Hey Bear!
Thanks, man! I'm cool with the contracts. The folks who stiffed me on the band leader gigs were "immune" to contracts. I HAD a good contract with each of them. A contract, even a well written one, is only as good as your readiness to sue someone over it. In retrospect, I would take a bigger deposit these days. As to the wiseguy gig, well, I just didn't want a contract put out on me!
Bandman! A CHURCH did that to you? On EASTER? How Christian is that? Not very, imho. You did the stand up thing, man, and you deserve much more than that sort of treatment. I'd look for a different church this, year, if I were you, but that 's up to you, ultimately. My guess is that there are other churches that see the Christian value of honesty and integrity - lot's of 'em.
Have a better one this year!
ND