The second Summer Stars concert (7/8/21) was another classical music triumph. The Solisti Ensemble with Gordon Turk on the Hope-Jones organ brought a marvelous array of music, accompanied by an all-star team of composers including Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi, Fauré, Britten, Brahms, Strauss, Elgar, Salome, and Jongen. In the video above, the nine member ensemble admirably performs the Strauss “Emperor Waltz.”
No religious content was present as one might experience at the Choir Festival. This was a “secular” event; a category of music in the Grove which has been seen less recently. (See our piece about the Doo-Wops)
But there was something different about this particular “secular” music event. Instead of an American flag over the organ there was a large cross. And in addition there were two in-your-face large placards with religious messaging on stage (see the video above.) And this is different from before, including last week’s Summer Stars concert.
It was so obvious that the conductor Byung-Kook Kwak, an incredible violinist and composer/arranger, felt it necessary to tell the audience that he was a “Christian” and he read some of the words on the placards aloud to the audience, agreeing with those words.
This may not have been noticed by many in the audience, but it is another change that is of concern, because we have been pointing out a variety of indicators that reveal the “new” CMA to be taking the town on a ride to a greater degree of public religiosity than before. You can see it on public signage such as the welcome sign outside the Main Avenue entrance.
This is not an anti-Christian opinion. These are factual observations to be interpreted as Grovers see fit. For me it suggests that the town of Ocean Grove is being pushed by the CMA in a particular direction which could change lives here permanently.
Although the State Supreme court divested the CMA from their governance role in 1980, a time when it was predicted that they might be finished as a controlling religious presence in the Grove, now they are enhancing that trend again and succeeding.
Why is this a concern? Because the town may become known to 21st century outsiders as an exclusively Christian place, as it was 150 years ago. This could then impact the quality of life, home values, and the demographics in town.
When we first moved here we valued the spiritual aspect of the town, but we also liked the variety of “secular” people who live and visit here and the events directed at them. But if OG becomes uni-dimensional, then it would be unattractive to many.
According to one resident, “90% of us Grovers don’t seem to mind The Camp Meeting or the beliefs/statements that it beholds. Take it or leave it .”
But is his allegation true? The CMA will never respond to this sort of inquiry, and we have never seen a poll that would answer the question. They probably don’t want any polling to be done about their policies in town.
But few people I know “mind” the CMA per se or its beliefs. It is their policies which impact everyone in town and not just themselves. They seem to be indifferent to the “secular” populace.
What do you think? Are we raising a non-issue or is this worth discussing?
Paul Goldfinger, Editor Blogfinger.net
I agree with “90% of us Grovers don’t seem to mind The Camp Meeting or the beliefs/statements that it beholds. Take it or leave it .”
Kevin. Did you take your own advice in the past?
There is an old saying that has always made sense to me: “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”