But what about music? Having themselves all been in garage bands at one time or another (some of you may recall Debbie's band and their hit single "Tolerate This!") the three pastors knew the importance of good music. But what a dilemma! Contemporary Christian music was so hokey. Praise songs and choruses? Too individualistic and triumphal with bad poetry to boot. High Church hymnody was great. But in a post-Christian era just how many people can be expected to know the tune to "Hyfrodol" in four parts?

And then, almost as quickly as the mire enveloped them, resolution came to the three flummoxed pastors. For it just so happened that on that very afternoon, one Chris Larson, a boyishly handsome young sculptor from Yale, happened to be flushing and filling his radiator on the sidewalk outside of Russell\\\'s apartment, humming a Hank Williams tune. The three pastors, engaged in prayerful silent meditation over the dilemma, heard the glorious tenor voice, and immediately invited Chris in for some chai. The rest, as they say, is history. The three pastors had met their perfect band leader in this inviting-yet-appropriately-cynical, sincere-but-not-perky, with an appreciation for Chris immediately set himself to the task of hand-picking what has now become, undoubtedly, the finest band in the church-band business.

About House of Mercy Music

After a bit of evolution, House of Mercy's congregational singing now aims for a kind of hymnodic eclecticism that, on any given Sunday might include hymns written by Fanny Crosby, Hank Williams, Isaac Watts, the Louvin Brothers, Martin Luther, Johnny Cash, The Violent Femmes, The Carter Family, and Charles Wesley.

House of Mercy has become a haven for local americana, supporting and celebrating local bands such as Accident Clearinghouse, the Urban Hillbilly Quartet, Arcana 81, and Flora. Local musicians are showcased at an annual fall tribute, which in the past has celebrated the hymns of Hank Williams (1998), the gospel songs of the Louvin Brothers (1999) with special guest Charlie Louvin, and hosted Dr. Ralph Stanley and his Clinch Mountain Boys for Saturday Night/Sunday Morning in the Fall of 2001.

House of Mercy music is intended to be inclusive. All members and friends are invited to offer their musical gifts to the community through the periodic Instant Choir and the weekly Guest Artist spot.