Classical Singing and Contemporary Worship: Incompatible?

So, here's the thing. I'm a classical singer. I am a Christian. Many of the churches I've attended are really going for a contemporary style in music, presumably in an effort to be "relevant" in an ever-changing culture. Now, I am fairly certain that a classical style voice wouldn't be welcome on a Sunday morning at my church. I am married to the worship pastor after all. I won't put words in his mouth, but I know opera isn't a sound he's looking for. I'm not really sure that I'm suggesting that we should be incorporating this style into our worship services, but I do find myself wishing that I could somehow merge two of my passions: classical singing and worshipping God. That does make sense, right? It seems logical to me. Music and worship go together, right? I recognize there are churches out there that do incorporate classical style voice (I accompanied for one for a year and a half), but in my experience these churches can't or don't do any contemporary music at all. And I LIKE contemporary music! I guess I just want it all.

Am I being unreasonable?

My Name

Now, let's just make one thing clear. I do not have a problem with people mispronouncing my name. This is not about that. What I do have a problem with is people who make me feel like I don't know how to pronounce my own name, or maybe--more accurately--my parents didn't know how to pronounce my name. So, I'm hear to set the record straight.

If you are reading this and you speak Spanish, you already know how to pronounce Eva in Spanish. However, the question then becomes, how should Eva be pronounced in English? The easiest thing for me would have been simply to go by the English translation of my name--Eve. Simple. No one would mispronounce it. But, (sigh) my parents didn't get that started for me, and having people call me Eve just never occurred to me as a child. Other ideas did come to me, most notably the day I decided to tell the neighbor girl that my name was Isabel (my middle name) and when she came over and asked if Isabel could come out to play, my parents didn't know who she was talking about! So, you can't say I didn't try.

So back to the question at hand. How should Eva be pronounced in English? Some bearers of this name prefer to have it pronounced, Ava with a long a sound. I've never really preferred this because it just doesn't sound close enough to the Spanish pronunciation. Others prefer Eva to be pronounced with a long e sound as though it were short for Evangeline. This one I particularly dislike because it sounds the least like the Spanish pronunciation. Sadly for me, it is the most common pronunciation of my name, and, as I understand, a rather common southern name. My favorite thing that people ask me is, "So, do you pronounce your name 'ava' (long a) or 'eeva' (long e)?" Hmmmm......Neither. I prefer my name to be pronounced with a short e sound as though it were short for Evelyn. This sounds almost like the Spanish pronunciation of Eva, only people usually pronounce it "Ehvuh" as opposed to "Ehvah."

Now, again, I don't have a problem with people mispronouncing name. I get that people have different preferences for how they like their names pronounced. But if you ask me how to pronounce my name and I tell you how to say it, don't then say, "Oh, you're name is really Eeva (long e), but you just pronounce it Ehva (short e)." Really? Or how about, "Are you sure that's how you pronounce your name?"

Seriously.

And yes, that really happened.

Rant Week

Welcome to Rant Week at All Things Eva! Starting tomorrow and each day for the rest of this week I'm going to "rant" about things that I really care about, or maybe even things that really bug me. I am looking forward to sharing my heart, and I'm hoping that people will respond in kind--with their hearts. Here's to some good conversation!

Stolen Moments

This morning when I woke up it was raining. I don't always love rainy days--especially when there is a long string of them--but this particular morning I just wanted to curl up, stare out the window, and listen to the sound of the world rushing by in the downpour. But then I heard the girls moving around upstairs and I thought, "The girls are up. Soon they will wake up Quint, and my quiet moment will be interrupted before it starts. Why bother." Funny. I find that I am interrupted so often that I now anticipate interruptions. But then I thought, "You know, I think I'll sit for a minute anyway. Even if I only get two minutes it will be worth it." And then I had a minor epiphany. How often do I miss out on a moment because I know I'll be yanked out of it before I'm ready? VERY OFTEN. Every day, in fact. How much enjoyment of life am I missing? I think I'd like to find out! So, guess what? I decided to steal a moment staring out the window this morning. And--delightfully--my moment turned into half an hour of reading the book of Esther curled up next to my husband on the sofa. Eventually, the girls clomped down the stairs and interrupted my reading, Quint woke up fifteen minutes later, and I had to get up. But I guess the point is that had a I resigned myself to what I thought would happen, I would have missed out on a beautiful start to my day.

I pray you savor a moment today, Friend.