One personal magic moment that would not have occurred if we hadn't come to the Getaway....Saturday morning Annie & I skipped the 1st workshop and went down to take a quick look at the historic village of Port Deposit. The bright red doors of the Methodist church were open and they were clearly having a parish workday, so we decided to see if they minded if we took a peek inside the church. OHMYGAWD!!!

The church is large and old, and when the village was prosperous it apparently was also. Now they have only 99 members, about 1/3 of whom are active. From the looks of things it is very difficult for them to keep the beautiful old building in any kind of reasonable repair. I won't wax poetic about the windows, the wood, the incredible organ that was powered by the creek before electricity came along, though I am tempted.

The sanctuary is on the second floor. The young pastor had caught up with us as we climbed the stairs and was giving us some of the history of the place. As he opened the door, talking, and we walked into the room, I knew immediately that the accoustics were absolutely magnificent. It was a pretty large sanctuary, and needed no PA. Now, I don't usually burst into song in front of perfect strangers (the Getaway being the exception of course), but I absolutely could not help myself. I started singing a hymn. Folks---it gave me chills. Literally. Many of you who sing professionally have probably had the experience, but to me it was entirely new and novel--and probably a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.

The nice young pastor invited us to come and sing a couple of songs for their Sunday service (we eventually declined, not wanting to miss the Gospel Sing at Ramblewood) and we invited him (he plays guitar) to come up to the Getaway (he didn't.) But it was absolutely thrilling to sing in that lovely room with the perfect accoustics.

(Maybe they would let us use it next year for a workshop? *BG*

Janie