Joe did a fabulous job playing the piano in church today. It has definitely been a learning curve for him...and for the chorister...and for the congregation...but I would say that today was a success.
Three weeks ago on our first Sunday in this branch we noticed that they didn't have a piano player - just a chorister. So half way through the meeting Joe went up and offered to play the piano for the intermediate hymn, and found out when he started playing that it's not one we have in our English hymn books. He did a great job anyways, but we've found out a few times since then, as he has become the branch piano player, that a lot of times this branch's version of a hymn is not the same as ours. They add notes, leave out notes, hold notes, hold pauses, sing slower, sing faster, and sometimes have a different tune altogether than the one Joe's playing. Some of these songs I wonder if they've ever heard them accompanied before.
It has been the funniest thing every Sunday to listen to the hymns. You never know how it's going to go until it's going. The further off Joe is at the piano, the louder the congregation sings to try to set him straight. I definitely don't envy the chorister, trying to be the mediator between Joe and the congregation, but she has stepped it up a lot since the first Sunday. She now knows that Joe will follow her lead and she has learned to sing louder than the congregation when they don't match up with Joe. There is definitely learning going on on all sides and it's getting better :)
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