Awful, awful choir...

I don't know how to blog about this but I just have to. What's there to say about a really awful choir? One of the two Churches I go to has a kids' choir, and I just don't know how to go about this.

On one hand, you have to admire these kids for devoting their time to practice and to singing every single week. It's good that they're using their time for something meaningful, something good. The way I see it, one hour with the choir is one hour away from drugs, from other vices. So it should be a good thing, right?

One the other hand, what if the choir is so awful that it makes church goers wish they were somewhere else, or wish that the ceremony is over? There is no such thing as volume to them, and it doesn't help that they sound horrible. My whole experience of going to mass is affected, even if I try hard not to think about it. Some people will say "Going to mass is about being with God and everything's secondary." True, but I'm really just being realistic.

The way I see it, singing during mass is for praising God, and for the participation of the community. I love going to mass in Ateneo because the choirs are so good that you can feel even your bones praising God. "Praise God!" is all around you! I always end up being so into the ceremony and really absorbing everything around me.

Well for me, the only thing I an do is to wake up earlier so that I can go to the earlier masses with the better choirs.