Rollin' With It

Since it's Spring Break and it's not a school night (I LOVE that!), I took the kids roller skating tonight.

Tuesdays are "Rollin' With Christ" nights at our local skating rink. I have never been to one of these nights before, but saw them advertised when I was at the rink a few months ago for a birthday party. I figured it was a good night to go--since the rink is in a sketchy neighborhood and is a bit run down, I figured I was more likely to find a friendly crowd on a proclaimed Christian night. The gangsters tend to stay away from the Holy Rollers, you know. (Pun intended.)

Anyway, we Catholics are generally not organized roller skaters--or participants in Christian fun nights of any kind, in my experience. Our reputation of being formal and staid is well-earned, with the possible exception of some out-of-the-box youth groups. So, I did not expect to encounter anyone I knew. But I did expect to hear contemporary Christian music that I might be familiar with, such as Third Day or something similar. The Bible Christians, I have found, listen to some really good music.

What I walked into, though, I could have never expected. There was live music provided by "Street Gospel". And it was rap. Authentic rap. Christian rap. I did not know this genre existed. But it does, and apparently it has quite a following in Lancaster. My kids, having had no expectations beyond skating around in circles all night, were not phased by this. But my jaw was on the floor.

As the evening progressed, a Fantasia Barrino-like singer took the mike and belted out some great tunes, and shared her love of Jesus with the crowd. Most people stopped skating at this point and just stood in front of the stage to listen. By this time, I had begun to disassociate rap with gang activity and was enjoying myself.

I was definitely out of my element...musically, racially, athletically, you name it. But we had a great time. Little Julia impressed me immensely as she continually fell and got up again without being at all discouraged. By the time we left she was really getting the hang of it, as was Lindsey. Joey is already a whiz at in-line skates and had fun skating circles around the girls.

It was a cross-cultural experience on wheels, and fun for the whole family, just miles from my home. What a deal!