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To find her Jewish identity, Nan Wellins of Silver Spring decided to listen to the music.

For many years, Wellins' Judaism was an amalgamation of Reform and Conservative traditions, and she belonged to several synagogues in the area. But when she found out about the Shirat HaNefesh Jewish community in Chevy Chase, she knew she had found a spiritual home.

"Some of us aren't even Jewish," said Wellins during a break in Shabbat services Saturday night at North Chevy Chase Elementary School, a week before the start of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana, at sunset on Friday. "We welcome people who are on a Jewish path."

At times on Saturday night, that path took the form of certain members drumming on paint cans, cardboard boxes and whatever else passed as a percussion instrument. Members of the group's choir also sang to Cantor Ramon Tasat's gentle guitar while the congregation sat in a circle on folding chairs and swayed. Shirat HaNefesh, which translates to "Song of the Soul," lives up to its name.

The congregation has about 70 member families and is just over a year old. It is an unusual Jewish congregation not just because of the ad hoc drum routines, but also because it does not fall squarely into one of the traditional categories such as Reform, Conservative and Orthodox. The group is "post-denominational" because it draws on different elements of each of those three and other Jewish traditions, according to Shirat HaNefesh's Rabbi Gerry Serotta.

Serotta, formerly a rabbi at Temple Shalom in Chevy Chase and at George Washington University, said Shirat HaNefesh prides itself on its eclecticism and creativity in its services and how it inspires people to worship. According to Serotta, his congregation attempts to draw on the Reform tradition of social action, the conservative emphasis on a strong Jewish community, and the Orthodox focus on textual study.

"We do take from all the different movements," Serotta said.

Shirat HaNefesh members can attend meditation services that seek to help reveal spiritual truths about Judaism, and on the same day closely study texts from the Torah, sometimes stopping in the middle of prayers to point out an interesting word. The untraditional circular seating arrangement, meanwhile, stresses the unity of the group instead of the rabbi's primacy, even as the traditional elements of Rosh Hashana such as the shofar (ram's horn) sit on a table in the middle of the circle.

On Saturday evening, in preparation for Rosh Hashanah when Jews pray for forgiveness for their errors, the group also watches a video called "The Power of Forgiveness." The video looks at violent conflicts from such various backgrounds as Northern Ireland, Vietnam and Beirut to examine the importance and challenge of granting forgiveness in the direst situations.

As for the drumming and music, he said, the rhythm actually helps members remain focused on the service.

"Anything we can do to get us in the mood, to ask for forgiveness and to give it," he said.

"We are serious but we are not solemn," Wellins said.