A Hog a Day Part 13

With eons of sermons stretching out before me, life looked grim.  Occasionally, there was a bright spot.  Sometimes the preacher told a joke.   I truly enjoyed church music, especially if it was something lively, like “Onward Christian Soldiers” on the hymn list.  I sung along enthusically, though lots of the words did’t make sense.  For the life of me, I couldn’t fathom why we sang about laundry, as in “Bringing in the Sheets (Sheaves).” There was also a Christmas carol about laundry.  “While shepherds washed their socks by night (watched their flocks by night.)  I thought it odd, but so much adults did seemed odd.

One special Sunday, God had a startling surprise in store for me.  Mrs. Simmons, the pianist, brought her brother Eddie, a handsome young man, along to play the organ.  His boogie-woogie style hymns were a vast improvement over sedate hymns.  I could see some of the old ladies exchanging shocked looks, but  I was entranced.  I was practically bouncing in the pew when suddenly he dropped to the floor in a seizure.  Mrs. Simmons shrieked and rushed to his side.  He rallied and they trooped out, along with the rest of her family.  I was so jealous.  The preacher made an anemic attempt to salvage the service, but his flock was clearly anxious to get out and enjoy a good gossip.  I genuinely enjoyed church that day.

 

13 thoughts on “A Hog a Day Part 13”

  4. Oh, I so relate to the shock look on some faces. It happened to me once when I sang Amazing Grace to the tune of “House of the Rising Sun” I’d heard it on a CD by a black group and it sounded wonderful. Our young college kid choir director thought it a great idea and rounded some of the teens and we rehearsed it. It went off very well. After service many in the congregation expressed how much they enjoyed it. The other half didn’t say much. One member in particular tended to sit in judgment of everyone, so I expected it from her but even she complemented it. My husband later points out that the HRS is song about prostitution, which we’d not considered. Why he didn’t mention it before could be his sick sense of humor. This was, I might add, done in a little country church in Alabama where the majority of the congregation were quite elderly. I was pretty good at rattling their senses and believe it or not, they loved me in spite of it.

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