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I'd prepared my lessons for Sunday morning classes but with the tragic
current events of the night before in Jerusalem and the even more recent
news of the shooting at Ofra, I realized that I couldn't follow routine.
I felt "beyond words" and as we'd spent many classroom hours discussing
the situation, I realized that wouldn't do at all. So, I opted for some
"music therapy" and grabbed my guitar as I was leaving the house. After
a brief review of the news with the kids, I wrote "spiritual" on the
board.. discussion followed...and then we started singing. I taught the
songs as we went along...no songsheets. With catchy melodies and simple
lyrics, spirituals are a good choice. We sang, Rock My Soul (in a
rousing round), He's Got the Whole World in His Hands, Michael Row Your
Boat Ashore and then, Kumbaya...for which they made up their own
verses. One student ended the song with her lyrics..."My time has come,
My Lord, kumbaya...) That left me speechless! We also got in a little
history along the way in talking about the songs...Biblical inferences,
etc., not to mention some grammatical points that came up. We all felt
considerably better by the end of class. The "spirit" permeated us all.
These are hard times. And that brings to mind the song of that name by Stephen Foster...for another day. Just felt like sharing this with you...
Laurie Ornstein
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