Our polarizing cultural climate makes it tempting to elevate or (more commonly) denigrate everything connected with the time of the missions. Stories do need to be told, and the mission's careful preservation helps us remember that all were human beings like us, with faults and in need of God. Memento mori - remember that thou art mortal, o man. But even better, Christ has promised in John 14:6, "Ego sum via et veritas et vita" - I am the way, the truth and the life.
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