Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

Reflection: Spirit of Life

Sunday, October 7, 2007
Palo Alto, CA

When I hear the hymn Spirit of Life, I am taken back to my earliest impressions of this church and what was happening here and in my life in early 2002. Like so many of us, I did not arrive already identified with the UU tradition, but was casting about, unconsciously seeking a community that was both wise and humble, experienced and exploring, a place that was welcoming and easy to get to know. I wanted the antidote to a daily grinding life between the high tech bubble’s gross consumerism and the impending bust’s bottomless pit. Like so many of you, I sought inspiration and energy to bring my best to life’s table.

I came to this church, and Spirit of Life, with skepticism and curiosity, via the choir. I hadn’t planned to join a church, non-religious as my upbringing was, but I wanted to return to singing, an activity I had abandoned many years earlier, and I wanted to be around good people, creating good work, and thinking about how to do more. Richard Heydt, a tenor you may know, whom I knew through a theater-and-potluck club, reassured me that the UUCPA choir would be as easy on my voice as on my religious questioning. I told myself that it was just a singing gig that happened to occur in a church and on Sunday mornings. It also helped that two of the wisest and coolest people I had known in my life were a UU minister and his wife.

As I sat up here for those Sunday morning gigs in early 2002, I was struck by how wonderful and energizing the services were. This was just post–9/11, and the reflections and sermons met the doubt in me with honesty and hope. They were personal, thought-provoking, justice-seeking, questioning, reassuring, and community-building. The choir wasn’t bad either. (Thank you, Richard, for the introduction.) Spirit of Life made regular appearances in the services that year, and I loved it. It is tuneful, and easy to sing and learn by heart. It begins quietly, as if said privately, and the melody and energy rise and surge to encourage one to a life of justice. Then, the line comes down again, as the hymn returns to a personal wish. The words were and are perfect for a questioning soul, forming a hope, a prayer for compassion and justice, and stating our very human yearnings for equity and equality.

I couldn’t have imagined sitting in church and praying back then, but I always look forward to singing this hymn and drawing from it the strength of this community.

Other Hymn Reflections:

Meanings in Our Music
We Laugh, We Cry
The Fire of Commitment
Raghupati
I’m On My Way
We’ll Build a Land