(Apologies for the change of venue! I haven’t had access to the back end of the UUFC website since shortly after submitting my resignation, so I’m sharing my final blog post here instead.)
This Sunday’s theme, “What Wondrous Love Is This?,” shares its name with an old American Christian folk hymn dating to the early nineteenth century. The hymn is a profound expression of awe at the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. But when removed from its original Christian context, the wonder remains when we consider the power of human connection, the ways we choose to show up for each other in times of hardship, and the genuine care and affection we hold for one another – and that we need to remember to show ourselves. Music is such an incredible vehicle for communicating this wondrous love, and this morning’s three piano selections approached it from several different angles: steadfastness, hope, memory, gratitude, self-respect, and dignity.
The world got a little darker last week with the loss of Dolly Parton. It’s still hard to believe that her clear, unmistakable voice, her humor, and her warmth are gone now. In addition to being a beloved musician, she was a philanthropist, an advocate, and a friend to all. Dolly considered herself a “Bapticostal,” but many of the virtues that she demonstrated throughout her life – generosity, compassion, respect for human dignity, and a strong sense of justice – are also values at the heart of Unitarian Universalism.
Dolly’s Light of a Clear Blue Morning depicts moving forward after a difficult time in one’s life. There is uncertainty and deep emotion – but there is also hope. I love that this hope is optimistic, but not naive. The clear blue morning only came after darkness…but this song supports the idea that even for someone who has just barely survived a harrowing storm, the future is still unwritten and full of new possibilities. I love Dolly’s performance of this song, but this morning’s prelude was based on the Craig Hella Johnson arrangement – a soulful, gentle choral interpretation of the original – so I share the Johnson arrangement with you, hoping that you too will fall in love with this rendition.
John Lennon’s original lyrics for In My Life were based upon locations he remembered seeing while riding the bus in Liverpool…aren’t we lucky that he changed his mind and decided to make this song a reflection on the people and places we carry with us as our lives change! This was one of my favorite Beatles songs as a child. I wasn’t old enough to understand the depth of the text, but I loved the memorable melody, the way that the harmonic progression flowed between major and minor chords, and the fact that there was something about this song that made it different from the other bouncy, carefree Beatles tunes.
It’s taken some living to really understand what Lennon was talking about. I was in my twenties when I began playing piano at the Fellowship, and I can’t begin to state how much life has happened here since then. I have played for hundreds of Sunday services, as well as weddings, memorials, concerts, celebrations, and even brought my OSU students here to perform Ned Rorem’s opera Our Town in 2017. David and I have watched children grow up here – including our own baby – and many of the people we first knew as members of the congregation are now very dear friends.
While we were not members, the Fellowship still became a big part of our lives. Coming to the building multiple times a week was a given; the people, the music, and comments about my heels were reassuring constants. For a very long time, neither David nor I imagined that this chapter of our lives would end when it has. That’s part of why In My Life resonates so much more deeply with me today. It’s one thing to leave when you are ready to move on; it is another to leave a place you still love.
I feel great sadness about having to leave, while also feeling so grateful that we have spent time together, in many holy moments. Thank you for welcoming our little family, loving our Natalie, trusting us with your music, and letting us into your lives.
Over the years, Billy Joel has sometimes created new introductions for My Life, adapting the opening to include a song that holds special meaning to that evening’s audience. At his 2008 Shea Stadium concerts, he began the song with Yankee Doodle, and about eleven years ago at a concert in North Carolina, he used Dixie. There have been occasions when, much to the audience’s delight, he’s preceded My Life with Beethoven’s iconic Ode to Joy.
Following this tradition, my postlude begins with a brief reference to one of the UUFC’s favorite songs, Peter Mayer’s Blue Boat Home. This hymn is an arrangement of the classic hymn tune HYFRYDOL, and every time one of my church musician friends hears this for the first time, they start thinking about how they can adapt Blue Boat Home‘s Christian counterparts (Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus and Love Divine, All Loves Excelling) at their own churches to capture the buoyancy (no pun intended) and joy that we feel every time we sing this song.
After this familiar introduction, the left-hand accompaniment remained the same but shifted from 3/4 into a solid 4/4, and goes straight into My Life. The rhythmic energy, catchy hooks, and Billy Joel’s unmistakable style all add up to an exuberance that hopefully put a smile on a few faces. This song seemed so right for the conclusion of this chapter: bright, confident, and joyful, but also grounded in a message of independence, self-respect, and the freedom to determine one’s own path. My Life carries this message with more verve than I could put into words. And after fourteen years, this seemed like a pretty good note to go out on.
~ Lauren Servias