Happy New Year! Welcome 2026!
This is a true story from the days of people enslaved, thinking of escaping. Imagine that you were born on a plantation and had never left it. You had heard of others like you who had escaped North. You do not know what or where “North” is. Then you heard a song that told you how to find and follow North. The song is “Follow the Drinking Gourd,” which describes the north star in the constellation, the little dipper. If the night is cloudy and you can’t see the star, notice the lichen that grow on the north side of dead trees. Walk in the river to hide your scent. When you get to a fork in the river, there will be folks there to help you. And so, you escape with the map in your head written there from the song. The First Parish Choir will be singing this song on January 18th.
Music is a uniting force for courage and resistance to ensure the just treatment and dignity for all. But music will only save the world if the right people hear it when they need it. We must keep our music alive for our spirits and those in need around us.
Music at First Parish in January includes:
Jan. 18th First Parish choir sings “Follow the Drinking Gourd”
Jan. 27th Vespers at 7 pm
Charlyn Bethell
Charlyn’s professional training has followed two paths: as a professional oboist and as a music teacher and conductor. As Music Director at First Parish, she joins these two paths of her musical life, conducting the choir, coordinating guest musicians, and performing on oboe.