By KAREN MUNDY

The Press-News

"I'd go again. Great. Indescribable!"

Those were the words of Rev. Jim Painting, pastor of St. Paul United Church of Christ in East Canton, just after he jumped from over 10,000 feet in the air.

Painting, a Carrollton resident, along with his wife Elaine and many members of his congregation, met on Saturday morning at Barber Airport in Alliance. They were not there to hold a church service, but, undoubtedly, prayer was a part of the gathering. This was the day their pastor would skydive for the first time in his life. His supporters gathered to pray, cheer and watch -- and it appeared a few prayers had been answered immediately, as the pastor had a beautiful, sunny day for his adventure.

After about a half hour of instruction, Painting was ready to be harnessed to an instructor to make a tandem skydive. He boarded a small airplane with his instructor and another tandem couple. The pilot took his brave passengers for a short trip around the area before returning to the airport for their jump.

The free-fall jump started with Painting and the instructor going more than 120 miles per hour before the parachute opened. A serene, five-minute ride finished off the experience when the blue parachute opened and brought them safely back to land, just in front of a large gathering of friends cheering for Painting, the other skydiver and the instructors who made the rides possible.

"When it started it was very cold and really fast," Painting said. "It was just beautiful, though. You could see everything."

Under his jumpsuit, Painting wore a T-shirt that said: "Follow Me, God." Whether he was trying to follow God that day by getting a little closer to heaven or if he was asking God to follow him, it is not clear. However, one thing that is clear -- his church members heard a whopper of a sermon on Sunday morning.

(For more information about skydiving and skydiving classes at Canton Air Sports, visit www.canton-airsports.com. Also see the video section on our Press-News home page for the video of the skydive.)