New Organist

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As we said earlier in this series, American churches often use their outdoor signs to announce scheduled events, share upcoming sermon topics, or give advice.  Happily for us, church employees often post clever messages and give passersby something to think about or laugh at.  This week, our What's So Funny? segment continues the series of clever American church signs.  Do you get what's so funny?

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Background   Many traditional churches talk about the negative consequences of living a bad life on earth.  Chief among them is an afterlife spent in the fires of hell.  Such ministers are said to preach "hellfire and brimstone" to their parishioners.  

What's So Funny?    This person who posted this sign meant to convey two separate announcements: the pastor's upcoming sermon topic and the fact that there is a new church musician playing the organ.  However, since the first topic is a question, the second announcement looks like an answer to the question.  In other words, it will be like hell to listen to the (poor quality of the) new organist.

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Alan Headbloom

Alan advises Americans how to be global citizens and expats how to fit in to Michigan culture without annoying their native coworkers and clients. He also tweets and blogs at the intersection of language and culture. Over decades, he's traveled, studied, or lived on six continents, putting strange foods into his mouth and emitting strange sounds from it. His use of English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Swedish, Hausa, and Japanese all improve with alcohol use. He gives invited public presentations on culture and unsolicited private advice on English grammar and usage; the latter isn't always appreciated. Visit his website for information on consulting, coaching, or speaking engagements.