Christmas in August?

At St. Andrew’s United Church of Cairo, we worship in a unique way. As an international and interdenominational congregation hosting mainly westerners, the summer worship patterns can be, well, a bit informal and inconsistent. This is due to the fact that so many travel to their home countries; those of us who remain behind are left to worship in any way that we can.

During the summertime, we ask various people to play the piano during our hymns. With worship attendance as low as ten people per service during the summer, the skill level of our musicians can range from professional to elementary. Mostly, our piano players can manage only one hand. And, this last weekend, when the guest pianist asked if she could play Christmas songs during the prelude, offering and postlude because “these are the only songs I know how to play,” I knew immediately what kind of pianist with whom I was dealing.

Christmas hymns in August? I have served in two congregations in the US. On the scale range between ‘1’ being informal and ‘10’ being liturgical, both congregations fall at an ‘11’. I would not want to be within a city block of my two organists if I selected a Christmas hymn in the middle of the season of Pentecost. I sure would not want my Worship professor from the seminary to walk into the back of the church during the worship. Even my own mother, an accomplished organist in sparse international congregations herself, would roll her eyes at this suggestion.

Standing in the chancel with this young and eager pianist, I had to make a decision. Which world would I decide to be part of? In the liturgical world of my past, it would have been correct to inform her that playing Christmas music during August was not traditional or necessarily appropriate. Jesus’ Bread of Life narrative does not fit this kind of music. Instead, I smiled, buying a few seconds to consider it. She had come a great distance to rehearse at St. Andrew’s this past week, anxious about her responsibility. Knowing that she would likely have very little else prepared, I said, quietly cringing, “You can play whatever you want.”

Our service began and I wondered how people might react. The prelude was one verse of Hark, the Herald Angels Sing. I think the pianist stopped at the end of the first verse because she had not made a mistake. Proceeding to another verse would increase her chances of an error. People were noticeably surprised to hear a Christmas carol, as I noticed several glancing upward at the pianist or checking their bulletins.

It was during the collection of the offering that gave me the surprise. She managed three coherent verses of O Little Town of Bethlehem straight from the hymnal. By the beginning of the second verse, the Sudanese man behind me was humming. During the third verse, someone else toward the back of the church begin singing softly the familiar words. I surprised myself by softly joining in. Spontaneously, we were celebrating Christmas in August.

Sometimes we think that worship happens because of our carefully laid out plans. Surely, we pastors and organists are trained professionals who have so many resources and years of expertise that much of the worship we carefully plan provides a great deal of meaning for our worshipping congregations. I will continue to plan ahead with my team for cohesive and seasonally appropriate worship for my congregation. As for members of our churches, we have high expectations that the worship in our congregations is meaningful. We want our pastors and organists to pay attention to the kind of details which keep us in tune with our heritage and traditions.

But, worship is defined by context, too. When I think I know what is best, God plays for me a different tune. That weekend, I remind myself that the leadership available to me was faithful. It was also courageous leadership, due to the very fact that she pulled the piano bench underneath her at the start of the service. And the voices that sprang up to sing, including my own, cannot be discounted, either. Worship was happening in spite of me.

I am left with a lingering concern. Honestly, my concern has nothing to do with how the Church Council might address this at our next meeting. Nor is my concern for our official organist when she returns from vacation. I am confident that if she hears anything about our Christmas in August, she will understand. I have not checked my emails to see if there are any complaints, but I think I am in the clear. My main concern is this: Can this guest pianist play again next week?