two religions in Kentucky

We went on a very short trip to the USA to attend a family wedding in Lexington, Kentucky. This was conducted according to Indian tradition, with a two-hour Hindu ceremony one morning and a secular reception the following day. Much of the ceremony was chanted in Sanskrit by the priest; I admired his stamina as just one of the prayers lasted over 20 minutes and there were many others. There was also another singer who performed some hymns to the accompaniment of a backing track.

We were free on the Sunday morning so I found an Episcopal church, the Good Shepherd. This must be one of the oldest buildings in Lexington. Their morning service was comfortably familiar, allowing for the differences of the Episcopalian liturgy. They have an RSCM-affiliated choir which has recently done a residency at St Alban’s Cathedral, and which sang a psalm to Anglican chant and two short anthems during the service; they are currently advertising for a new director of music. Many English Cathedrals have American church choirs to visit in the summer, and this was a chance to see the sort of church where these choirs come from. Their organ was new (with some flashy en chamade pipes) and afterwards I chatted to some of the congregation about the practicalities of replacing or upgrading an organ. Given the location, I was amused to hear a reference to bridles in one of the lessons and to sing a hymn to a tune called Bourbon.