Church? ... ... ... Church!

For the past two months or so, my girlfriend and I have been going to church every Sunday morning, and also for the occasional work day like the one mentioned a little while back. I run the soundboard for the service, making sure that our pastor can be heard and that the band is nice and loud. Depending on the week, we have just a guitar and two vocals, all the way up to three guitars, two vocals, a bass, and drums. Things get interesting and fun.

On top of doing sound for that service, I have run sound for the talent show that we recently did as well, having fun with that. That Thursday night was rehearsal, and it went about as abysmally as can be, but that meant that Friday and Saturday nights - the main show nights - actually went pretty well. Murphy very fortunately did not strike anybody during the show, even me as the tech guy. We got more than extremely lucky on that account.

And with that, to the main reason for this post... That Friday night, the pastor of the church, who was playing a part in one of the skits, picked me up and took me over there to do my job. On our way over, several things happened differently than I expected. First and foremost, it was proved to me that our pastor... is human. He cursed, several times in fact - mainly "shit" and "damn". I can't say it completely surprised me, but it certainly relaxed me a bit. Second, he drives like a bat outta hell. He and I get along when it comes to driving - we both have lead feet and are aggressive drivers. (I still think I'm worse though.)

On our way over there, I asked him something I'd been thinking about for a while though. To this point, I have rarely heard of, much less found, any churches that do not view "deviant" gender and sexuality as non-sinful. Having heard some of the things I have about the Catholic church, the Mormon church, Christian churches (I count Westboro Baptist Church as such), and others, I broached this topic with much hesitance. The only reason I was able to even ask it was because of the fact that our pastor is a pretty damned cool guy, and seems to actually try to keep up with reality as it comes - not a common trait among most preachers I know of. He does not wear anything close to the robes of a preacher - he wears jeans, a t-shirt, and a suit jacket. When he preaches, he does not preach about the smiting of us. So I asked him... (These are not the actual words, but it's as close as I can remember.)

"What is the church's - and your - views on gays, lesbians, transgenders, et cetera?"

The answer I got surprised me. "It doesn't bother me so much. I believe that everybody needs ministry. Besides, our downtown campus has a good number of people who fall into those categories."

This made me feel a lot better. Up to that point, I'd been downright scared to even come close to bringing any kind of attention to the fact that I am, in all points, bi+gender, and can't change that. Now, though... Now, maybe it's a possibility to talk to our pastor about it. There is nothing wrong with being of a "deviant" gender or sexuality - far from it - but at the same point, I think it'd be nice to get his view point on it.

It helps that he and I get along, quite well. When it comes to doing sound, he backs me up, and is incredibly understanding, as well as absorbent of the information I provide. He asked me a question a couple weeks ago about the mic he uses at the downtown campus - a wireless headset. A very thin cable runs from the headset to the transceiver in his pocket, and occasionally during his sermon, there'd be a pop, crack, or other something happening. "What is causing that?"

I thought for a minute before explaining. "Cables like that don't like being wound tightly. They are so thin that stretching them too taut will cause them to short, which is what it sounds like is happening here. All I can recommend is replacing the headset with its' cord - not the transceiver or receiver, just the headset."

In my professional opinion, that's what has to happen... You don't repair cables like that, it's too damned tedious. Screw that. (This coming from the one who enjoys the process of trying to solder XLR and 1/4" cables.)

I don't know if the church has the money to replace the piece, but he seems to have taken my advice, at least listening and agreeing. During our work day I mentioned a couple posts ago, we had a piece of sound gear that I figured would be a good addition to our current equipment, and mentioned this to the gang at large. It turns out that the piece was originally supposed to go up for sale, but the pastor stuck up for me and said that I could add it to our working collection, which I am glad for. Shotgun mics are harder to come by than one would think... Even if we don't have a use for it at this moment, it's still usable. Somewhere. I'll figure out where eventually.

I'm apparently a bit of a pack rat? I think that pretty much proves it. Either way.

I'm glad my girlfriend convinced me to come to the original concert, and that I had the guts to talk to the pastor and assistant pastor. If I hadn't... I wouldn't be in the community I am now. These are good people, better than many I've met, in a not-so-good area. For all that, I am thankful that they have accepted me and given me the freedom I need to do what I need with my job. (For instance - this past week, I was allowed to go in and completely reorganise the sound booth and set some things up to make it all work. I had the full support of the staff there, trying to get the job done - including going out of their way to make sure I got that help.)

It isn't a large church, and I'm glad of that. That small-church feel means that I have the chance to step up and DO something, serve a cause that I like. May not... Fully support, but one I like. It means I can do sound, and means that I can volunteer to do other things, like run sound in the coffee shop we're working on.

I think I got lucky. Now as long as my dad doesn't find out about this, I'll be fine....

Until next time.

Peace.