Random Worship Thoughts

I was at my high school church yesterday morning which is....how do I say it?......decidedly of a different worship style than my current church. For one they have a hundred voice choir and as such, listen to a choir more than we do.

(They do sound lovely, but when you aren't used to listening to a choir it feels less like "church" and more like "concert." However, I know that there are people who worship by listening and far be it for me to rob them of that. They were even kind enough to put the words on the overhead so that I could know what they were singing, and/or sing along. This parenthesis is getting long enough that it needs its own paragraph. There. As I was saying, the people in the church seem to know the difference between when you are supposed to sing with the choir and when you aren't even when the words are overhead. I don't know the difference. I'm sure I would if I were there every week. I THINK there was only one song I wasn't supposed to sing with.) But they did sing many of my favorite classics.

Ahem.

However, they (the Mennonites) did sing a chorus that is, or was, frequently sung at our (not Mennonite) church. The singing at our (not Mennonite) church is frequently accompanied by jumping in this particular song.

I tried to contain myself.

I leaned over and whispered to Hubs, "There is a decided lack of jumping going on."

He responded, "There is a decided lack of singing going on."

He was correct. I'm not sure anyone knew the song.

Here's an aside: In the opening songs (hymns) I grew nostalgic and wished that my church would sing a few more of these. After Hubs pointed out that few people at this (Mennonite) church knew (or sang, at least) the chorus, I was grateful for my exposure to the choruses. I could sing along (loudly) with everything. It was quite nice.

Back to jumping: So the whole row behind me were elderly. The kind of elderly that sit even when you are supposed to stand. The kind of elderly that probably didn't like the jumping song in the first place. I tried to contain myself. NO JUMPING. But I'm a dancer. I had a hard time standing still.

So as another aside and what is actually my point: At my current (not Mennonite) church, I feel so stoic as I'm surrounded my people jumping and dancing and waving their hands in the air. So stoic as to feel often like a loser because I can't seem to lose myself in worship (very often, at least). This Sunday at my old (Mennonite) church I think, contrary to my attempts at the opposite, I embarrassed my father in law with my inability to hold still.

Correction: I embarrassed myself with my inability to stand still and as such am certain that my FIL was equally embarrassed as he stood next to me in front of the elderly people that wouldn't even stand, much less sing.

One of these days, I'm going to get control of my schizophrenic worship personality and fit in somewhere.