The Walton Funn, Sept. 11, 2006
Gulf Earthquake Shakes Up Local Church
Gulf Coast residents experienced a rare earthquake Sunday morning. Preliminary reports from the U.S. Geological Survey, or USGS, say the "earthquake occurred 250 miles (405 km) south-southwest of Apalachicola" at 10:56 AM EDT, and it was a magnitude 6.0 earthquake, which is considered strong.
The quake hit just as members of the Villa Tasso Baptist Church were arriving for morning services. “The building shook so much, we all just swayed a little, it made us look like we were dancing….which of course horrified most everybody.”
Well, not everybody.
Emma Paterson and Yvonne Smith described the experience as ‘invigorating’. “My body has just never moved in that way before, and I kinda liked it.”, Mrs. Paterson went on to explain.
It started a whole debate on the subject of dancing. Male members of the church were very vocal in their outrage at the practice, while some of the ladies commented that an occasional hip gyration might be Ok.
The discussion got a little heated. One member predicted that dancing would lead to rampant moral decline, and even homosexuality. Several members of the congregation went on to say that they felt the whole issue was being blown a bit out of proportion. “I mean no one is suggesting that Justin Timberlake’s Sexy Back, might be incorporated into the hymnal for crying out loud!”
Church leaders have clarified that the issue has been put to rest and that a schism is not likely.