Nearly 21 years ago, a twenty-one year old University of Wyoming student was brutally murdered because of his sexual orientation. He had been meeting with other LGBT friends and allies to plan an LGBT awareness event at the university, and stopped at a bar for a beer on the way home. Two men he met in the bar, beat him and left him tied to a fence in a secluded area, where he was found the following evening, and died in hospital five days later. His funeral was targeted and protested by members of Westboro Baptist Church.
Matthew Shepard was a Christian, son, brother, and friend. His senseless death caught the attention of many. He wanted to make the world a better place.
His life moved his parents to create the Matthew Shepard Foundation. The Foundation's mission is to erase hate in the world. You can find more information about the foundation here:
https://www.matthewshepard.org/
Sadly, many in the LGBTQ community still need to be mindful of their safety, and always be vigilant, especially around strangers.
This week's anthem is a tribute to Matthew Shepard, and Josh has provided some background material for us.
From Josh:
The choral anthems this month are written by LGBTQ2I+ composers
to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the decriminalization of
homosexuality in June 1969. On September 8, we heard "Creation of
Peace," by Mark Miller, a Methodist composer from the United States
working towards acceptance of all sexual orientations and gender
expressions in the United Methodist Church. This past week, Mari
Esabel Valverde, a trans woman from Texas, shared her song, "United in
Peace: An Anthem for Our Time," giving voice to the possibility of
shared values in our world today. This week, the Adult Choir will be
joined by soloist Grayson Nesbitt for an offering of "The Innocence" by
Craig Hella Johnson. This piece is part of a larger work, Considering Matthew Shepard,
which Johnson wrote in 2016 as a tribute to Matthew Shepard. The entire
work was performed this past October when Shepard's ashes were interred
in the crypt of the Washington National Cathedral.
Johnson
writes this about "The Innocence": "At its core, it is a song about
remembering our original state of being, our original happiness. In a
challenging world, we live lives of forgetting who we are, with many
layers of stress and anxiety. The Innocence, in its intentional simplicity, calls us to remembrance... May your singing of The Innocence be a warm, communal experience of coming together and listening for the quiet, ancient voice within."
When I think of all the times the world was ours for dreaming,
When I think of all the times the earth seemed like our home—
Every heart alive with its own longing, every future we could ever hope to hold.
All the times our laughter rang in summer, all the times the rivers sang our tune—
Was there already sadness in the sunlight? Some stormy story waiting to be told?
Where O where has the innocence gone?
Where O where has it gone?
Vows we once swore, now it’s just this letting go, Where O where has it gone?
Rains rolling down wash away my memory; Where O where has it gone?
When I think of all the joys, the wonders we remember
All the treasures we believed we’d never ever lose.
Too many days gone by without their meaning, too many darkened hours without their peace.
Where O where has the innocence gone? Where O where has it gone?
Vows we once swore, now it’s just this letting go, Where O where has it gone?
Thank you Matthew Shepard for your witness in a broken world.
