Bad Soloists

It was Christmas time 34 years ago and I was in my first year as pastor of a little country church. Being Christmas, we expected a number of visitors and I was looking forward to Sunday. That morning I learned that a long time member, Mr. _____, always played a Christmas “special”. Mr. ________ took his aged and out of tune violin from its case and scratched out a song entitled “God is Born” as he had every Christmas Sunday for years. The performance elicited smiles and “Amens” form the members and painful grimaces from the guests. My wife, an accomplished violinist, still hesitates to speak of the incident.

My question is this: Do you ever have “special music” that features poor musicianship? The singer who can’t carry a tune? The instrumentalist who needs a few more lessons? The “special” that “blesses” your members but leaves your visitors scratching their heads? What do you do?

BTW, I was amused at this:

https://theunappreciatedpastor.wordpress.com/2014/12/11/so-long-soloists/