Shreveport Choir Trip

This past Sunday, the choir of St. Mark's Beaumont traveled north and east to sing with St. Mark's Shreveport. Michael went as part of the choir and I went to fulfill my lifelong dream (or not) of being a roadie/groupie. Jerome, the choirmaster, had rented two 15-passenger vans to transport the choir, but had found only one person who was familiar with driving those large vehicles. One of our pool cars at work is such a van, so I drive one with some regularity and offered to be the second driver. Really, they aren't too bad to drive . . . you just have to be careful about the big back end, something I have experience with! ;-P

Anyway, St. Mark's Shreveport is actually a cathedral and it was gorgeous! (Side note: cathedral vs. church? A cathedral is the home chuch of the bishop and houses his seat (cathedra).) The choir sounded great (of course!) and, to my surprise, the sermon was actually decent. I find that many large downtown churches are pretty liberal and seem focused on political issues rather than discussing scripture or Christian living. This sermon, while it didn't come to as fine a point as I would have liked, did seem fairly orthodox. It was on the existence of hell and the exclusivity of heaven, both of which the rector confirmed. So that made me happy . . . I didn't feel like I couldn't take the Eucharist like I have at other churches.

The choir not only sang during the morning service, but also led an evensong in the afternoon. In between, they practiced and I was free to explore Shreveport. Fortunately, my good friend Kristin drove up from Alexandria to spend the time with me and we got visit the Louisiana Boardwalk, a pretty outdoor outlet mall that borders the Red River and is not officially in Shreveport. (Just figured that out. Thanks, Wikipedia!) It was great to spend the day in the sun with her (although my shoulders may not agree) and to catch up on all the goings-on since we last saw each other at my wedding. Plus, I found, not one, but two pairs of jeans, which is a big deal considering how much I hate to shop for clothes! Kristin was also instrumental in my wedding dress purchase (along with Liz) so I may just have to force her to visit me whenever I have major attire purchasing to do!

Evensong was wonderful (of course!), followed by a late night drive back to Beaumont. And while my body was complaining Monday morning, it was a great trip!

A few pictures of the weekend:










































































The cathedra










































































Oh, almost forgot to mention the 3-hour disaster that was dinner at Copeland's. Let's just say they were clearly not prepared to deal with a party of 17, even though Jerome had called ahead to make a reservation and warn them. Oh well, at least I now know why they're called "whiskey-palians!" ;-P