As a child of the world, I have never totally committed to one specific religion. I have delighted in all of them as I believe they all have beauty, truth, and substance. Although my father tried his best to raise me as a Catholic, it didn’t quite stick. I sort of straddle all different types of religious doctrine. We lived down the road from a Buddhist temple in Thailand and I found the monks more interesting than Catholic priests. When we were in Kuwait, I enjoyed learning first hand about Islam. I could mention all the other religions I am fascinated by, but then the post would be long and rambly. So. Dad is Catholic and Mom is protestant.

My Mother the darling that she is, took us to church with her whenever Dad was out of town. He kept up the “You are going to be Catholic” program well into my 20’s. Evelyn isn’t just any run of the mill protestant. She is a Missionary Baptist! Needless to say the contrast between church services was drastic to say the least. I could always count on getting my money’s worth when I went to Mount Cavalry Baptist Church with Mom. The fanfare was always riveting. To say her church was “spirited” is giving it a demotion of the highest order.



I think today I was missing my Mom so I decided to go to a Baptist church service. Number one, mentioning I went to church gets MAJOR BROWNIE points with her, and B.. Church never hurts. Soo.. I get all gussied up and head out to the other side of town to see the sights. And boy oh boy did I! Number one. I don’t think I have seen so many “church hats” since the Kentucky Derby. They were big, ostentatious, and just attention grabbing. I marveled at how every hat matched the lady’s suit perfectly. As if they hat comes as a gift with purchase of the suit. Secondly, men were wearing suits of all sorts of Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat hues. My eyes were wide with glee! Once the service started, I trained my attention on the matter at hand. AND THEN.. That is when it happened… I landed smack into the movie the Blues Brothers!

I had NO idea Triple Rock Baptist Church moved from Chicago to Houston, Texas! The choir sang and I can attest it was populated by 3 Whitney Houstons, 2 Mariah Careys, 1 Aretha Franklin, and about 4 or so Patti Labelles! These women could have been professional singers! Beyonce would have held her head down in shame if she attended this church. They *might* not have let her join the choir. I was so wrapped up in the songs, I didn’t notice a shift in the force. The “holy spirit” started to take hold of people. Now.. I am NOT a stranger to people catching the spirit or shouting.. But.. Well.. they took it to a new level today. All I needed was Jake and Elwood to do flips or run down the isle.

All in all.. I had a wonderful day visiting that particular church. The sermon was rousing, the choir was flawless, and I had extra entertainment all over the place. I even felt the spirit of my Grandmothers Arizona and Bertha Mae sitting next to me. If ever I am feeling low, I will most definitely go back to that church. But next time I will be prepared. I will buy a big hat which matches my suit!