Well, I have to say that singing groups in general, not just church choirs, tend to be very political. I was in one choir where the choir director's wife was the only one who consistently got solos, and she was a horrible singer and the nastiest person in the choir. But she was a Force To Be Reckoned With, and she would have made things very unpleasant for the rest of us if she didn't get the solos she wanted.

And the choir director, a really good guy, would have been really miserable.

I was in a caroling group where I thought I was the director and another guy was emcee, but the other guy thought HE was director. Turns out that I had been replaced as director when I was off on vacation one year, and nobody bothered to tell me. The other guy died, so now they're happy to have me as both emcee and director. But it was really awkward for a while.

-Joe-