Threshold Choir: Singing With Our Hearts

This weekend I drove North to a workshop given by Kate Munger who started and leads Threshold Choirs in the Bay Area and elsewhere. The choir honors the ancient traditon of singing at the bedsides of people who are struggling, some with living, some with dying. Kate says the voice is a true and gracious vehicle for compassion and comfort.

I expected to learn songs, but I didn't expect the depth of healing that happened as nearly 30 women sat in circle and shared the resonance of lullabies, chants, rounds and hymns. We met in a rural, wooden Episcopal Church and memories returned as I paged through a hymnbook. I grew up in a small Episcopal Church in Iowa and I recognized many of the symbols and statues. I shared a room with Jean, who I met in the kitchen, chopping vegetables for one of our healthy, nourishing meals, all prepared by Kate, with help from the community. Our room held two beds that were built into the wall and just perfect for women under 5 foot 3. It reminded us of a boat.

Between singing, we knitted, shared stories, discovered synchronicities, laughed, drank tea and took walks in the misty woods surrounding the church. A flock of pelicans flew by and a red-tailed hawk perched high in a dead tree outside our windows. Instead of alarm clocks, we were awakened by choir members singing to us.

The weekend helped heal a part of me that thought I had lost my voice. When I was in high school, I was part of a duo, Mike & Val. My friend was a self-taught guitar player during the 60's and he taught me folk songs, which we sang at parties and sock hops. It was a long time ago. My voice was there this weekend and it blended with everyone else's voice. The voices expressed sadness and joy and pure pleasure.

There are choirs currently meeting (twice a month for rehearsals) in Marin, Sonoma, Oakland, Contra Costa, San Francisco, Santa Cruz and more. (thresholdchoir.org) Check it out if you want to find your voice and so much more.