Post to the Host
Host Garrison Keillor answers your questions about life, love, writing, authors, and of course, A Prairie Home Companion.
Dear Mr. Keillor, 'A Prairie
August 2, 2006 |
Dear Mr. Keillor,
'A Prairie Home Companion' has been a favorite of mine for many years and I especially enjoy the rousing gospel music. My wife and I attend a Philippine Presbyterian church and sing in the choir, one of two non-Philippine people. The music tends to be rather homogeneous. How can I introduce some 'real' gospel music to these people, especially when about a quarter of them do not speak any English? The kind of music that makes people jump to their feet and clap and swayand speak in tongues and shout "Hallelujah" and "Praise the Lord".
Or am I expecting too much from people whose unwritten motto seems to be "If it isn't in the hymnal, then it isn't in our church"?
I await your advice.
Mark B.
Anaheim, California
It's not going to happen, Mark. I believe that faith and prayer can accomplish almost anything, but not within the church. Change within the church takes cutthroat politics and masterful passive-aggressive strategy. Don't go there. You're in a Filipino church. Be happy. If you need gospel music, find a black pentecostal outfit and wear nice clothes.
|
Previous Post: |
Next Post: |
Post to the Host Archive
- American Jokes
- Norwegian Emigration to Lake Wobegon
- One thing leads to another
- All Good Writing is Rewriting
- The Goodbye To Childhood You're On Your Own Now Ceremony
- Skiing in the Alps
- Competing against the young
- Finding confidence
- The value of public universities
- Ruining Lutefisk
- A Christmas Blizzard
- Memoirs
- How do I get noticed?
- Poetry and the Fairer Sex
- Developing a natural voice
- Pentecost
- Boycott
- Anonymous in the Big City
- Thanks to Ford
- Offended
- What happened to that "Sweet Biscuit Fiddle?"
- "Tom and Sally"
- NOTE FROM THE HOST
- SFX Lady??
- Missing The Old Scout
- Live in San Diego
- So Where's Sinclair?
- This is my first big trip away from home. Any advice for a first-time traveler?
- How come the house band is called The Shoe Band?
- October 21 Cinecast
- Getting into the Radio Business
- On the 12th Floor of the Acme Building...
- Going to the Big City!
- 73 Days of Summer Vacation
- Help with a Eulogy
- Where Do I Start?
- Fantasy League Whippets
- Clergywomen in Lake Wobegon
- The more you write, the better it gets
- The Voice
- A Note from GK about Retirement
- Low Self-Esteem
- Useless Degrees
- Car Bomb
- The Dog-Ears of Summer
- Dealing with Disappointment
- Rejection Letters
- English Majors Strike Again
- 7th Grade Report
- GK Responds to Cinecast Posts
- J.D. Salinger, 1919 - 2010
- Be Well...
- A Large Delicate Question
- A Matter of Honest Labeling
- Where All the Women are Strong
- A Natural Step
- Abducting Jesus from a Crib
- Where all the women are...
- Adventures of an English Major
- Intro to Storytelling
- Birds of a feather
- Poetry 101
- Shave and a Haircut...
- One of Us
- Slow Down and Look Around
- Home Again
- Content and its Discontents
- The Dales
- GENERATION NEXT
- THE FOUNDATION FOR GREAT SUCCESS
- WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM
- NOTHING BEATS BROWSING
- Lake Wobegon Screenplay
- English Majors
- No Time for Rhyme?
Complete Post to the Host Archive