These words from the 4th verse of "I Am a Child of God" (by Naomi Ward Randall, 1908–2001) have deeper meaning for us now. Our extended Bailey Family gathered to sing this wonderful hymn for their father and grandfather L. Ellis Bailey's funeral on March 16th, 2019. We know that he is released from this world of care and a withering body, and is now shed of mortal constraints. He endured faithfully to the end of his mortal existence and now, it is for us to endure to the ends of ours.
When our seven children were all living at home, we were often asked to sing in Church. The children all learned to sing in parts, but these parts changed from year to year as the boys voices dropped. Fortunately, our girls could sing any of the treble parts plus tenor. And Michael, the oldest, could sing bass and keep Dad on his part. The younger boys sang soprano and alto until much later. Now Michael sings Tenor, Matthew Bass, and Mitchell Baritone. The girls are all "mugwumps" -- they sing any part that is needed. We were lucky to have enough voices to be able to sing in 4-6 part harmony a cappella. Now with 38 members of our extended family, there are enough of us to be a full choir of singers.
For many years, I reserved this as a special arrangement for JUST our family to sing. But as the years went on, my singers moved on to their own homes in new locations. We could sing unaccompanied, but when I handed this piece out to my ward choir to learn, they could not. So, I was compelled to create a piano accompaniment. For the funeral, my oldest daughter Kathryn is accompanying us because the spouses and grandchildren had to perform this with very little rehearsal. (Kathryn and I have been a team for many years. We have often used our "superpowers" as director and pianist having a "mind meld." It seems we have to rely on feeling the music together because we can rarely see each other during the performance.)
I finally released this arrangement for use by other singers in two versions -- with or without piano accompaniment. Enjoy!
When our seven children were all living at home, we were often asked to sing in Church. The children all learned to sing in parts, but these parts changed from year to year as the boys voices dropped. Fortunately, our girls could sing any of the treble parts plus tenor. And Michael, the oldest, could sing bass and keep Dad on his part. The younger boys sang soprano and alto until much later. Now Michael sings Tenor, Matthew Bass, and Mitchell Baritone. The girls are all "mugwumps" -- they sing any part that is needed. We were lucky to have enough voices to be able to sing in 4-6 part harmony a cappella. Now with 38 members of our extended family, there are enough of us to be a full choir of singers.
For many years, I reserved this as a special arrangement for JUST our family to sing. But as the years went on, my singers moved on to their own homes in new locations. We could sing unaccompanied, but when I handed this piece out to my ward choir to learn, they could not. So, I was compelled to create a piano accompaniment. For the funeral, my oldest daughter Kathryn is accompanying us because the spouses and grandchildren had to perform this with very little rehearsal. (Kathryn and I have been a team for many years. We have often used our "superpowers" as director and pianist having a "mind meld." It seems we have to rely on feeling the music together because we can rarely see each other during the performance.)
I finally released this arrangement for use by other singers in two versions -- with or without piano accompaniment. Enjoy!
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