Plymouth Magazine-Fall24-DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 18
The Story Behind Our Benediction
By Diane Graham (she/her)
As Plymouth Sunday services wind
down with spirits refreshed, the
congregation joins as one to sing its
traditional closing benediction.
From the opening line “May the Lord
be always with you,” churchgoers begin
swaying to the music, perhaps linking
arms with a loved one. Deacons at the
sanctuary’s rear doors hold hands, too.
It’s a treasured weekly blessing-in-song
for Plymouth’s church family.
“It’s as perfect a thing as it could be for
what it does. It just checks off so much of
the criteria I have for good church music,”
said Christopher Goodson, Plymouth’s
Director of Music and Arts. And after a
23-year tradition of singing it, “I have no
plans to ever change it,” he said.
Ben Allaway, who wrote the benediction’s
music and lyrics, is an accomplished
musician with an extensive resume as a
choral composer and conductor. This
particular piece, though, was written
not for Plymouth but for Covenant
Presbyterian Church of Trenton, N.J. Its
official title “Covenant Blessing” honors
that church.
Just how this beloved tune became firmly
rooted at Plymouth is a tale of lovely
serendipity. Allaway has a number of
commissioned choral works to his name,
but this song was not one. “This was a
very personal project,” he said.
Allaway, a California native, met and
married his wife in Des Moines. And
though he moved around for various
music-related projects and positions, he
lived most of the last 35 years in Iowa.
Two daughters even sang for a while in
Plymouth’s Matins Choir
But back in the mid-1980s, he served
as Covenant’s music director while
completing his master’s degree at
nearby Westminster Choral College
in Princeton, N.J. Allaway and the
Covenant church family forged a strong
bond in the few years they shared.
Composing “Covenant Blessing” was one
way to say thank you, and it became a
favorite. A choir member even captured
the lyrics in a counted cross-stitch
Allaway still has.
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Benediction
song needlepoint
A distinctive quality of “Covenant” is its
waltzing 3/4 rhythm. At the time, many
churches were using a legally fraught
benediction text sung to the famous tune
“Edelweiss” from “Sound of Music.” But
composer Richard Rodgers had raised
copyright infringement objections, and
he and then his estate threatened legal
action for use of the music without
its original lyrics. Churches were
strongly advised to drop the song’s use.
Allaway saw an opportunity to offer a
replacement that honored the lilting flow
of the illicit “Edelweiss” tune.
His Covenant Presbyterian successor
was Westminster Choral Professor
Janet Davis. Plymouth members of
long-standing no doubt recognize her
name. That’s because in 1994, Davis
came to Plymouth as music director.
Reconnection with his colleague,
Allaway even remembers taking her to
the Iowa State Fair that first summer.
About five years into her Plymouth
tenure, Davis contacted Allaway about
the “Covenant” song. She had two
requests: Could she begin including
it in Plymouth’s services and would he
mind if she tweaked his lyrics, amending
the “he” and “his” references to be a bit
more inclusive? Allaway was thrilled,
saying that for $50 the church could have
lifetime music rights. And he so liked her
lyric changes that he basically adopted
them as well.
