Church and community

Oh, and music. Of course.

Tonight, I saw Don Conoscenti at a really cool venue in Norman. A local couple have a church converted into a home, and they occasionally host concerts there.

Tonight was my first time, and it was great. I have blogged here about live music and how magical it is. Tonight was another great experience. Conoscenti is a fabulous guitar player with a great voice (nice combo, eh?). His guitar playing is creative and damn near percussive.

The fact that it was in a converted church kind of caught me off guard. At one point, Conoscenti broke from one of his songs into Woody Guthrie's "This Land is your land." I damn near burst into tears. Much of his music included religious imagery, including a pretty good song called "Paradox of Grace."

Church at its best is about community. This may be the oddest damn church I have ever attended, but it was church at its best. Great music, a little sacramental wine, good friends and great music.

A good night. And a needed one.