After playing for two services each Sunday for the last three weeks at Holy Nativity, this coming Sunday I’m going to be back at Waiokeola Congregational Church filling in for Gloria Faltstrom. You remember that the last time I was scheduled to play there, I couldn’t get the organ to turn on and ended up playing the piano throughout the entire service. (Read my post “Plan B! No, Plan C!” to refresh your memory.)

So when I went to practice at Waiokeola on Tuesday, I was pleasantly surprised to see that all my combination pistons were intact from last August! It saved a bunch of time for me, meaning the organ was already set up with my registrations.

Shhh! True confession time: Now that I’m not regularly playing at a single church, who is going to know that I’m playing the same music that I played last Sunday at Holy Nativity! In particular, I’m playing Michael Burkhardt’s “Be thou my vision.”

And then … after my practice session, I went to Fisher Hawaii to buy supplies for my condo’s Christmas party, of which I’m in charge … again. This time I have the help of two other, very capable women, which will make things a lot easier. While I was in the store, my phone rang, and it was Buddy Naluai, organist of Kawaiaha’o Church:

“Kathy, can you play two weddings for me this afternoon, at 1:00 and 2:00.”

“Sure.” (I just had about an hour to find my wedding music and buy a sandwich for lunch. Plenty of time!)

I quickly turned my car around and headed back to the Lutheran Church of Honolulu where all my music is stored, and found my wedding binder with “The Hawaiian Wedding Song” in several different keys, processional and recessional music. In the old days, I always kept this binder and organ shoes in my car!

And you know what— for the “background” music during the vows, I played the same music (Michael Burkhardt’s “Be thou my vision”) that I played last Sunday for Holy Nativity and this Sunday at Waiokeola. Since none of the same people are in the same church, who’s to know?

You might call me a “lazy organist,” but I have other things on my schedule. This coming weekend I will be hosting my former student Joey Fala and his girlfriend, Sarah, in a luncheon date on Friday, and dinner with the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists Executive Board at my condo on Sunday. Then next Wednesday, my family (son, grandson, daughter-in-law, and her sister) will be coming to visit Hawaii for Thanksgiving!

Woo hoo!