The Morning Song, Rickie Byars-Beckwith

One of the most poignant moments during the recent Great Lakes Unity Music Conference was when Rickie Byars-Beckwith asked if anyone had recently experienced the transition of a loved one. Two women stepped forward, both from our local Unity congregation. Both had experienced painful losses. Rickie had us form a circle around the two. She stepped into the center with them, and rested a hand on each of their shoulders. We huddled around raising our hands toward them and began to sing Rickie’s gorgeous Morning Song.

It is call and response, we’d only practiced it a couple of times, not knowing what was to come of it during this workshop.

So imagine you have experienced a great loss, and sixty people form a loving cocoon around you, and Rickie Byars-Beckwith’s soulful voice leads them in singing,

The spirit of God is all that I am now.

Don’t worry about me, now I am alright.

That body I had, let it fade into the light.

I am more than flesh, I am more than time.

We are more than flesh, we are more than time.

No I could not do, what I could not see.

Lift up my name, for what I tried to be.

Don’t worry about me, now I am alright.

That worry you have, let it fade into the light.

The spirit of God is all that I am now.

The spirit of God is all that we are now.

If I could not do what I could not see,

lift up my name for what I tried to be.

And don’t you worry ’bout me, now I am alright.

That body I had let it fade into the light

The spirit of God is all that I am now 

and so on…  

Tears streamed down the faces of the two women in the center, one repeated over and over, “Thank You, Thank You, Thank You,” as we sang, her hands raised high, her body visibly releasing so much grief.  She’d had significant losses, including that of her son in the last year.  

The other woman’s face beamed as if the love was just being poured in through the top of her head. She stood there, eyes closed, tears coming down, positively lit up.

I came across the video below in my Internet travels this morning. Rickie Byars- Beckwith and Tim McAffee Lewis will be at The Omega Institute in July.  If you feeled called to go, do. It is a life changing experience.

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Rickie Byars Beckwith “Morning Chant” from Omega Institute on Vimeo.