BETWEEN THE LINES: CHURCH PICNICS OFFER BEST HOME-COOKED FARE IN TOWN

I went to a church picnic Saturday afternoon at the Cathedral Basilica in St. Louis and didn't eat a thing.

Maybe I was too amazed at the beauty of the cathedral to even bother with food, although the smell of grilled sausages was tempting. And the Eiffel Tower sugar cookies were sort of appealing, too.

But somehow I managed to stay away from the food and headed to the entertainment instead.

Before we had entered the church grounds, my brother said we attend an awful lot of church picnics at places where we aren't members.

I guess it's true; already this year we've visited both the Greek Orthodox and the Catholic church picnics. I must admit I was enticed by the wonderful food at the Greek picnic.

Around Cape Girardeau I attend plenty of church functions, but it's sort of my job.

Besides, I don't think you can ever attend too many church picnics. I've discovered that church picnics are the place to be if you want the best food in town. Just look at the seminary picnic in Perryville, which attracts nearly 20,000 people each year. That's a lot of mouths to feed.

The food is always great at church picnics. I like the Apple Creek picnic where you have to be an apprentice chef for some time before they'll actually let you near the kettle.

Maybe the best part of the picnic is knowing that people actually take the time to bake or cook something, often from scratch, when they bring a dish to church.

Church members bring their best dishes to the picnics and potlucks, and sometimes they'll even share the recipes if you ask.

But I didn't go to the Cathedral Basilica for the picnic and French heritage festival.

I wanted to go to the Cathedralfete event to get a peek at the building and its interior. I guess I was just curious. I'd seen plenty of photographs taken inside the cathedral during Pope John Paul II's visit, but I'd never been inside. So I decided this was my chance to get a look.

And was I ever amazed.

The ceilings and archways are filled with mosaics depicting images of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary and the patron Saint Louis IX, king of France.

The domes and arches share the story of the Catholic faith from creation to judgment. The cathedral actually houses the largest collection of mosiacs in the world. The basement level has a mosaic museum open to visitors who want to learn more about the collection.

After staring at the ceilings, I sat down in the pews to get a feel for the church and what it might be like to worship there. Even though people were passing down the aisles and a child in the balcony was trying to perfect an echo, I still felt like it had been a worshipful experience.

I talked my brother and mother into staying for a performance by the Papal Gospel Choir. The way the sound reverberated through the cathedral sanctuary was astounding. I've never heard such great acoustics before.

Even though we left before Mass began, I truly felt like I'd been to worship.

~Laura Johnston is a copy editor for the Southeast Missourian.