The hardest part of this post was coming up with a title that best summarizes its content. Down on sound says it all.

We visited the church, that we presently attend, several years before we started attending it regularly. During this visit, we noticed a paper thermometer hanging on the wall with dollar amounts for its scale. It was part of a fund drive to replace the audio visual equipment used for the worship service.

When I asked about the fund raiser, I was told that the deacons wouldn’t budget for the purchase of this equipment. But, they would allow a fund raiser for the equipment, thus the paper thermometer.

Zipping ahead a few years, the new equipment has been purchased and installed and was now 5 year old when we started attending this church regularly. The sound tech who headed up the original fund drive was still the head of sound. Zipping ahead another 5 years, the sound tech resigned and left for another church. This is where Kathy and I stepped in to help out on sound.

At the time that we started doing sound, the church was going through a remodeling project that included the sanctuary. It was called Calvary Renewal and was a bricks and mortar project. Low interest loans were acquired and financial pledges were made by the congregation.

Part of the Calvary Renewal project required the relocation of the sound booth. Since I was coming in during the middle of all of this, I wasn’t sure what arrangements had been made with the sound team. Noting that the new sound booth lacked carpet on the floor, I inquired if carpet was a part of the plan. I was reassured that it was.

Realizing that carpeting the sound booth was not a high priority, I didn’t say any thing for several months. Finally, concerned that the sound booth carpet was going to be over looked, I inquired again. And again, I was reassured that there would be carpet in the sound booth. In fact, they even showed me the boxes of carpet squares that were going to be installed. They were sitting right out side the sound booth door. Great! I will wait patiently.

Then one day, I noticed that the carpet squares were gone. When I inquired about them, I was told that the sound booth was not on the list to have carpet and that all of the carpet was used up. Well, I can see that talk at this church is cheap. After waiting 5 years for the promised carpet, I went out and bought some cheap carpet at the lumbar yard and installed it myself. It cost $80 dollars and not the national debt.

This was just the first of many promises that were made to the sound ministry but not kept. Part 2, the return of the Jedi, will go into what seemed to be a win/win situation between the deacons and sound.