Our song theme for the month of May, Open the Window, was written in 1997 by Elise Witt. She based it on a spiritual from the Georgia Sea Islands called Heist the Window, Noah.
“Though Elise’s version uses only one phrase from the original Spiritual, it keeps the intention of naming situations in our lives, personal and global, that need opening for the dove to fly in, for us to find peace.”
If ever we lived in a time when there are situations in our lives, personal and global, that need opening for the dove to fly in, it would be now. Let’s consider even our own Unitarian Universalist Association’s struggle to name and overcome the system of white supremacy that still runs our religious community. We need the Dove to fly in. We need transformation, personal and global. We have so much to explore in ourselves, personally and as a community.
Here is Elise Witt singing the song a capella, as she does most often in concert. I think listening to this often these days would help us get ready to open the window and let the dove fly in.
Bob Patrick
I love this arrangement!