Here in Ohio it was barely 60 degrees and raining for most of the day. They set up a huge tent, chairs, an altar from who knows where, and a digital keyboard. Said instrument had some kind of feature that allowed the volume to be controlled by the pedal, and our organist kept hitting it at random intervals. The cantor could barely sing with the wind and rain blowing in his face, and no effort was made to provide the congregation with the hymn music so he had to sing everything by himself-badly. This entire thing was supposed to "replace" our annual festival, which was done away with after several years of poor attendance. After Mass they served ice cream and had a basket raffle... Sigh...On the other hand I returned to my post this morning. Ironically my work church was also scheduled to have an outdoor service but wisely decided to stay inside. My hand is killing me but hey at least I can play again!
It was kind of crazy LOL! I guess I was too stuck in musician mode, having come straight from work, and was very distracted by thoughts of how things could have been handled better. And also by thoughts of asking if they need another cantor which I believe they do. It's been on my mind for a while and I've noticed a lot of the good ones have mysteriously disappeared.
To participate in the discussions on Catholic church music, sign in or register as a forum member, The forum is a project of the Church Music Association of America.