A Glorious Day

It was a glorious day, a sacred day.

After a week of cloudy skies and hard rain, the weather had changed. The morning sun laved the white, blossoming clouds with a golden hue. The sky verged on October blue.

A refreshing cool breeze hinted at the cooler days to come.

We drove across the Tennessee valley at midday, crossed the river and climbed up the mountain. Our trek took us through small villages and uninhabited land, scrub country really. Suddenly we turned through two columns and we entered a different world. We had reached the Bluff. Driving slowly, we absorbed the landscape, the fairy houses, the lake, and finally, up ahead, the meeting house.

We could see that some of our companions were already there. Handsome men in their elegant tuxedoes stood talking to lovely women in long black dresses, the refreshing breeze gently moving their full skirts.

We gathered in the meeting house, absorbing the beauty, the architecture, the resonance of the interior. Piano music began to soar through the hall, rising up to the rafters, foretelling how we would sound. For we were singers. We had made the journey to gather together to sing. Something sacred is in that.

As we mingled and absorbed the loveliness of our surroundings, joy and anticipation filled our conversations. No hurry, no anxiety, but a relaxed confidence permeated the group. It would be a sacred singing.

Finally, we began to collect ourselves and bring order to our delightful chaos. We mounted the risers, and began making those decidedly unlovely sounds that warm up a voice. We would be past that quickly and move to the magnificent music we had so carefully prepared to sing.

The Bluff hosts arrived, welcoming us, catering to our needs.

The people arrived, our listeners.

It was time. We lined up on the steps, and suddenly became, instead of thirty five individual people, a unit of one, each part fulfilling its role.

The glorious morning had moved to a brilliant afternoon filled with wondrous music.

The unity of the group held, the choral sounds soaring up to the high roof and swirling there. We sang with our bodies, our minds and our hearts.

We sang. It was a sacred moment.

As we started down the mountain, we experienced coming down an emotional mountain as well. The pink and pearly sunset guided us as we again crossed the valley to home.