Besides, I have been having a problem with the network in my apartment in that I could access every single website on the Internet EXCEPT for this blog! (I think it had to do with the firewall.)

So — I have spent the last few days ensconced in our lobby downstairs in order to use the Guest WiFi! Can you imagine!

Okay … so here is some important information, so pay attention… drumroll please

Here is our new address!

www.insanityblog.online

Please take the time to change any Bookmarks to our new address. If you are a subscriber, you will need to resubscribe on the new blog to continue getting notifications about new posts.

Hope to see you in our new digs!

www.insanityblog.online

P. S. Like moving any household, the new blog is currently a work in progress and not everything is put away in its proper place. Please bear with me as I am literally having to update every single post I have written—1790 posts! But go ahead and come on over!

www.insanityblog.online

[I have since learned that WordPress creates multiple copies of the graphic files, and I think what has happened is described in this blog post “A ticking time bomb.” YIKES! I never knew that uploading photos could be described as a ticking time bomb!]

After several discussions with Bill Potter, the System Administrator, the time has come to say goodbye. Oh, not goodbye to this blog, but like a house that has been cluttered with too many books, photos, and concert programs, I’m going to be moving.

Don’t be scared! I physically will not be leaving my apartment, but this “Another Year of Insanity” blog will be migrating to another webhost, with a new address which I’ll reveal when it’s time.

Let me first express my appreciation to the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, which has hosted this blog free of charge for almost 11 years. Despite having left my post as organist in 2012, I have continued to play the organ there for concerts, and teach my students using the Beckerath organ. And I will always think of LCH as “my parish,” in spite of not being there on Sundays.

In yesterday’s post, I told you that after one year of writing the blog, my husband retired from the church, and I pondered the possibility of not writing any more posts.

But— as I often described Carl, I was DRIVEN to write more blog posts! As I said yesterday, it became my diary of concerts, travels, and commentary on the state of church music as I experienced it.

Another turning point was when I retired from my position as Organist in 2012. I really thought that would be the end of my Insane life and the end of this blog… but nope, I kept writing posts. Hey, I kept playing the organ, teaching, and traveling!

And the “Another Year of Insanity” blog lived on, even after the death of my husband in 2014.

Now it’s 2021 and we have come to a crossroads. Like anyone who is “moving,” I’ve decided to renovate and change the look and organization of the blog—it has just gotten too big and unwieldy. Hold on, it’s going to be a wild ride!

In the meantime, if you’d like to know where to find this blog, it will be right here where it’s always been—in the short-term until I get everything moved over to the new site. Things will look different while I’m experimenting with moving the blocks around, so be patient!

Thank you all for the many comments of support! Please know that I have appreciated them all and when it’s ready, I’ll give you my new URL address.

P.S. Did you know that the one person who never read my blog was my husband, Carl?! He figured that since we were at the same concerts and services, there was no need to read what I had written about it. How I wish I could tell him what I’ve been doing since he joined the heavenly choir.

Someone on the Communication Committee, of which I was a member, suggested that someone start a blog to publicize and perhaps give a little history of the Music Program at the church. For some unknown reason, perhaps I volunteered, or else someone volunteered for me, knowing about our annual Christmas letters, some of which were humorous, of which I was the author.

In those days, I hardly knew what a blog was… or how to put one together. I just started writing … and writing … and writing. Before you know it, the blog took over my life as I tried to explain what was behind the scenes in being a church musician and organ teacher.

After Carl retired in August 2011, the question was put to me as to whether I should continue writing about our musical experiences. I truly was prepared to stop doing it, but then it kind of morphed into my personal musical diary, writing about my experiences in playing church services and concerts, and traveling to the mainland and Europe, and either playing or experiencing musical events, or commenting on musicians with whom I had made contact.

And then it was my comfort when I wrote about my husband’s illness and subsequent death. That was, believe it or not, 6-1/2 years ago. Many of you wrote messages of sympathy to me, and became a way for you to express appreciation for Carl’s life and work.

People all over the world started reading what little ol’ me, an organist in Honolulu, was doing and experiencing. Some of the most amazing coincidences have happened to me because of this blog … people have come to know me all over the world through my words … and pictures. I can’t tell you how many times perfect strangers have come up to me all over the world and said they know me because of my blog. As of today my blog has received 564,138 page views and I have written 1,787 posts! Wowzer!

As you know, the pandemic affected musicians worldwide, and my life as a musician in Honolulu was definitely hit hard. That’s why there haven’t been many posts during the pandemic … because I wanted to keep the blog focused on music.

But now I have come to a crossroads — our webhost has notified us that this blog, especially with its tons of pictures, has a “Maxdir = Storage Abuse” error, over capacity, whatever you want to call it — and they have started deleting my pictures because they take up too much space. We have moved all photos from 2010 and 2011 to another directory and are working with our webhost to possibly create a link to the old pictures. I know that many of my readers go back and read my old posts, and without the pictures (which I think are critical to telling the story) I’m afraid my blog posts wouldn’t have as much impact.

There is also a possibility of my stopping the blog altogether, which seems like one road to take since it seems my days as a performing musician are coming to a close fast. Not only are my performing opportunities limited, but after seven years of having macular degeneration, I simply can’t see clearly at all despite having monthly eye injections. Reading music, with its lines and spaces, is becoming more and more difficult.

As for now, if I do write anything, it will have to be without pictures until we come to a solution. Please, please write in the comments section, what you think I should be doing with this blog. For now, it will stay in this space, but pictures are being deleted as I write ….

Here is a sampling of some of the comments which were posted on my Facebook page.

I loved it! (D. Richman)

Didn’t love it, but it wasn’t as awful as I had expected. Sorry… I’m a purist. (J. Gibson)

I had never heard her sing… and was surprised in a good way! Strong, confident, and didn’t screw up any of those weird rhythms! Definitely not my favorite voice, though. (Y. McCoy)

Best. Rendition. Ever. I, too am a purist, but she nailed it! (B. Nash)

She was amazing….her voice, her passion and her outfit! (C. Capps)

I loved it. She has a strong voice, and she put her heart into it. I felt especially touched when she sang the line, “And the flag was still there,” because I felt she was referencing in her tone the January 6 attack (C. Stanton)

I have never liked our national anthem and usually cringe when I hear it sung. But I liked Lady Gaga’s rendition. Maybe it’s only because I am living away from the US that I felt some tug of patriotism for the first time hearing her sing! Though I confess I am a Lady Gaga fan from her Poker Face days. I was also amazed to hear what looked like a marching band play rhythms I would never expect, matching Lady Gaga’s style. (J. Ishibashi)

Loved it. There were actually only a very few spots where she added variation, but those few moments effectively added a lot of youthful energy – and the overall effect was dynamic, patriotic, moving, and brought me back to the light and new possibilities of the 21st century. Amanda Gorman, Jlo were absolutely fierce also. No more of the bring-back-the-1950’s, I’m full, thank you.  (E. Ichikawa)

I thought she did a good job. She is very talented, went to Juilliard [Ed. note: Sorry, not true]. I guess a lot of people can’t get past her outfits which are usually pretty outrageous, but that’s just who she is. (L. Fuller)

I LOVED it. I was worried that it would be one of those bad football game versions. She had obviously rehearsed with the military band because of the unusual pauses. (P. LaFrance)

Lady Gaga was so amazing! Her body language when singing this came from her heart and soul. She is a great singer. She gave me goosebumps. Beautifully done. (V. Hamilton)

Thanks to Chad Uyehara who found Adam Neeley’s video in which he took the time to transcribe the entire performance. I especially encourage musicians to watch this analysis —people who will appreciate knowing all those rhythmic distortions, 7th chords, suspensions, and deceptive cadences! [John Alexander, I thought of you and your ability to creatively harmonize!]

There’s no doubting her strong, pleasant chest voice, and her fame made her an obvious choice. Unfortunately, the arrangement was ill-advised for this most solemn, important occasion: changing the National Anthem from 3/4 time to 4/4 time and throwing in a few other unexpected rhythms and vocal riffs are unnecessary disfigurements. This “arrangement” struck me as a bit disrespectful in this particular context — sort of “admire me as I spice up this boring, old song.” BUT…musical performances aside, the occasion was grand and glorious and deserving of cheers all around! (B. Stevens)

WAIT A MINUTE. Every single one of those comments was about Lady Gaga, the singer and her outfit. The National Anthem became an outlet for her self-expression, and not a creed for us citizens. It was Tim Carney’s comment which made me think that perhaps we ought to think of the National Anthem as a song that everyone should sing!

I loved her 3+3+2 phrasing on the ‘proudly we hailed’. Did not like her excessively long entrance. But my biggest reservation is that the National Anthem should be sung by everyone, perhaps led by a soloist, but not performed as a solo. Everyone present should be invited and encouraged to sing, whatever their ability, as it is a communal experience of patriotism. Take the high bits down an octave, mumble along, drone the words if you’re a bit tone-deaf, but participate! Singing together is powerful. (Tim Carney)

It kind of reminds me of the 1992 book, Why Catholics Can’t Sing: The Culture of Catholicism and the Triumph of Bad Taste, by Thomas Day, which I read when it first came out almost 30 years ago. (There is now a revised and updated version of the book called Why Catholics Can’t Sing: Revised and Updated With New Grand Conclusions and Good Advice, but I have not gotten it.) It’s Day’s premise that it was the Second Vatican Council in 1962 which changed the liturgical practice from a schola cantorum (choir) to a solo singer at a microphone down front, a practice which he said discouraged congregational singing rather than encouraging it.

And our National Anthem? Should we not ALL sing it together? What a novel concept! Here’s an enthusiastic version for you (and in the stratospheric key of C—people had to sing a high G!)

And we are both on the Board of Directors of Early Music Hawaii, and have collaborated on quite a few projects at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, the first of which was the Duruflé Requiem concert in memory of Carl Crosier in 2015. Scott bravely conducted the world premiere of Frank Ferko’s Missa O Magne Pater. (Go back and read about this remarkable concert here: SRO Bravissimo!)

Tonight the two of us had to coordinate the processing and uploading of the video to the Early Music Hawaii website. Scott, in the role not only of conductor but video producer as well, started trying to “render” the video from about noon today, with seemingly plenty of time before a 7:00 pm deadline when I would post the video link to the website. Alas, the video rendering failed at 99%, and the process had to be restarted again and again, only to have the message “Video failed.” Finally, the video successfully rendered, but then there were internet connection problems when Scott attempted to upload it to our Vimeo account. When it was obvious the 7:00 pm deadline would not be met, I thought I had better send out email alerts to our mailing list, and the two of us were furiously texting back and forth until the video finally uploaded successfully about 7:30 pm.

A year ago, as you may remember, was my Dueling Bach concert with Jieun Kim Newland, where we played concerto transcriptions for two organs (“Bach tennis match?“) With Jieun having moved to El Paso, TX earlier in the year, I needed to find a new duet partner for the two-organ piece for this concert … and Scott volunteered!

You see, when Scott first moved to Hawaii over five years ago, I volunteered to give him organ lessons — and you can see how the lessons paid off in our performance of Thomas Tomkins, “Fancy for Two to Play” in the Early Music Hawaii video.

To be honest, I was extremely pleased with our performance and the duet was my favorite piece of the whole program! You can download a PDF copy of the program here if you want to see what other repertoire was sung and played. It seems like I was sitting at the harpsichord a whole bunch for this concert!

The video will only be able to be viewed through January 31, 2021.

Singing the fiendishly difficult American national anthem was pop star Lady Gaga, as you can hear and see below.

Well! The rhythm was NO WAY like any I’ve seen in any standard notated version, like I found on the Internet for tenor saxophone!

Here’s what a professional soprano, Catherine Bott, a Baroque specialist, had to say about Lady Gaga’s performance at Classic FM:

“Well, as always, Lady Gaga made the occasion her own – starting with the gold microphone, accessorised by a massive gold brooch, pinned on what looked rather like the top half of a wetsuit, with a vast crimson skirt,” Bott begins.

“And her confident smile was reassuring as she sang: in the key of G flat major [emphasis mine-KC] and staying in the no-mans-land of the contralto/mezzo-soprano registers, she began with appropriate classical dignity and 4 beats in the bar, just a hint of funky cross-rhythms in her phrasing of the words ‘Proudly we hailed’.

“Then into waltz time for the second half of the anthem, with a daring – and clearly deliberate – 5-beats-in-the-bar here and there. Perhaps the most poignant moment, after last week’s disturbances in the building behind her, came as her voice rose through the words ‘that our flag WAS STILL THERE’, and held – and held – that last note.

“Then, Lady Gaga gave us a final reminder of her mastery of pop style as she sailed aloft to celebrate ‘The Land of the Free and The Home of the Brave’ with some Mariah Carey-esque melismas. Carey could have reached some higher notes, but Gaga put her own unique heart and soul into what an American commentator immediately declared to be ‘a great rendition of our National Anthem’.

“Later on, mask in place, she could be seen joining in the communal singing of ‘Amazing Grace’. She was the right choice for today.”

What I marveled at was the ensemble between her and the band—Kudos to that conductor! The rubato [the temporary disregard of strict tempo] was absolutely amazing!

Compare today’s version with that of Whitney Houston’s landmark performance at the 1991 Super Bowl, perhaps the first time the anthem was performed in 4/4 time rather than the standard 3/4 time.

All this manipulation of the rhythm of the Star Spangled Banner reminds me of the kajillion ways organists perform Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor!

If you click the link, you can even view a video of people being vaccinated with organ music in the background.

“John Challenger said in a tweet he “would be playing Handel’s Largo and much more great organ music” as the 800-year-old building became a vaccination hub.

His colleague David Halls, who has been playing at the cathedral since 1985, told The Times he had been playing Bach’s ‘Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring’. He said: “We’ve tried to provide something serene and soothing, and it’s been a privilege to take part. People have been really listening. We’ve even had applause.”

Here are some reactions I received on the call for repertoire suggestions:

Sarum Serum (Joseph Z. Pettit)
Vaccine for the Common Man (Glen Leggoe)
Something peaceful like Mendelssohn Prelude in G (Don Jackson)
Breathe on me, breath of God (Rich Arenschieldt)

And on John Challenger’s Twitter Feed:

How wonderful! A great way to introduce locals to the inside of their cathedral, promoting the chances of a second visit (eg for a service). Surprising how many people feel a connection with the outside of churches but think the inside is not for them. #Bravo (Louise Amende)

Worth travelling from Scotland just for organ requests. If so, I’ll have Widor V (but the first movement, please, not the toccata!) (Andy)

Great idea using cathedral—I saw Litchfield was open from this week. Cathedrals are a great idea to use as the pews can be removed leaving huge spaces for vaccination. Let’s hope more are used in this way. Great idea to have music as well to cheer people up while waiting. (Malcolm Hill)

Perhaps all or more of our great Cathedrals could be similarly used for vaccinations? It would introduce and bring people in,who may otherwise never think to enter these buildings, and introduce them to their great heritage? (June McCarthy)

This is amazing! Will you be taking requests? If you’re around by the time I get mine, I would like some really noisy Messiaen. (Samara Ginsberg)

[Ed. Note: In my post, you may recall that if I had this opportunity to play the Salisbury Cathedral organ, I would have played the music of Messiaen (!) — and someone even suggested Dieu Parmi Nous! (Russ Fitton) which I embedded in my last post. “Great minds think alike!]

Other tweets may be seen here.

Maybe you saw these photos and stories about organ music being played Salisbury Cathedral as people were receiving vaccinations. It was reported on a number of news outlets such as CNN. The Telegraph, The Guardian and the BBC.

Here’s what was reported by The Guardian: Graham Turner, 88, a chaplain at Salisbury Cathedral, wore his cassock to receive his vaccine. He described the music as marvellous and praised staff as terrific. Local GPs invited a group of patients to be vaccinated and the cathedral organised a programme of music, which was played on its 19th-century Father Willis organ. The Very Rev Nicholas Papadopulos, the dean of Salisbury, said the cathedral was delighted to be helping. “We are proud to be playing our part in the life-saving vaccination programme, which offers real hope in these difficult times,” he said. “This place has stood here for 800 years to give glory to God, and to serve the city and the region. What better way could there be of doing that than hosting Salisbury’s stage in the vaccination programme. It is absolutely wonderful.” He described the vaccines as “a real sign of hope for us at the end of this very, very difficult year”. “I doubt that anyone is having a jab in surroundings that are more beautiful than this so I hope it will ease people as they come into the building,” he said.

Dr Dan Henderson, the co-clinical director for the Sarum South Primary Care Network, said about 1,000 patients and staff would receive vaccines on Saturday.“I doubt that anyone is having a jab in surroundings that are more beautiful than this so I hope it will ease people as they come into the building,” he said. “It is a bonus to be in such an iconic, wonderful place. It’s great to be getting the vaccine out there and getting them in people’s arms and knowing that this is hopefully the start of some sort of normality again.”

As an organist, my question is: What repertoire was played? What is the organ like?

As seen in the quote above, the organ is by Henry Willis, and has recently undergone a restoration. Here’s what I found on the Salisbury Cathedral website:

Our Father Willis Organ is one of the Cathedral’s great treasures. It is still fulfilling its purpose over 140 years after it was installed. Renowned for its exceptional sound quality, it is an irreplacable and important part of the country’s musical heritage. It was built between 1876 and 1877 by ‘Father’ Henry Willis. He was responsible for building some of the very finest pipe organs in the country and across the world. The organ, built at a cost of £3,500, was a gift of the great local benefactor Miss Chafyn Grove. The original console was situated on the north side, within the organ chamber. In 1934, Henry Willis III installed the current detached console in a separate loft on the south side, with electro-pneumatic action and additional couplers and pistons. A few tonal additions and several carefully-considered transfers of stops were made, and the Solo Organ became enclosed in its own separate expression box. The organ was renovated again in 1969 by Willis.

This famous organ has now come to the end of a comprehensive, fourteen-month long restoration by renowned organ builders and restorers Harrison & Harrison of Durham, who have had the care of the organ since 1978. Over 2019 and early 2020 they completely dismantled the instrument. Every pipe and component has now been cleaned, repaired and reassembled. The organ was brought back into use for Evensong on 24 February 2020, and it is hoped that the return of the instrument may be celebrated with performances in 2021.

In case you’re interested in the specifications, you can download them here.

[UPDATE: The BBC reported that the organist played repertoire by Bach, Handel and Pachelbel. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-55692690]

I couldn’t find any information about what music was played, but I had the opportunity to play for such an occasion, I would have chosen the music of Olivier Messiaen (b. 1908, d. 1992), for me the epitome of mystical music even though some of the dissonances may be jarring for some. I especially love “Le verbe” from the Nativity Suite, as played here by my friend, Jonathan Dimmock, at the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, CA. (I actually have had the privilege of hearing Jonathan play the whole suite live at Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in Los Angeles, CA.)

And can’t you just feel the explosion of emotions as expressed in “Dieu parmi nous” (God among us), the final moment?! I think that when I finally am able to get my vaccination (the Jab!), I’m going to have this music in my mind!

“The pandemic forced live events to go virtual. It may change access to entertainment forever.” (Washington Post, January 12, 2021).

Forever? In case you are not a subscriber, the gist of the article was that many cultural events have had to go virtual during this pandemic, and there may be no turning back. The article described the situation of Liz Locke, who was supposed to attend a film festival, but then had to watch all the movies online. The gamechanger was this: She had fun.

“Had I attended the festival in-person, I know I would have had a great time. But I don’t know that I would have put myself out there to the degree that I did on social media,” said Locke, who after that weekend saw lots of new followers for her movie-and-cocktail blog, Cinema Sips. “It was a really good way to build a community.”

I guess what really stood out for me was this section in the article:

… a small silver lining has emerged: Virtual entertainment events can actually be pretty great. Even more importantly, they open doors to people who might have otherwise not been able to attend, whether because of geography or mobility or finances. As a result, accessibility to entertainment could change for the better, forever.

I had a similar reaction when I viewed last month’s Hawaii Symphony “Sounds of the Season” concert with Ignace Jang, violin, playing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (Winter) and Piazzola’s Four Seasons (Winter) and Anna Lenhart, horn, playing Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 4 in Eb, K.49.

Even though the concert was held “live” at the Hawaii Theatre, just 3 short blocks away from my condo, the fact is that I didn’t have to 1) dress up in clothes other than a T-shirt and shorts, my everyday “uniform” of choice; 2) drive to Blaisdell Concert Hall and try to find free on-street parking (I almost never park in the paid lot, but opt for free street parking. It means that I usually park 3-4 blocks away and have a short walk to the Concert Hall.)

Listening and watching the concert on my laptop and then mirrored on my large screen TV through my sound system made the concert much larger than life. The camera angles of the live video feeds bring you WAY UP close and personal—much much closer than in real life— and allowed me to take these screenshots, where cameras are not allowed in the concert hall during the performance. Even though my season ticket seats are pretty close to the stage, they are not THAT close to be able to see the players’ fingers a couple inches away as in these live videos.

Of course, what I miss is sitting next to my Symphony “buddy,” Samuel Lam, and comparing notes as to what we liked and didn’t like during the concert. When I watch these concerts, I can’t help but think of Sam who now watches these concerts from home, like everyone else.

All of this is to remind you that next week Friday, January 22nd through Sunday, January 31st, Early Music Hawaii will be broadcasting the secular part of its Masters of the English Reformation concert, featuring popular art songs by Byrd, Gibbons, Morley and Dowland, together with dances and fantasies for keyboard. You can check the Early Music Hawaii website for this “free” concert next week. (P.S. yes, I’m playing the organ and harpsichord for this concert.)

Donations, of course, are more than welcome!

Well, in spite of the fact that I am a news junkie who devours all things political voraciously, I promise you that this post will not turn into an all-out “red vs. blue” knock down, drag out battle, even though most people can guess where my politics lie if you look at some of my Facebook posts.

However, when the Rev. Raphael Warnock was one of senators elected in the Georgia run-off election, it made me wonder how many pastors have turned into politicians. A Google search turned up a Wikipedia page with politicians listed by denomination: Anglican, Baptist, Roman Catholic, Disciples of Christ, Dutch Reformed, Eastern Orthodox, United Church of Christ, Lutheran, Methodist, etc.

I also highly recommend you read this fascinating article: “With his victory, Raphael Warnock becomes a member of a select club — pastor politician.” It says that most politicians are lawyers and just a handful are pastors. In fact, there are exactly two pastors in today’s United States Senate, The Rev. Raphael Warnock of Georgia and James Lankford of Oklahoma.

When I pulled up this photo of the interior, my first thought was, “Aha! There is a pipe organ there!” (However, it’s possible that the façade pipes as shown in the photo are non-speaking.) A further search revealed that the church was going to be visited at the 2020 National Convention of the American Guild of Organists, which was unfortunately cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I found conflicting information concerning the organ(s)? One, that said there was an instrument by Schlueter-Rodgers, the other was an organ was built by the Hillgreen Lane Co., opus 1191 in 1995, which has three manuals but only 14 stops.

Any Atlanta organists who can enlighten us as to the facts about this organ?

However, here is a description of the space, as advertised on the AGO Atlanta website:

Throughout its long history, Ebenezer Baptist Church has been a spiritual home to many citizens of the “Sweet Auburn” community. Ebenezer was founded in 1886, nine years after reconstruction ended. A band of thirteen faithful people united under the leadership of the Rev. John A. Parker. Rev. Parker served as Ebenezer’s first pastor at the original site on Airline Street from 1886 to 1894.

Following the assassination of Dr. King, Jr. on April 4, 1968, the Rev. Alfred Daniel Williams King replaced his brother as Ebenezer’s second co-pastor. Rev. A. D. King’s tenure came to a close at his death in 1969 and was followed by Dr. Otis Moss in 1971. The Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr. retired on August 1, 1975, after forty-four years of tremendous service to Ebenezer and the world. Guided by Dr. King’s suggestions, the congregation of Ebenezer called Dr. Joseph L. Roberts, Jr. to be its fourth Senior Pastor. Dr. Roberts served for thirty years. Aside from mentoring a number of young ministers, he led the congregation in the construction of a new sanctuary directly across the street from the historic Ebenezer site in 1999.

Today, Ebenezer Baptist, with a congregation of over 6,000, continues to serve the Atlanta community in the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site under the dynamic leadership of Reverend Dr. Raphael G. Warnock–assuming the role of senior pastor in 2005. Dr. Warnock is only the fifth minister to lead the Ebenezer congregation in its 131-year history.

I just heard on the news today that Rev. Warnock will continue to preach weekly sermons at the church, while serving during the week as a U.S. Senator.

It was this post on Facebook, though, which caught my eye:

Ah yes, the worship wars, the battle over “contemporary” vs. “traditional” music—we all managed to survive it. Seems a little quaint, now, though — right?