Religious Convention

I have recently become cyber friends with a number of people I found on blogspot. In a lot of their blogs I noticed that they have referred to an IHC. I was lost as to what this meant. Well, I did some research and figured out it is some sort of religious convention. I even listened to some of the sessions on the Internet. All this got me thinking about the religious conventions we attended when I was a kid. We attended because Dad and Mom often had to play for the Keynote sessions or lead choirs full of people who should have stopped singing 20 year previous.

Well, the most memorable Religious Convention we ever attended was when I was 9. We were still attending the FPC. (This was before Granddad got mad and left to become a FBC member. ) Anyway, the convention was being held this year in San Antonio, TX. We were really excited about seeing the sights and having a "refreshing time of religion". (That was the theme for that year.)
When we first got to San Antonio we went straight to the Convention Center. Oh what fun it was to see so many people. Many people were familiar, but several were new faces to us. Well, we went into what we thought was the main Auditorium and Dad and Mom started setting up their instruments and getting a sound check. I sat dutifully on the front row listening to their attempt at a classical arrangement of Ode to Joy. I noticed that people were starting to fill the Auditorium and someone stepped up to the Hammond Organ and started playing like gang busters. This was not the kind of music we were used to in the FPC! Mom and Dad did their best to keep up and I did my best to keep from getting danced on. I'd never been in any religious service like this in my life. People were twirling and singing loud and well, I think you get the picture. Then this preacher got up who reminded me of that little preacher on TV that slaps people on the head and they start shaking and stuff. Needless to say, Mom and Dad looked like a deer caught in headlights sitting up on the platform with their musical instruments and watching all the commotion. I was having fun with all this, after the initial shock. I had always had to sit quietly and read books during religious events and now we were dancing and laughing and having a good ole time. Well, three hours later the hilarity was finally over and Dad and Mom walked out of that place in utter dismay. What had become of their beloved FPC Convention? They also scolded me pretty harshly for dancing during a religious service. I innocently told them that I wasn't aware that we had been in a religious service.
Well, we walked out of that Auditorium and ran into an Elder from our local FPC and he said, "Isn't it wretched that we have to share the same Convention Center with those Snake Handlers?" Well, it all became clear right then. This group was also called the FPC, but their "P" in FPC and our "P" in FPC represented something quite different. Anyway, it took a couple of days for Dad and Mom to recover, but they did and we had a great time visiting with friends and attending religious services where the adults learned that it is spiritual to recycle and the children quietly looked at books.