During the late 1980s & early 1990s, I was living in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia and going to college. My best girlfriend's name was Earlene and she was dating a black man who invited us to go to his church. We agreed and met him one winter Sunday morning (I have no idea of the name or the denomination of his church) at his church on the south side of the city. I remember it being kind of a cold day and we had to walk a few blocks from the train and I was looking forward to being inside the church where things would be warmer. We got inside and the first thing I noticed was that there was no heat. Second thing I noticed, I was the whitest person in the universe. Earlene is Hispanic and she was the only other person in the room that was not a dark shade of brown. Coming from a rural northern town where there were only 2 black families in the entire town, this was an unusual experience for me. I wasn't uncomfortable but more like...hmmmm...so this is what it's like to be the minority. So anyway, we met up with her boyfriend and we were welcomed into the church as we would have been at any other open church. Then the music started. There were drums, an electric guitar, singing by everyone in the building (there was no choir, no choir director, no song leader), no stuffy hymnals....there was a lot of praise going on. And dancing. And women passing out with ushers coming to cover them with blankets in case their skirts had risen...the music went on for an hour and it was then that I understood why there was no heat...there was no need for it...we were all up and moving and singing and having a grand time. The sermon was inspiring, interesting and captivating and I loved every single second of it. If there was such a church here, in northern PA, I'd be there, every week. It was a place that brought the feeling of joy...not that all church services don't have that aim in mind, but this was down to earth, easily understood by all and I didn't feel any pretense amongst the parishoners or the ministers. I remember feeling very welcomed. It was a very loving service, not just the message of God but the love for one another too.
    It was probably the best church service I attended, EVER!

Michelle