Hi, Jeanie:

Sounds to me like you had a good time and kept your sense of humor. One thing that is clear: when we say "churches" it's like saying "people" or "Senior Citizens." I've never been in a church service like the one that you described, just as you probably never "jammed" with a 14 year old kid playing New Orleans style trombone, while an eighty year old woman played barrelhouse piano gospel. I also was glad to read that one of the songs you did answered a question in a woman's mind, and sent her home changed at least a little from the woman she was when she came. For me, the message is the reason why I sing.

Back when I was going to a very staid, Scandinavian Lutheran Church, we did a production of Benjamin Britten's Noeys Flood. Our Pastor and his wife came hopping down the aisle in bunny suits as part of the parade of animals, and brought the house down! They're both on the portly side, and to see them abandon any pretense of propriety and come hopping down the isles had everyone cheering and laughing wildly!

Sometimes, the medium IS the message.

Jerry