A couple of weeks ago I had the unusual opportunity to play for an Intergalactic Evensong. It was held at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Mohegan Lake, NY, and was organized by my good friend, The Rev. Claire Atchison-Woodley. Worship included Psalms, readings, hymns, a brief video clip from Monty Python (a humorous history of the universe in about five minutes), and a portion of the new movie "Journey of the Universe" by Brian Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker. I was joined by musicians Ana Hernandez and The Rev. Suzanne Guthrie in creating a kind of cosmic musical landscape for the service. We played flutes, drums (including a ceramic drum that Ana played to great effect), chimes, tongue drums and keyboard. Ana sang beautifully as well. It was fun and unique.

Part of the fun was getting there. Suzanne and I drove from Brewster, about forty-five minutes from Mohegan Lake. As we neared the church we consulted our GPS (which we affectionately call "Our Lady of the Dashboard"). In her (forgive me, Lady) annoying voice she pointed out that we were nearing our destination, half a mile on the left. Sure enough we soon arrived at a church on our left and pulled into the parking lot. I was a bit surprised to see a sign at the lot entrance announcing valet parking, but I figured St. Mary's must be doing very well.  

Entering the back door of the church, where we thought we could more easily unload the musical instruments, we were surprised to find ourselves in a bar. People were quietly sipping wine in what appeared to be a parish hall or portion of the sanctuary, complete with stained-glass windows. I walked up to the bartender and asked him how we might find the church. "This is the church," he said, without a trace of irony.  

I remembered that a doormat featuring St. George killing the dragon had welcomed us, so I thought to ask if we were at St. George's rather than St. Mary's, the church we were looking for; he politely Googled St. Mary's on his computer and told me it was just a bit further down the road.Thanking him, we gathered our bags of instruments and hurried off to our real destination.

By the time we arrived, late, at the right place we didn't have a chance to relay our adventures until after the service. I told Ana about our false start at St. George's. Having once lived in the area, she explained that it indeed was a former church and had been converted into a bar-----   and it's name? "The Church!"  

I couldn't resist the obvious joke-starter, "A priest and a nun walk into a bar ..."

When I related this incident on Facebook, one of my friends responded, "This stuff cannot be made up!" Indeed. The whole evening was an adventure right out of Monty Python.

Helena Marie, CHS  

 Mary Elizabeth, CHS