Lots of communities have thier own style of worship.  Black churches are known to be a little more 'active' during thier worship than the buttoned-down Protestant services I attend.

Other than sticking out like a sore thumb, what was your impression of it?

I'm a white American Protestant, and am thinking of going to one of the local Russian churches to see what that's like.

I did once as a kid. 3 hours of standing up and loud black people singing, then the loud black pastor screaming/preaching. I fell asleep in sunday school after all that. We were just about the only white family there.

There is NOTHING that'll keep a kid awake during church than having a very large, very loud black man jump up right behind you and yell "PRAISE JAY-SUS!" or "AMEN!" or "HALLELUJAH!" at odd times during the sermon.  


That was at an inner-city KC church in the early 90s.....and I can't say I've met a more honest and non-hypocritical group of christians before or since.  No kids playing gameboy, nobody falling asleep (for the above reason, if nothing else) and people that seemed to truely WANT to be there and were not there just because they feel its expected of them by society.