February 13, 2026
On Tuesday evening, I joined a choir of 1,600 people at Central Lutheran Church, as part of the growing "Singing Resistance" movement. It was gorgeous. It was real. It was hopeful. This video captures a bit of what the room felt like that night.
The fact that there were 1,600 people who showed up in a downtown sanctuary on a weeknight says something of the power of a space like this. Singing is an instrument that comes from the human body, so everyone has it, and no one can take it away. That's why songs and singing have been the thing that has moved and empowered oppressed peoples throughout human history. One of the songs that we sang was based on a poem written in 1939 by German poet and playwright Bertolt Brecht, written while in exile in Nazi Germany. The words were: "Will there still be singing in the dark times? Yes, there will be singing, about the dark times." It put into words the very thing we were doing that night - embodying the truth that art, song, and truth endure in the darkest of times. And even more than that - that we have the power to create a different kind of world within a world bent on violence, injustice, and hate.
Looking around the room that night, I found myself wondering how often people in that room have the opportunity to sing with others. I got the sense that, for many of them, it had been a long time. I believe this gathering provided a way to tap into a human experience and a human power that they hadn't felt in a long time. It made me so grateful to be part of church, a body of people that gathers every week to sing together. It's something many of us are used to, but I hope this message makes all of us even more aware what it is we are actually doing when we sing together as a congregation. We are cultivating beauty, interdependence, and resistance. We are creating another world within this one. Is there anything more powerful than that?
Keep singing, beloveds.
Pastor Sarah
Every Friday, we send an email to the congregation and any others who would like to learn more about the Grace community. The last four Friday emails are posted below.