Choosing Hymns is Apparently Very Stressful Work

Think pastors have a stressful job? They’ve got nothing on the music ministry director. (Why are you laughing? Have you ever tried to choose a hymn.) From CNN:

You may not think of people who plan, direct and conduct performances for religious services as being under a particularly high amount of stress. But they also choose the appropriate psalm or hymn for every wedding and funeral — only some of the most important events in a family’s life. And those stressful situations can create some demanding clients.

“Every now and then you’ll get a strange request,” said Dan Fenn, Music Ministry Director at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Northfield, Minn. “A couple of years ago I got a request to play the Beer Barrel Polka at a funeral. You have to ask yourself, is this appropriate for a worship service?”

At my mother’s funeral my brother chose to play two songs by Creed. The songs were surprisingly moving and appropriate, but it ruined his chances of every being a music director.

(HT: Rachel Motte)