Bob: The two churches I mentioned have an interesting, parallel history. They're both about the same age... each is over 100 years old and are among the oldest churches in the state. Union Baptist Church was started by 25 ex-slaves in the back of a tavern, and St. John's Lutheran Church was started by a handful of Swedish immigrants. Two small groups of people who came together to worship with a shared heritage. Each church tries to remember where they came from. Union Baptist had a full length, professionally written play on New Year's Eve about the history of slavery and the excitement of the "Watch Night" in 1962, when the slaves were freed at midnight. St. John's celebrates Santa Lucia, a folk tale/myth about a woman who was burned at the stake for being a Christian. Now, St. John's is making their space available for a small group of Czechoslovakians who are trying to start a church.
Both churches are in Stamford, Connecticut, across the street from each other. The Gospel Sings that I organized ended three years ago when my wife and I moved to Derby, CT. This is serious thread wander, so I'll add anything else in a p.m.

Genie: I noticed the tongue. Same about being dead. Sally Rogers added a verse to a song that I wrote once, and was mortified to find out that I had written the song. She thought it was traditional. Guess it's all right to change lyrics of dead folks..
Jerry Jerry