There was Grace, second from the end, looking beautiful. I tried to ignore the fact that this was a church and just watched her as she sang. The words to the song were projected on a screen to the left, but I wasn’t as interested in the words as I was in the woman singing them. I listened for harmonies where her voice would soar above the others, smiling to myself when I could recognize hers among the rest.

When their first song was over the lead singer welcomed everyone and began to talk about God in relation to the lyrics of the songs. This brought me back with a thud to the reality that I was in a church and not a theatre. I felt uncomfortable until the orchestra started another song, and then I felt really uncomfortable when everyone else seemed to know it and the whole congregation started singing along. I could hear Missy and Jane singing beside me, and I was mildly annoyed that I couldn’t hear Grace anymore. I didn’t even try to sing, since the song was completely foreign to me, and instead watched Grace as she belted out the tune from her place on the stage. So far the program was impressive, for a church. The orchestra was actually quite good, and the singers were obviously talented. Nothing like the church I had been sporadically dragged to as a child, with an organ in the front and a choir of twelve voices that never blended.

Another song followed, and then another, and then the majority of the singers, including Grace, filed off the stage along with the orchestra. The lead singer remained along with a guitarist, and I settled lower in my seat, wondering how long the acoustic interlude would go and trying to determine whether I could get away with a quick nap. Then the singer opened a book—a Bible, I presumed—and began to speak.

I didn’t bother listening at first, but then I heard a sentence that caught my attention. “If you’re looking for a place where you can be real, be open and honest about your life and your struggles, and meet others who will be the same with you, then I hope you’ll give us a try.” That didn’t sound to me like church. I waited to see what else he’d say, but another song started, and I was left to contemplate what I’d heard.