Sing Gently As One
By Pastor Tim Shaw
In the summer of 2020, composer Eric Whitacre wrote a piece of music called Sing Gently. (Thank you, Chaz Umamoto, for telling me about this remarkable song.) As the COVID-19 pandemic was devastating people’s lives last summer, as people were losing their jobs and economies were struggling, and as loved ones were getting sick and some were dying, Whitacre wrote this piece of music. His purpose was to simply acknowledge that these are really difficult times we are living through. And because they are exceptionally challenging, he wanted to encourage us to be good, kind, and gentle with one another.
While discussing this piece of choral music and the 17,000+ member virtual choir he assembled from 129 countries to perform it, Whitacre comments: “I wrote down the lyrics, the poetry, and it began with a very simple idea, this idea of Sing Gently. And I think what I was seeing around me is that suddenly, the whole world seemed threatening and dangerous and disparate. Everyone moved apart from each other. And I thought, in that kind of world, there's great potential for anger and misunderstanding, and real distance more than just physical distance. And so the idea with Sing Gently was to be gentle with each other, be compassionate with each other, show empathy, and to do that together.”
Here is Eric Whitacre’s song. Click here to watch the video.
May we sing together, always,
May our voice be soft,
May our singing be music for others,
And may it keep others aloft.
Sing gently, always.
Sing gently as one
May we stand together always,
May our voice be strong,
May we hear the singing,
And may we always sing along.
Sing gently, always.
Sing gently as one.
As Whitacre and his team considered how they would create the video of the virtual choir, the director of the film ask him if he’d ever heard of the Japanese art form called Kintsugi (or Kintsukuroi). In the podcast about Sing Gently, Whitacre explains that Kintsugi is, "the art of mending pottery or ceramics, and the idea is that if something important to you or special to you has dropped and broken — it’s in all of these shards and then you glue it back together. But you don't just glue it, you fill the epoxy with gold dust and what you do then is you highlight the scars. And in doing so, you don't try to erase its history, you make it part of its history.” To see an example of a bowl repaired using this art form, click here.
In the past, I have NOT wanted to highlight the history of a broken cup or bowl. My approach to repair has been to try and fix it so there is little or no evidence that it had ever been dropped and shattered. If I was unsuccessful in hiding its history of ever being broken, my tendency has been to toss it in the trash since there is no use for a broken bowl. It had not occurred to me, until now, that by acknowledging the fractured history, even highlighting it in gold, could actually make the vessel stronger and more beautiful than it ever was. I’ve change my mind about all that.
The video Whitacre and his team created uses a similar technique to bring singers from around the world together. Starting out distant and floating, separate from one another, each singer is brought into contact with others until all 17,000+ singers are connected and healed. In many very important ways our country and our lives are broken. But here’s the good news. I am convinced that God wants to do his work of repair in each one of us, in our families, in our nation and world. I believe God is inviting you and me to be a part of His restoring, mending work in the world.
Jesus has been and is so patient and gentle with us. His compassion is inexhaustible. He is filled with mercy for each one of us. In response to His great kindness, let’s join Jesus in His healing and restoring mission in the world. Let’s be gentle and compassionate with one another during these difficult and trying days. And may the shining repairs Jesus is doing in us and will do through us bring Him glory.
Prayer: Lord, help us to learn how to sing gently once again. Come, Holy Spirit, and fill us with Your peace that we might be makers of shalom. Come, Holy Spirit, and calm our fears, making room for courage. Come, Holy Spirit, and set us free from our anger that can so easily fill our lives. Makes us disciples of Jesus who are fit, ready, and willing to be a part of Your reconciling mission in our world. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen
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