"As a musician, I think I should have the right not to sing bombast in church if I don't want to."

Which was the attitude of the organist I fired, Joe. Of course you are right in that no one can make you do something you don't want to do. But if that is your attitude--that you are only willing to perform what you want to perform, and not what the people who are hiring you want you to perform, then why bother? The end result is the sort of trauma I went through last week with the organist who refused to play 'Ave Maria' because it was a Catholic song. Which, BTW, we did not have sung. It was played as a organ solo for the prelude. It was performed to perfection by the second organist I hired, who happens to be a professional musician, not just a church musician.

The service was nice, though the pastor was also a twit to our family--peeved we fired THEIR organist. She did the very bare minimum required, and failed to play the right song on the CD--instead of "I'll Be Seeing You" we got "Time After Time" because the pastor insisted on being the one to "push the button" and then played the wrong song after I showed her twice how to do it. It wasn't a disaster, it just threw a wrench in the continuity of the service. My mom's life long best friend's remarks were read, talking about their mutual love of the WWII songs, especially "I'll Be Seeing You". The song was supposed to play immediately after her remarks, while the grandchildren and great grandchildren brought roses to the altar, and placed them in a vase by my mom's photo.

Oh well. I'm just SO glad I never have to deal with those people ever again! The chapel looked beautiful, and smelled intensely of the fragrant stock and rose bouquets we received from my cousin who has a flower business. My mom's photo and bouquet looked stunning on the altar. Lots of her beloved family and friends made it, it was a gorgeous day, the organist we hired far surpassed my expectations (my advice--always go with an American Guild of Organists member!). Not only did she rehearse for 45 minutes with my daughter, but she played both piano and organ for us. She and my daughter worked out a fabulous arrangement of "Amazing Grace" that was just stunning (they ended up doing it with the piano instead of the organ, so it sounded very old timey, and left the room in tears. My daughter's voice is crystal clear, like Allison Kraus' sort of voice. And then "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" was stunning on the organ for the recessional. So musically, the only flaw was the pastor screwing up and playing the wrong song on the CD.

I can't sing the praises highly enough for the organist we hired, though. This organ is a small, excellent pipe organ, and the chapel is acoustically very good--especially for a nursing home chapel. The organist was astounded at how good the quality of the organ and acoustics were. The Lutherans around here are very well bankrolled, and they have top of the line everything at this place, including a beautiful sound system for the CDs, built in behind the altar.

But sadly, it's all mostly for show. All the fancy schmancy money couldn't buy compassion for the living or the dead in that place--as my daughter commented as we were leaving to go to my brother's after the service and reception. Even the organist picked up on the pastor's cold and remote attitude towards us and remarked on how she was a bit less than helpful.

Oh well, it's over--and everything and most everyone my mom would have wanted was present, so that was good enough for us. I'm just tremendously relieved my mother's and our suffering for her has come to an end. Thanks again to all of you for the condolences and support in making the right decision about firing the bigoted twit, and hiring the pro!