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Currently browsing thread: The Pastor-Organist Tension Petersen Nov 16, 2005 06:17:07
The Pastor-Organist Tension
Petersen
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Nov 16, 2005 06:17:07 		arrdie awardIncense is to musicians what those ultrasonic devices they sell in the weekend glossies are to rats. It should drive them out of the building, but it only agitates them and makes them more noticeable. What is needed, the only thing that actually works on either mice or musicians, is rat poison.

I am only allowed to use incense at the Easter Vigil. (Warning to parents: incense out of the can looks a lot like D-con.) I've tried to slip it in a few more times throughout the year, I've even gotten permission from the elders and the ladies' aid, but it doesn't matter: we have an organist, (who shall remain nameless to protect the guilty.) He is never quiet about it. He'll come charging into my office, "PAS-tor, your incense ruined everything!"

"Really?" I say. "Did the Word return void this morning? Did it make your feet slip on the pedals again?"

He will never admit it, but he thinks the sermon is superfluous. It could easily be replaced by a hymn. I think he'd come close to saying the Bible could be replaced by a hymn if he thought he could get away with it. He thinks hymns are the truest and best preachers of God's Word and, therefore, preachers are superfluous. In his weakest moments he might even say that we don't have to actually sing the words, especially if the hymn was set by Bach. Thus the Holy Prelude and Offertory of Edification. (My line: "People don't come to Church to listen to the Prelude!" His retort: "Well they certainly don't come to listen to you!!") Thus he hates incense. Musician-wise, he claims to love it. But he hates it. It interferes with singing. If synodocrats are convinced that worship consists mainly in talking about talking about Jesus (or in giving, as in giving your heart to Jesus, giving your money to synod, giving yourself a lobotomy so that you can understand the new Evangelism program that is not, I repeat, not a "program."), for our organist worship is mainly singing. That whole "Gottesdienst" thing was mainly a smoke (non-choking) screen. Worship is what we do. We sing, therefore we are.

On the other side of this age-old debate is my all-wise and street-smart 16-year-old son Thomas, and his buddy, our arch-acolyte Winston. They were here for Matins this morning and afterwards I was talking about integrating the newest male confirmand, Jonathan, into the Service. For me this is ongoing catechesis. For them, it is fresh meat and hazing. Their immediate response? "We have to add incense." This was hardly a new insight for them. I could have said, "It is November" and their response would have been the same. They've been busting my chops about this for years. Unlike Reu - I mean the Organist - they love incense. It is so beautiful and symbolic, walking down the aisle swinging flames and smoke, making eyes waters, old people hack, agitating musicians, and threatening the younger boys with hot metal. "Incense is very eschatological," they remind me. They love incense. But they're not so big on singing (or Preludes). My guess: they'll be pastors, not organists. And true to my order, I do what I can to encourage them and send them off to ask the Organist if he has any matches.  

Comments...

  • Nov 26, 2005 20:35:36 Re: The Pastor-Organist Tension - Orycteropus Afer
    Brother David, congratulations on a thoughtful, well-written post. It's been given props in Aanother Round of Aardvark Honors. If you desire, you may claim your Aardie at any time.
  • Nov 17, 2005 10:38:05 Re: The Pastor-Organist Tension - Steve
    Perhaps, Herr Organist needs to be reminded that Luther called music SECOND to theology.
    But still be thankful that you have an organist who doesn't play everything as a funeral dirge and doesn't think that the only postlude in the world is God Bless America!
  • Nov 17, 2005 06:29:18 Re: The Pastor-Organist Tension - Loree Jr
    Perhaps the time has come to think about eliminating the organist from the equation. After all the organ is an outdated instrument that costs a lot of money to maintain. You could probably burn incense with the blessing of a praise band since many are romantic about the 60's. But don't forget the singing girls up front shaking their stuff as they sing "Shout to the Lord", it may destroy the piety of the men in the congregation but your attendance will increase. And that's what church is really all about, more people means more money.

    P.S. CPH sells bongo drums, cymbals, and maracas
  • Nov 17, 2005 03:56:39 Re: The Pastor-Organist Tension - Cynthia
    He may not admit out loud that your sermon can be replaced by a hymn, but I would advise that you not turn your back if he has a Bach Cantata in his hand! Not only could you be replaced, but there are enough of them that you could be gone a long time....
  • Nov 16, 2005 21:48:52 Re: The Pastor-Organist Tension - %d comments
    He has seen both, however briefly. Too busy preparing for
    and making music!
  • Nov 16, 2005 18:10:27 Re: The Pastor-Organist Tension - Heidi
    I don't know why you're complaining about your organist. I thought his hymn selection of "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" this past Sunday was wonderful. ;-)
  • Nov 16, 2005 15:59:23 Re: The Pastor-Organist Tension - Josh Osbun
    As one who regularly sings in Reu - I mean the Organist's choir, I can understand the dislike of incense from a musical perspective. If you inhale enough of that smoke it can really do a number on your vocal chords.

    That being said, I happen to like the incense, and I don't think you use it enough. I'd be happy seeing it on all of the major festivals of the church year.

    Possible solution? Use the incense and keep a supply of gas masks readily available for those who might be a bit more sensitive to it.
  • Nov 16, 2005 13:36:58 Incense - Michael Dwyer
    TheEaster Vigil is a good time to use it. Epiphany would seem to ba an ideal occasion also. Seems as though you might need a new organist.................
    • Nov 16, 2005 14:08:06 Re: Incense - Petersen
      You sound like an acolyte.
  • Nov 16, 2005 09:20:09 Re: The Pastor-Organist Tension - %d comments
    i'm sure the organist appreciates your wining
  • Nov 16, 2005 08:44:09 Re: The Pastor-Organist Tension - maestro
    You should hire me. I love incense. Here at home, it covers (I think) the stench of my cigarettes.
    That being said, keep doing the thing you're doing. Maybe Reu--I mean, the Organist--will eventually get it.
    Geesh--hasn't he learned how humilating a post organist can be?
    • Nov 16, 2005 14:15:44 Re: The Pastor-Organist Tension - Petersen
      The only way he is ever going to "get it" is if he decides that worship is not about singing. It is about listening to organ concerts. I've known a few of his colleagues with that opinion. They didn't accompany the hymns. They blasted us out the pew and dared us to try and sing. With a name like "Maestro" and love of incense, you make me a little nervous.

      Besides which, the Organist happens to be insanely popluar. It turns out the bulk of the people (my wife included) also think worship is about singing - and they would rather listen to him play than me preach (Redeemer's motto: "Better a long Prelude than a long sermon"). The acolytes are my only real allies. But that is mainly because they like fire and sometimes get to skip school for a funeral. They love a good funeral.
      • Nov 16, 2005 14:58:34 Re: The Pastor-Organist Tension - Jane
        I'm with your wife. : ) Although your sermons are also worth hearing.
        As you can imagine, Patrick votes for incense and hazing.
  • Nov 16, 2005 08:38:42 Re: The Pastor-Organist Tension - Carl Vehse
    And since the organist is an ordained Lutheran minister and LCMS member, being a choir director in a heterodox Eastern church would be even more painful.

    As for incense Dr. Uwe Siemon-Netto had some comment in his Smells and bells in Luther land column from April 2002.
    • Nov 16, 2005 11:16:29 Re: The Pastor-Organist Tension - Chris Jones
      For pete's sake, Dr Strickert, lighten up. It was a joke (in the "careful what you wish for" category).

      As for "heterodox": that is your opinion. You are entitled to it.
      • Nov 16, 2005 12:07:51 Re: The Pastor-Organist Tension - Carl Vehse
        Is that some more Eastern apologist humor?

        On a web site of a Missouri Synod Lutheran congregation (even one as sympathetic as this web blog), the heterodoxy of the Eastern church is not a personal opinion.
        • Nov 16, 2005 14:27:52 Re: The Pastor-Organist Tension - Petersen
          I am, without embarrassment, very sympathetic to Eastern Orthodoxy, to their history, theology, and practice. But certainly the fact that the East isn't specifically named in the Book of Concord does not free it from the charge of hetereodox by us.

          If nothing else, the fact that they consider us to be impure and hetereodox, that they see our theology as lacking and being wrongly emphasized, that they do not recognize us as the Church, ought to be enough to enlighten us. It always goes both ways unless you're dealing with hypocrites. The East is not hypocritical. They mean what they say about us. So despite my sympathy for the East (and my "romanizing tendencies," my great love of Loehe and Grabau, my multiplication of the Sacraments and allegorizing), I hold that the East's heterdoxy is more than a personal opinion. It is the position of our Synod. If it were not, we'd be seeking altar and pulpit fellowship. Sympathy only goes so far.
        • Nov 16, 2005 12:29:43 Re: The Pastor-Organist Tension - Chris Jones
          No, it is not "Eastern apologist humor". My original remark was humorous (as much at the expense of the EOs as of anybody else). But the charge of heterodoxy is serious.

          Our confessions specifically condemn the Roman Catholic Church as heterodox. If they specifically condemn the Eastern Church, I am unaware of it. To the contrary, the Confessions specifically cite the liturgical texts of the Eastern Church as witnesses in our favour.

          In the absence of a specific condemnation in our public dogmatic definitions, I reiterate that it is your personal opinion.
  • Nov 16, 2005 08:23:21 Re: The Pastor-Organist Tension - Teresa
    I hope you're not trying to get a rise out of the Doctor of Musical Arts(aka the Organist). There's no evidence that he's ever even seen his own website, let alone yours.
  • Nov 16, 2005 07:25:39 Re: The Pastor-Organist Tension - Chris Jones
    To punish your organist, make him choir director at an Orthodox Church. There, the worship is all singing, just as he likes. Even the epistle and Gospel are chanted.

    But there is no organ; all the hymn choices are dictated by the rubrics; and there is no Bach.

    And, of course, incense everywhere. The perfect punishment.
    • Nov 16, 2005 14:07:02 Re: The Pastor-Organist Tension - Petersen
      We don't punish, nor do we threaten, the Organist. Trust me. He has ways of getting even far beyond the abilities of ordinary men.
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