My mother directed our children's choir at church, so I have many songs (and a couple of musicals: Cool in the Furnace and Beauty and the Feast) that I associate with her. Dona Nobis Pacem is a favorite. During worship, when the first verse of a hymn was played as an introduction, my dad would always sing the first verse. I'd whisper, "DADDY! It's not time to sing yet!" and he would grin at me and say, "It's always time to sing!" I sing during the introduction of all the hymns now, in his honor.
Thank you, Bird, for the reminder of how music brings us together. Also, how music is a touchstone of remembrance. I appreciated the link to Spiritual Care for Children in Times of Disaster. We have Godly Play at our Sunday School hour. As the Director of Christian Education, I am wondering now about how to incorporate a closing song to their Sunday morning experience. Thank you for the treasure-trove of resources and reflections.
I love a closing song! Something simple like Natalie Sleeth's Go Now In Peace (this video that even does it at a round is so sweet - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KC-yZGRHeM) is a great choice for closing your time together. I used it at my September Godly Play storyteller training. Go On Your Way In Joy is a more upbeat option for more of a VBS-type energy.
The song "Torn" by Tenth Avenue North is the song that came on the radio right as I pulled out of my parents' driveway on what would turn out to be the last time I would see my dad alive. He was in the end stage of Brain Cancer. I'd never heard the song before, but listened as it began, "I'm tired. I'm worn. My heart is heavy from the work it takes to keep on breathing..." and then the refrain, "Let me see redemption win. Let me know the struggle ends; that you can mend a heart that's frail and worn. I wanna know a song can rise from the ashes of a broken life, and all that's dead inside can be reborn..." I pulled off the road in tears because I knew God was with us in what was coming. I knew my dad was ready to go, and that I would probably not see him alive again. He died the morning I was to come home.
Barbara, thank you for sharing your very tender story. I have had those times too when music steps in and the words pour into my heart. Because the song comes at a special time when all my senses are awake, and my heart is listening on a deep level. The song and lyrics are a connection to heaven.
My mother directed our children's choir at church, so I have many songs (and a couple of musicals: Cool in the Furnace and Beauty and the Feast) that I associate with her. Dona Nobis Pacem is a favorite. During worship, when the first verse of a hymn was played as an introduction, my dad would always sing the first verse. I'd whisper, "DADDY! It's not time to sing yet!" and he would grin at me and say, "It's always time to sing!" I sing during the introduction of all the hymns now, in his honor.
Thank you, Bird, for the reminder of how music brings us together. Also, how music is a touchstone of remembrance. I appreciated the link to Spiritual Care for Children in Times of Disaster. We have Godly Play at our Sunday School hour. As the Director of Christian Education, I am wondering now about how to incorporate a closing song to their Sunday morning experience. Thank you for the treasure-trove of resources and reflections.
Have a blessed November.
Susan
I love a closing song! Something simple like Natalie Sleeth's Go Now In Peace (this video that even does it at a round is so sweet - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KC-yZGRHeM) is a great choice for closing your time together. I used it at my September Godly Play storyteller training. Go On Your Way In Joy is a more upbeat option for more of a VBS-type energy.
The song "Torn" by Tenth Avenue North is the song that came on the radio right as I pulled out of my parents' driveway on what would turn out to be the last time I would see my dad alive. He was in the end stage of Brain Cancer. I'd never heard the song before, but listened as it began, "I'm tired. I'm worn. My heart is heavy from the work it takes to keep on breathing..." and then the refrain, "Let me see redemption win. Let me know the struggle ends; that you can mend a heart that's frail and worn. I wanna know a song can rise from the ashes of a broken life, and all that's dead inside can be reborn..." I pulled off the road in tears because I knew God was with us in what was coming. I knew my dad was ready to go, and that I would probably not see him alive again. He died the morning I was to come home.
Barbara, thank you for sharing your very tender story. I have had those times too when music steps in and the words pour into my heart. Because the song comes at a special time when all my senses are awake, and my heart is listening on a deep level. The song and lyrics are a connection to heaven.
Susan