One of the great things about being a church musician is that you rarely have to make a decision about some of the more important things that happen in the church meeting.
On the occasions that a decision is needed on the spur of the moment (and you make the wrong one) you can always pass the buck to the pastor of the congregation, as he’s the one ultimately in charge. For example. ‘When we share the peace, should we just shake hands or give each other a kiss?’ someone asks. ‘Don’t ask me — I’m just the piano player’, I reply. Aaah, all responsibility is abdicated.
Getting a handshake
Actually, I did take a spur-of-the-moment decision on peace-sharing once. A visiting bishop was following the formal liturgy for an ordination service. When he reached the part which said, ‘The congregation shall exchange the sign of the peace’, he made the mistake of asking the congregation for advice. He asked publicly, ‘What do you usually do here, share the peace or sing?’ Before anyone could hear the uneasy shuffling (or — more embarrassingly — shout out an answer), I ploughed straight in with the next hymn. I’ve never had my hand shaken by so many people after an ordination service.
