Things were not going well that Sunday...
The young minister was preoccupied with thoughts of how he was going to ask the congregation to come up with more money than they were expecting for repairs to the church building.
To further complicate things, he found out that the regular organist was sick and a substitute had been brought in at the last minuteThe substitute wanted to know what to play.
"Well, here's a copy of the service," he said impatiently. "But you'll have to think of something to play after I make the announcement about the finances.
"After the choir's anthem, the minister came to the pulpit and said, "Brothers and Sisters, we face a great challenge today... The roof repairs cost twice as much as we expected, and we need $4,000 more. Now, any of you who can pledge $100 or more, please stand up.
"At precisely that moment, the quick thinking substitute organist played a stirring rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner!"
And that is how the substitute organist became the permanent organist.