minutia press.
Holy Water + Jewish Organist = Blown Fuse

Posts about religion seem to garner the most comments....

When I lived in Yorktown Heights , I had the great pleasure of playing organ at Saint Patrick's . This is the most amazing parish I've every accompanied, and the music program there is unparalleled. Kathey Lewis directs the music there, and her husband Rick Dalby is an unbelievable pianist (but you can believe him, he's a physicist). I could post for days about the great stuff they do there, but I thought you might find this story amusing.

There was a priest there some years ago, Father Michael, a really great guy. I guess it's somewhat unusual for a Jew to play organ, but there are more of us out there than you'd think, and the Old Testament does mention "an instrument of great wind".

Anyway, the priests and staff knew I am Jewish, and Father Michael was fond of sprinkling the congregation with Holy Water. The organ was near the altar, and he would usually smile at me and hurl extra water my way, thinking it would do me some good.

One service he over-doused, and the organ went "sizzle sizzle pop" and shorted out. I told him what happened after the service was over, because the organ wouldn't play. He told me he exorcised it of its evil spirit.