THE SONG, THE STICKER, THE STORY
As some of you may know, I’ve written a song for High Country UCC’s 20th Anniversary Event. I’ve been to High Country many times. We met online. Several years ago, after having been the music director of the Contemporary Service at the Avon Lake UCC, it occurred to me that my music and UCCs were a perfect fit and that I ought to meet as many as I could and share my music with them.
When I was living in Nashville, I sought places within a 3-4 hour radius where I could perform....Nashville ain’t the place for a singer/songwriter who plays their own music to get paid for live performance. High Country UCC was one place I found...a gift. Many years later, I still go there, visit with friends, take in the mountains and perform.
The congregation is the first to hear the song. Here's the story behind it and the way things connected.
Whenever I write a song for something specific, my first step is to get to know my subject. For High Country’s song. I watched videos featuring different church members explaining why they feel at home at High Country; even a little girl doing the childhood, ditty, "Here’s the church. Here’s the steeple. Open the doors and let out the people", remember it? I watched videos of Tamara’s messages and listened to the church’s music group, and read quotes about the UCC.
I call this my sponge period. You can see all of these things on High Country’s web site as well as on the general UCC site. I let all this information roll around for a period of time. It talks to me. Then comes the time to write and I ask for it to keep talking to me.
And, over time, I / you / we have a song. Yay!!! And here’s a story of the magic around the song and the artwork that complements it....
I was sharing the song’s title with my friend Pastor Tamara. I told her I’d like to share only the title of the song and was that ok? "Yes." (and she liked the title.) Then I told her about an idea that had been rolling around my head for several days about a artwork to accompany the song. A little thing, but actually big to me. Earlier, on a walk with Eve and Erin. I had said "I’ve got this idea for a sticker, I keep seeing people, not stick figures, but geometric shapes and primary colors, in an arch shape....I just keep seeing it."
As I later shared this vision with Tamara, she told me, "I just texted something to you. Take a look."
Here’s the magic....it was a piece of art, created in 2017 for the High Country UCC during a retreat for children. It was a vision of people....all kinds of people, different skin tones, different clothing, different hairdos, arms up, arms open, celebrating along the arch of an infinity symbol...all dressed in primary colors! It was my vision.
That’s serendipity. That’s abundance. That’s a "yes". That’s MOTIVATING!
I called my friend artist, Sue Unkefer, and asked her to design a sticker for me, using this beautiful art (original artist, Diane Lasley).
That's how the ALL THE PEOPLE song came to create ALL THE PEOPLE stickers.
Here are the song lyrics:
All the People - Anne E. DeChant ©2022 for High Country UCC
There’s a quiet keep your head down boy who doesn’t raise his hand
A bright eyed girl who questions things she doesn’t understand
There’s mother of 2 stuck like glue to the perfect plan
You’d never guess they’re suffering from feeling less than
But the way it is likes the way it is so that’s how it goes
It’ll shut you up
Keep you covered
Make you feel alone
C’mon c’mon c’mon
C’mon
All the people yeah All the people
Come up to the mountaintop
Through these doors we’re waiting for you
All the people yeah All the people
God’s will will be done when
The Light shines on
All the people All the people
What if every shy kid felt brave enough to share
And bright eyed girls could ask anything and not be scared
Those perfectly imperfect moms could just let it be
If everyone felt loved enough it might set us free
Now the way it is likes the way it is it’ll keep you in the dark
But in our faith
We create
A way to catch a spark
C’mon c’mon c’mon
C’mon
All the people yeah All the people
Come up to the mountaintop
Through these doors we’re waiting for you
All the people yeah All the people
God’s will will be done when
The Light shines on
All the people All the people
Come to reflect
Come to renew
Come to rejoice
Come to be you
All the people yeah All the people
Come up to the mountaintop
Through these doors we’re waiting for you
All the people yeah All the people
God’s will will be done when
The Light shines on
All the people All the people
All the people…
Here’s the church here’s the steeple open the door and let in all the people