Pulpits and parties ....

So, my girl is a preacher's kid. And this weekend, for the second time, she preached at our church. And did a fabulous job.

The funny thing is, I don't think that she realized how natural she looked, both up in the preacher place and even while writing her words. She says I'm the speaker of the family, and it's true, I'm a natural at running my mouth, but she's the preacher. I actually get a little frozen up when it comes to God stuff. Like, I feel as though the Creator of all can see through the crap. Of course, the Creator of all gave me the ability to let fly. ...

Anyway, I know Cheryl will read this, and maybe seeing it in writing will cause her to believe me: She's a great preacher. I laughed. I learned something. (Cheryl called the Book of Ruth as "Desperate Housewives, the early years" and explained how feet is a Biblical metaphor for the male member. So when Ruth lays herself at Boaz's feet, well .... it takes on a meaning I'd never considered before.)

It was a sermon called "Family Values." She said that was 'cause Heather (her niece, and the church administrator) wouldn't let her call it "This Space For Rent" or "Coffee Hour Will Start Early Today, Like Now." My favorite thing was how she pointed out the irony of many straight couples using the "Whither thou goest I will go ...." thing from Ruth in their weddings since it described the lifetime bond of two women.

At our lefty liberal church, it was preaching to the choir. Kind of like what the Dixie Chicks did the night before. I expected at least a smattering of boos, like when lead singer Natalie "We're ashamed Bush is from Texas" Maines said things like "Did you hear they found Osama Bin Laden today? Yeah, me neither. Of course, you have to look before you can find something." There was a significant police presence at the event, and threats were apparently made on the group. Geez. It sure wasn't like that when we went to our last show at the Tacoma Dome (of course, that was The Wiggles).

Lights and sirens aside, can I also just say how odd it is to be political? I've still got a little of the "no cheering in the press box" feeling (I was a journalist for a long time, after all ....) but I've enjoyed becoming a part of the process. OK, for me, becoming part of the process is putting a "Had enough? Vote Democratic" sticker on my car and watching the kids while Cheryl canvasses for the D's. It's a start. I'll follow my preacher girl anywhere.