Like a deer in headlights...

This week I am in charge of the English service. We are doing a southern style worship service followed by a soul food meal to help raise funds for our Katrina Mission trip. As such, we have some new and different songs to sing. One we've done a number of times before and the choir is fairly familiar with it. It does require a step clap, but really, they can handle it, who cares if they're a bunch of old white folks?!?! But we have another new one that I learned at Candler. I learned it from one of the most marvelous voices I have ever heard and it's call and response and she used to do the call and we did the response. Not being the vocalist she is, I am not about to be the soul vocalist singing out for my congregation, so I split the choir into two groups and had them do the 2 parts. To say they looked tentative and anxious through most of the rehearsal would be an understatement. After we sang it a number of times the choir director figured that was enough and let me leave rehearsal, but before I left I asked, "are you sure it's okay?" He said yes and assured me it was fine. I said, "They look so scared." "Of course they do! But they'll get it!" Okay. I know I do some new and different things, and step clap is WAY outside our box, but really, it's not too much of a stretch, I mean, it's even all in English! But seeing how scared they look does make me wonder if the rest of the congregation will feel much the same way...eeeekkkkk!