Plymouth Magazine-Fall24-DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 19
Initially, the song was one of a handful of
Plymouth benedictions rotating monthly.
But this particular piece really connected
with worshippers. “Every time we did it,
people would remark on how much they
loved it,” said Davis, who now lives in
Pennsylvania. And so it became a fixture
on Sundays beginning in late 2001 and
has remained so even as directors of
music have changed.
Davis sees the tune as the perfect
marriage of text and music. She loves the
feeling that “you don’t just go forth on
your own to bring God’s love into the
world. You go with God, in the form of
Christ, to bring his love into the world.”
While composing it, Allaway envisioned
coming into church with a list of what’s
on your mind, but by the end, while
singing those lyrics, “You get to focus on
getting out of yourself a little bit… It’s all
about sharing love.”
Goodson, who hadn’t known about the
“Edelweiss” inspiration, always thought
the song had echoes of another beloved
melody, “Let There Be Peace on Earth.”
And he particularly likes that it isn’t
performed by a choir. “It’s nice that
everyone sings it together. To me, that’s
much better,” he said.
He also thoroughly appreciates the song’s
strong bond with the congregation.
“When you’re dealing with music, you
start with pitch and music and lyrics…
and judge it on those qualities,” he
explained, noting that this benediction is
easily singable, a clear advantage. “Once
you introduce it, though, people begin
to map life experiences with it.” Just as
when singing a beloved hymn, members
who sing the benediction might be
transported back to special moment in
their worship life.
Christine Woods, now the Senior Deacon,
appreciated Goodson’s concept of linking
life experience to a cherished song. She
recalled how her husband Tony quoted the
benediction’s lyrics in a treasured note
penned for her step-daughter nearly 20
years ago, for the daughter’s Plymouth
confirmation. And when Woods’ sister
Carla Offenburger passed away in 2021,
Offenburger had specified the song be a
part of her funeral service.
Now with her fellow deacons, Woods
looks forward to the end of each Sunday
service when the music intro begins and
deacons at the back of the sanctuary join
hands in a row. Just like the song’s arrival
at Plymouth, this deacon tradition was
somewhat serendipitous.
“I wish I could tell you what Sunday it
was or what sermon it was,” said Woods.
Though she cannot, it now feels as if
they’ve always done it. The pastor who
comes to the sanctuary’s rear doors
typically joins in. And as they sing the
closing line, “May the love of Jesus go
before you there,” the deacons all share a
brief hand squeeze “like a little hug,” said
Woods. “A warm feeling, that’s what this
song gives you.”
Ben Allway
About the Composer
Ben Allaway has composed more than
70 commissioned works and seen
his music featured on programs that
included Maya Angelou, His Holiness
the Dalai Lama, Hal Holbrook, and
Simon Estes, to name a few. The choirs
of St. Olaf, Wartburg, Concordia,
Harvard and the Albert McNeil Jubilee
Singers are just a few of the top choirs
touring his works. He collaborates
frequently with his spouse, Julianne
Allaway, writing lyrics on themes of
community, spirituality, inclusivity and
service. Most recently Allaway served
as composer-in-residence and music
director for First United Methodist
Church in downtown Des Moines.
But he has stepped away to devote his
energies toward completing a biography
on the life of Martin Luther King, Sr.,
titled “SENIOR: The First MLK.”
Diane Graham is a Plymouth
Church member and freelance writer
who reported and edited for the
Des Moines Register and Tribune
for 31 years. You can reach her at
dianeegraham@gmail.com.
Hand-written copy of the Benediction song by Ben Allaway in 1986.
Plymouth Magazine 19
