Church and Choir

Folks, I want to talk about church and choir. I have a story to tell, but because it's so huge, I will have to relate it in segments. And as you might imagine (knowing me), it is part of the much bigger and continuous story of my life, but church takes precedence over all right now, so here goes.

I joined the choir at the Reseda United Methodist Church on Sunday, November 9, 2014. It wasn't intended on my part (I didn't ask to join), but I am grateful that it happened. My five-plus years of singing tenor with my friends is one of the absolute highlights of my life. I wish I could go back in a Time Machine to do it all again. My tenure with the choir came about because Pearl fell down onstage a week or two before the above mentioned date, and her daughter was given notice that she could not continue. Pearl was banned, prohibited or whatever you want to call it, from being onstage with her fellow singers because (as I was told by her daughter) the church couldn't be responsible for her safety. I had a fit about this (which is noted in "The Summer of Green Parrots"). Long story short, Pearl was one of the longest serving members of the RUMC congregation, since 1953. My response was, basically, "How dare they kick her out!" I offered to ensure her safety by sitting with her onstage (as her caregiver), and the choir director said, on that very first Sunday, "If you're going to sit with us, you shall sing." I protested (at first), but that's how I became a member of the choir, which turned out to be one of the greatest experiences of my life.

Fast forward to 2026. Because of what I know now, through the disciplined daily practice of meditative memory recovery, and because I am a dedicated criminal investigator, I question small or seemingly insignificant things, in this case, "Who determined that Pearl was banned from choir"?

And why was she banned, after one single fall on a carpeted stage, in which she was uninjured?

Concerning the first question, I thought about who could have made the determination that Pearl was banned. I thought it had to be the church hierarchy. Not being a church person at the time, I wasn't sure who that was. Was it a bishop? Did the RUMC have an administrative board? I also considered the pastor, but the truth was that I didn't know.

Now that I know much more about the RUMC, I know it was the pastor who made the decision that Pearl would be banned from the choir, at a church she had belonged to since before he was born.

This blog series is about that pastor, and I am wondering if I need an attorney, because I know much more about him now, and the way he inserted himself into my life. He blocked my memory of many significant incidents. He is a profoundly bad guy.

As I say, I can tell a long and detailed story about him, and situations involving the RUMC, which by the way, I love, and I despise those who corrupted it. 

Does anyone care to listen?

(to be continued)