[mod_python] Using Templates

Have been doing fine with mod_python and in the process of learning it.
I can see the wisdom of utilizing templates.
Here's where I establish my newbie status. Can someone tell me what I am
doing wrong, how I should be doing it,
or why I am not getting this. Be gentle, I set up my first web site
using psp only recently and I have no experience
with templates. Newbie status established. I have a function that builds
the html to create a calendar that I will later
populate with scheduling records. I'm just trying to get a calendar that
the user can navigate back and forth by month
so I will have a couple of buttons that will javascript a string with a
date, "2007,7,11" using ajax to set a session variable.
Then I want to run the same calendar function that will pick up this
session variable and build a calendar based on the
new date. I trying to figure out how to do this with templates. Here's
an example:

-------------------------Month.psp-------------------------
<%
from mod_python import apache, psp
from loadCalendar import setStrDate
%>
<%=setStrDate(req)%>

----------------loadCalendar/setStrDate----------------
def setStrDate(req):
	if not hasattr(req, 'session'):
		session = initSession(req)
		strDate = ""
	else:
		session = Session.Session(req)
		strDate = getSessionVariable(session, 'currDate')
	req.content_type = 'text/html'
	tmpl = psp.PSP(req, filename='Month.tmpl')
	tmpl.run(vars = {'strDate': strDate})
	return ""

------------------------Month.tmpl-------------------------
<%
from mod_python import apache, psp
from loadCalendar import loadMonth, strDate
%>

<%=loadPan()%>
<%=loadMonth(req, =strDate)%>

----------------Traceback from psp.py-------------------
  File "/var/www/html/TaskMaster/Month.tmpl", line 21


    req.write("""


""",0); req.write(str(loadPan()),0); req.write("""
""",0); req.write(str(loadMonth(req, =strDate)),0); req.write("""
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