Brent Lofgren, a climate scientist by profession, has spent the past year or so as a roving minstrel of sorts. Since the end of last summer, he has visited more than 20 different houses of worship, and for 15 of those, he rehearsed and sang with their choirs. His travels have included the greater Ann Arbor area as well as San Francisco, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Germany and Tanzania, Africa.

Lofgren felt compelled to respond in some way after watching the movie "Religulous," a comedy/documentary by Bill Maher that lambastes alleged absurdities about religion. While he acknowledges a few of the film's points, he wanted to address some of the positive parts of religion, such as "voicing hope, through song or otherwise." As a musician who has sung in choirs since childhood, Lofgren's experience served as an entry vehicle to connect with other congregations.

Thus The Itinerant Chorister blog was born. Lofgren contributed excerpts of his stories to AnnArbor.com, with the full text at http://itinerantchorister.blogspot.com.

Lofgren began with a reflection of his summer 2009 mission trip to Tanzania with Zion Lutheran Church. In Tanzania, he explained, singing is an integral part of life. While many Americans claim that they "can't" or at least "don't" sing, this would be considered absurd in Tanzania. "I tried to think of an analog in our American culture," Lofgren said, and "the closest I could think of is talking." Although the Tanzanian worship music style would not typically be his favorite, Lofgren wrote, "in the moment of being there among those people who bring it from the depths of their history, yes, it is part of my soul."

Lofgren chronicled visits to a variety of churches around Ann Arbor, including traditional churches (Zion Lutheran, First Presbyterian, First Baptist and St. Francis Catholic) and smaller neighborhood churches (Northside Community Church, Dixboro United Methodist Church, and King of Kings Lutheran).

He not only described the musical nuances of each location but also noted first impressions of the communities he visited. For example, at King of Kings Lutheran Church he discovered a very relaxed, open community who welcomed him into their home party and a Beatles: Rock Band video game tournament.

Several trips were incorporated into the project, such as visiting the elaborate St. Lorenz Cathedral in Nuremberg, Germany.

One of Lofgren's most memorable visits was singing in a Latin Mass at St. Patrick Catholic Church in San Francisco. With a very small group of dedicated and musically talented men, the group led a reverent Gregorian chanting-style Mass in Latin while also joking around a bit in the back balcony.

Lofgren found the project helped push him into experiences he might not have otherwise enjoyed. One challenge was explaining his project to various choir directors and earning their trust and invitations. Another was visiting unfamiliar venues, such as a Zen Buddhist temple, a Jain temple, a Unitarian Universalist church, and a Quaker Friends meeting. At the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ann Arbor, Lofgren was impressed by the open welcome and involvement of everyday members. He wrote, "With each visit, it gets more and more interesting to see what other people do in worship, and this week was another enlightening experience."

Lofgren also participated in a couple of gospel services with the One Voice Gospel Choir and at New Hope Baptist Church. About his welcoming experience at New Hope, Lofgren wrote, "The only white person in an African-American church sticks out like a sore thumb ... but I am happy (for) making this work." He suggested that others "might gain from moving outside of your box for a while and sticking out like a sore thumb, and at the same time, soaking in some new hope."

As the Itinerant Chorister project came to a close, Lofgren thought he might still like to visit a few more places, but on his own schedule. Throughout the year, he noticed how every congregation he visited maintained some connection with tradition while also adapting to modern life in different ways. He enjoyed the bonding aspect of choral singing, in a variety of styles, in every worship event. And in every service he appreciated the clear message of hope that religion can bring, even in the face of death.

Finally, Lofgren re-watched his original inspiration, the "Religulous" movie, and wrapped up with a few conclusions. He wrote, "Yes, religion is a human institution and therefore imperfect. Yes, it has often stirred up violence in history, but I believe that was through false interpretation, or maybe over-interpretation ... I'd like to see a campaign not against religion, but against false interpretation of religion. In the meantime, as in my previous post, I can't resist singing, with hope in my heart, 'For all the saints who from their labors rest.' "

Pam Stout coordinates Faith and Home & Garden coverage for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at pamstout@annarbor.com.