Experience # 4

Today I visited Westminster Presbyterian Church. Let me start by saying that this was not their regular Sunday service. This was Mardi Gras Sunday!! If you know me, you know that they had me at "Mardi Gras." I actually heard about it on the radio and thought, I MUST GO. :-) I'm not really sure I even knew what to expect. I was slightly familiar with the Presbyterians, and I was very familiar with Mardi Gras , but I couldn't quite put the two together mentally. I know that Mardi Gras is technically a holiday that is directly related to Ash Wednesday, and the season of lent, but Mardi Gras, as it is typically celebrated, is not very "Christian." lol I always kind of think of it as the last hurrah, before six weeks of penance. I digress. Anyway, when I arrived they had people standing at the entrance to greet you and hand you a bulletin, etc. Get this! They were handing out Mardi Gras beads too! I love it! I found a seat close to the back. It was a mid-sized church. I'm guessing maybe 150 people. As I'm walking in, there is a fantastic Dixeland jazz band playing. It just keeps getting better. So, the band is playing some fabulous Dixieland tunes, including "Basin Street Blues," and people are coming in and getting seated. It was a pretty good mix of people, young and old. As the service begins, the band starts playing, and a parade of people, led by the pastor start walking down the aisles. Some have parasols, some have masks, and some have feather boas. There are young and old, and seem to be having a fantastic time. I was too! We started the service by singing "When the Saints Go Marching In." I'll admit, I was shaking it a little bit. :-) There was a reading from Exodus, in old testament. It was about Moses' face glowing after speaking with God on Mount Sinai. We sang some more Dixieland tunes and there was a second reading. This time it was from Luke, in the new testament. This was about Jesus glowing after speaking with God. The name of the sermon was, "Relax and Enjoy." The basic idea was to enjoy the moment, because we are only here for a short time. The best part is coming up. :-) During the sermon, the pastor says that all week he had been trying to figure a way to tie in the sermon and the readings with the Mardi Gras theme. He said that he was listening to his ipod while washing dishes, and Liza Minelli started singing "Cabaret." When he heard it, he thought, "That's it!" Then he quoted to us from the song lyrics. He talked about celebrating life(the cabaret) He even said, "when I go, I'm going like Elsie." I would have died happy, if I would have died right then and there, in what culminated as a church service designed just for me. A Mardi Gras service with quotes from "Cabaret" as part of the sermon. Hallelujah!! Down side, No Food. ;-) Thanks for going with me Kristy!