[Tex]

Originally Posted by Indy Coug

I've decided instead of knee-jerk bellyaching about the misguided, uncultured, insensitive, borderline racist Bishop and his unrighteous dominion, I'm going to make a constructive suggestion about how to deal with this situation and perhaps prevent this type of event from happening again:


1. The choir director makes an appointment to see the bishop. During that meeting, the choir director can get guidance from the bishop about what is and isn't acceptable choir music for Sacrament Meeting.

2. The choir director can get the bishop to give his yea or nay ahead of time on whatever songs they were hoping to perform in the future. That way, they don't invest time, energy and soul into a song that eventually gets shot down; creating hurt feelings and adversarial confrontations.

3. During the meeting, the choir director can have the opportunity in a non-confrontational manner to express their views on spiritual music and why the given "non-traditional" selections in their view are appropriate musical fare for Sacrament Meeting. An open exchange of opinions can lead to a respectful and mutual understanding of each other's positions.

4. If there are songs that the choir would like to perform, but the bishop won't allow them to be performed in Sacrament Meeting, the choir director could request the bishop to allow them to perform these songs at a Fireside or some other ward-sponsored activity where the musical guidelines aren't as stringent. That would allow the members of the ward, bishop included, to hear a broader range of spiritual music, gain a deeper appreciation for them and perhaps break down barriers in the future that will allow these to be performed in Sacrament Meeting.

That's certainly a helluva lot more productive than leaving the church in protest or hurling epithets at the bishop.

Bravo, Indy.