For some time, I had been thinking I needed a good gathering song for all the church services I played for, mostly at Unitarian Universalist (we call it UU) churches. The phrase “gather the spirit” was something that had lurked in my head, and it was something I talked about, that this word “spirit” was not something “woo-woo,” but quite down to Earth. It’s how you’re feeling, it’s what’s happening – teen spirit, school spirit, etc. etc. So, “spirit” could either be connected to a deity, or not.
I played the song the first time at an interfaith gathering, and the second time at a church of another denomination. My handwritten music was printed as a handout. I started the song, and my new arrangement for the keyboard player just filled things out, everybody was standing, looking down at their papers and chiming in. It suddenly hit me, “Oh my God! I’m a church musician!”
I had played at churches for years, a special guest, something unusual. I’d never thought of myself in this way. But this was a hymn, and I could clearly see it just becoming part of church furniture. And in the UU world it did, it had a pretty good run as kind of a hit song for the decade of 90’s.
That changed my life, it steered me into being more a part of the whole UU movement. I’ve written a lot of songs now intentionally for church use, and for that matter, been very involved in things beyond music. As co-chair of the UU environmental group the “Seventh Principle Project” I helped create the “Green Sanctuary” program, and that gave me even more of a persona. But that’s another story.
In the early 90’s, I had submitted several songs to the new hymnbook committee (not sure of the date). I knew many of the people on it. But each of my songs were rejected for one reason or another. "That one is too syncopated,” “This one modulates” (through several keys) “the double sharp will scare everybody.” I even got a commission, along with several UU songwriters, to write a new song for the book, and I wrote the song “Harmony.” They didn’t take it. “Churches won't have the leadership to do it without you." That’s what I was told.
Times change. I think now we have a lot more leaders that can do it than we did 25 years ago. I don’t think of my songs as really that complicated. Many great pop tunes, particularly jazz and Broadway songs have similar features. Yet everybody gets to know a song and it becomes no big deal. But I was frustrated at the rejections. At some point I got a message that they were wrapping up the submission process and the deadline was soon.
I was going to play for an interfaith Thanksgiving eve service in Eugene OR and I thought I'd write a new song. I also thought, I need to write a song that will go in the hymnbook. So I'm just going to make it quarter notes - “Da-da-da-da” - and put the boogying in the accompaniment. I thought “Gather the spirit, harvest the power…” would be a good Thanksgiving message, couldn't we use another of those? I'm glad no one seems to see it that way, so we can sing it all year long.
On that “gathering song” idea, I wrote two that week, wanting to put a little gospel feeling to them. Gather the Spirit – opening song, and Circle of Spirit - a closing song. They both have quarter notes for the melodies, and the hymnbook committee took them both. The songs are titled by their first lines in the hymnbook, so Circle of Spirit became Tradition Held Fast.
When Gather the Spirit was first introduced at the UU General Assembly, I was outside the hockey rink stadium of the plenary sessions with no idea what was going to happen (they didn’t bother to tell me). I heard a melody, “That’s my song!” I ran in and heard my friend Lois Allen, music director of OK City UU, telling everyone, "Now this is a bit different - 'Gather in -- peace' (drop of a 7th in the melody) - so this is challenging, but I think you'll be able to get it.'" And then she was warning everyone, “And watch out for this, ‘Gather to celebrate’ (first beat rest) ‘once again.’" (Well, I guess I can't resist throwing in a little something in every song).
But music is magical this way, you hear it once and you know it the next time. Gather the Spirit then got sung at 9 of the next 10 General Assemblies. The planning committee folks told me, "Don't sing Gather the Spirit, that's been done every year." And then outgoing President John Buehrens specifically requested it for his retirement celebration, saying it was his favorite hymn.
I hear it all kinds of ways when I visit churches or camps, or GA. I love to hear it interpreted differently. A choral version of the song published by Hal Leonard has had a life with high school choruses. The choral arrangement doesn't get used that much by UU choirs. It is in the book after all, and music directors have said why bother doing that complicated harmony version when the congregation is just going to sing along with the whole thing.
The phrase "Gather in hope, compassion and strength" became the slogan for the UUA fundraising Capital Campaign a few years ago. (They asked me). The UUA raised 33 million dollars and I got a t-shirt.
