Our own, very talented, John Akers, gave us a unique music service that included songs which changed him in some way. Given here are the songs and the sermon.

First, the songs he performed, in whole or in part, at different parts of the service were:

Pre-service: “Take Five” by the Dave Brubeck Quartet from their album Time Out

Music for Reflection: “Shower the People” by James Taylor from his album In the Pocket

Message For All Ages: “Three Is The Magic Number” by Bob Dorough from the TV show Schoolhouse Rock

Musical Interlude:

• “Freedom/Motherless Child” by Ritchie Havens from the album Woodstock
• “I Had A Dream” by John Sebastian from the album Woodstock

Offertory Selection: “The Universal Hum”  by John Akers from his album King Cake & Carmelites and performed by the First Universalist Church of Rochester choir

Sermon:

• “Eyes On the Prize” – many singers have done this unattributed song, Mavis Staple is one
• “A Change Is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke from his album Legend
• “All Apologies” by Kurt Cobain from the Nirvana album In Utero
• “Biko” by Peter Gabriel from his album Peter Gabriel released in 1980, aka the Melt album
• “Homeward Bound” by Simon & Garfunkel from their album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme
• “God’s Song (That’s Why I Love Mankind)” by Randy Newman from his album Sail Away
• “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz from his album We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.

Music of Inspiration:

• “Lord Let Me Try Again” found on Rev. Milton Brunson’s Thompson Community Singers Super Hits album
• “The Healer” by John Akers from his album Born On A Monday

Second, the sermon was:

Music has always been my religion. Until I met my wife, it was the central thing that gave my life meaning. It defined who I was even though, to this day, it sounds weird to me to say that I am a musician or worse, an artist. But it is truly the one place, because I think of music as a physical place, where I feel the most complete, the most competent, the most at peace.

Music in many ways was my religious precursor to Unitarian Universalism. By its very nature it espouses similar tenets: it describes the world as it is and as we want it to be; it can be an intellectual experience to be analyzed and studied or one of pure joy and mystery that should simply be wondered at. It is both spiritual and secular, sacred and profane. But ultimately, it is up to each individual to make their own meaning of it. Music has no dogma.

Music can affect human beings in a way words or pictures cannot. It can inspire us with or without words.

There is physics involved; it can literally move you and penetrate you – the bass of Family Man Barrett for example. It can physically and emotionally overwhelm you. As Prof. Melba Beals of the Little Rock Nine said, when she was asked why civil rights activists of the 1950s & 60s sang, “When I sing, you stand in my power.”

(Here John performed “Eyes on the Prize” with these lyrics …
Paul and Silas, bound in jail
Had no money for to go their bail
Keep your eyes on the prize, Hold on
Paul and Silas thought they was lost
Dungeon shook and the chains come off
Keep your eyes on the prize, Hold on)
… followed by Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come”)

All of us at one time or another has had the experience of being brought to tears by music, often taking us by surprise (John suggests Tim McGraw’s “Live Like you’re Dying” here). It has the ability to reach us in a way that nothing else can. I heard a story on NPR this week about the Albion Women’s Correctional Facility Choir. One of the inmates talked about how singing in the choir transformed her. Asked to describe the emotions she felt when they sang, she couldn’t find the words and sighed, almost coming to tears. She didn’t need to say anything. All of us have felt that power at one time or another.

Music is a teacher. It can open our hearts and minds to new ideas, even inspire us to change. Simple pop songs can do this. When I was in high school and college in the early 80s, the galvanizing issues for young people were the lingering threat of nuclear war, apartheid and the early AIDS crisis. There was a song by Peter Gabriel that spoke to me at an emotional level, even though I didn’t know what he was talking about. So I looked it up (in a book from the library … no internet yet). After I understood it, it became that much more powerful to me. It was an early anthem ahead of its time. (Here John performed Gabriel’s “Biko” and suggests “Find the Cost of Freedom” by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.)

Music is part of the great loyal opposition of human progress, sometimes overtly and oftentimes subversively. It challenges conventional wisdom and has been known to help topple establishments of all kinds. For me, the most visceral and powerful voice of subversion was the punks. Although he was really the second or third wave of punk, Kurt Cobain captured that spirit of self loathing in a cultural critique (here John performed Cobain’s “All Apologies.”)

So much great music, from the 1930s like Woody Guthrie and Bill Broonzy to Pete Seeger in the 50s to the endless list of musical prophets in the 1960s, revolutionized the popular culture and changed the cultural conversation. (Here John performed Simon & Garfunkel’s “Homeward Bound.”)

But the greatest teacher of this principle for me has always been Randy Newman. His music recalls an older melancholy time and place, but his lyrics, in a two minute pop song, can cut like a knife with acerbic humor and painfully honest commentary. (Here John performed Newman’s “God’s Song.”)

Music is also about pure joy. It has given me many moments of euphoria, moments when I really feel I can transcend the physical world. Musicians, like athletes, talk about flow and being in the zone. When you are able to combine the intellectual and physical skills of music (both of which I have very few) with human emotions, the result is a powerful joy. (Here John performed Mraz’s “I’m Yours” and suggests Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”)

©This sermon was written by John Akers for the congregation of the First Universalist Church of Rochester, New York and was delivered on September 28, 2008. No part of this sermon may be copied without permission of the author.