One of the events that got cancelled last week was a wedding I was supposed to play. You may recall that officials at first suggested no crowds bigger than 250, then the number was reduced to 100, then further reduced to 50. Finally, the magic number was limited to 10 people, which eliminated most church… Read More How great thou art
My friend from the Three Choirs Festival, Rich Arenschieldt, after reading my last post about being grateful to have an organ at home to play, observed that musicians are posting videos of themselves playing at home and sharing them on the Internet: “I love how much music is taking place and how supportive musicians are… Read More In quiet joy
It has now been one week of self-isolation and it being a beautiful day, I decided to escape the confines of my apartment to take a walk. As I walked past St. Andrew’s Cathedral, I was struck by the sight of absolutely no cars in the parking lot, something I have never seen before, especially… Read More Sunday morning and COVID-19
The next two Sundays, March 22 and 29, I was supposed to play the organ for services at Waiokeola Congregational Church … CANCELLED. I was contracted to play organ continuo for a performance of the Mozart Requiem by the Oahu Choral Society on April 4 … CANCELLED. Tom Poole at Calvary by the Sea Lutheran… Read More In the midst of a shutdown …
It happened last week, when Mark Wong came to play the service for the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, and there seemed to be a cipher (a note which sounds without being pushed down). A further investigation by Roy Helms, a member of the choir who once worked with organbuilder Paul Fritts, resulted in the discovery… Read More EEK! I smell a rat!
In yesterday’s edition of the New York Times, there was a very interesting article by Julie Bosman and Mitch Smith about how coronavirus is changing church practices, “Worship in the Age of Coronavirus: Prayer, Elbow Bumps, Hand Sanitizer:” Fear of the coronavirus has rippled across the country and directly into places of worship. Religious leaders,… Read More Coronavirus and church culture, part two
Seems like all we hear on the news is about COVID-19, the coronavirus which is spreading like wildfire and has affected over 80,000 people to date. Just yesterday, which was Ash Wednesday, I read Sarah Pulliam Bailey’s article on the Washington Post, “Sip from the common cup? On Ash Wednesday, coronavirus and the flu have… Read More Church culture and coronavirus