vice, but also the strangest. The preacher (again, I dont know what to call him) addressed the congregation in a congenial tone from a pulpit that, although raised, was not too dissimilar from those I had seen before. He began with a description of the events that are to accompany the end of the world, as found in Revelations and other books of the Bible. Preparing for the Rapture, the Second Coming, and Armageddon is a big part of the churches I had attended in the past, so this was friendly ground. Then, he began finding parallels in scientific theories. The big bang and universal contraction were addressed, and he put all the millennial predictions into scientific perspective. Both the churches I am familiar with believe in literal interpretation of the Bible, and they would have found this dilution of Gods supposed Earthly reign absolutely blasphemous.The congregation, choir, and officials began a series of prayers at this point. The first was sung by all, with accompaniment by the organ. Then came two prayers led by the officials in a spoken form. Concluding this section of the service was a ritual in which the congregation turn to one another, shake hands, and say "Peace," like theyre some kind of holdover sixties hippie dirt merchants.The first part of the next section was the "Offertory Anthem," which was performed by choir and organ, with some of the high notes sounding like badly synthesized trumpets. It began somewhat somberly, but the second verse was decidedly uptempo and joyous. Of course, it should sound joyous when your trying to convince people that they need to tithe 10%, and you want them to drop their hard earned cash into a jewel-encrusted gold plate. Next came another recitative prayer, sung solo by someone I couldnt quite see from my seat. From this point until people began taking communion, I became fairly badly lost. The prayers and hymns alternated fairly regularly between recitative style, choir p...
