It was an ordinary day. The title of the story in my newspaper told it all. Robert's Western World is known as Nashville's most authentic honky-tonk and synonymous with country music. But for an hour on Sundays, no one can drink alcohol; everyone must listen to Christian music. This is "Sunday Gospel Hour" in the Tennessee capital known as Music City. For nearly 20 years, worship at this honky-tonk has been led by the Rev. Ron Blakely, a 71-year-old musician and Catholic convert who was ordained a priest in another faith tradition. "It's been a blessing," he said of his weekly gig. He was interviewed at his log cabin in the outskirts of Nashville where he rehearsed before the Sunday service with sheet music and scripture. "It's not like I got a board of elders and I have to meet all the money to pay the bills," he said, comparing it to regular houses of worship. "I'm just there, playing my guitar and giving the message that God puts in your heart." On a reeent Sunday, he strummed his guitar, wearing a black crucifix and white cowboy hat, while his daughter, Mimi Fischer, sang Patsy Cline's "Life's Railway to Heaven" in an angelic voice that moved some to tears. The stage was decorated with a fluttering U.S, flag. "Her voice was just beautiful," said Sonia Davis, a nurse visiting with her husband from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She didn't know about the gospel hour until she walked into Robert's place. "I cry a lot," she said, chuckling and wiping tears after the show-turned-worship. "I feel other people's emotions, and I felt there was a lot of emotion from hearing her, and the fact that she was performing with her father, and it was like family. At Robert's, some locals and dozens of tourists from across the nation have found their church sitting on the barstools of this beloved honky-tonk. It is on Lower Broadway across from Garth Brooks' multilevel entertainment space and just steps from the Roman Auditorium -- The so-called Mother Church of Country Music. "When I sing those songs, I want for people who hear them to have a glimpse of what it is to feel and follow Jesus," said Fischer, who was joined that Sunday by her daughter Skyler, in charge of the red tip jar that later was passed around to the audience. Around them, posters and framed photos of musicians, neon signs for bourbon and beer and seven lines with cowboy boots -- a remnant of the locale's previous life: a boot and nothing store called Rhinestone Western Wear. These days, Robert's is proudly known for it no-frills style as one of the last remnants of traditional country music and often stands out from the many brightly lit, TV-tuning bars on Honky Tonk row. It is home of the Recession Special with its famous fried bologna sandwich, Moon pie, potato chips and a Pabst Blue Ribbon, although on Sundays drinkers must wait to get their beer until after the service. "You can hang for the entire device and then get a beer," said John McTigue III, the band's drummer and Blakely's best friend since they met outside Robert's more than a decade ago. Robert's is owned by JesseLee Jones, a Brazil-born, longtime Nashville resident and the leader of the honky-tonk's house band, Brazilbilly. The devout Christian likes to say that it's not about the building -- for you can find God anywhere -- and he doesn't mind losing money for a sober hour if "Father Ron," as he still called himself, can help everyone at Robert's have "church." "People say, 'Oh, it's a bar.' Well, I beg to differ -- Robert's is not a bar. it's a honky-tonk. Yeah, we sell beer and liquor, because we're in business.....but we ain't got no televisions on the walls!" It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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