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From left, JourneySongs singers Roberta Rosenberg, Chris Kyle, Lorel Zar-Kessler, and Jan Surrey recently performed at Adelaide of Newton Centre. The hospice choir sings at the assisted living facility every month. (Courtesy photo)
JourneySongs Hospice Choir 15 years of bringing comfort through music
Published in Fig City News by JULIE M. COHEN ON JANUARY 13, 2024
“Twilight and evening bell, / And after that the dark! / And may there be no sadness of farewell, / When I embark,” are just some of the moving lines from Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem, “Crossing the Bar.” Later set to music, the song is one of many soothing and meaningful works that a local hospice choir has been performing for the past decade and a half.
Newton’s JourneySongs, an interfaith musical group, is marking its 15th anniversary of bringing comfort to the terminally ill — and paying tribute to the dead at memorial services and funerals — through song.
“It’s an honor to be at somebody’s bedside” and sing for them, said Kate Mason, a former hospice nurse who co-founded the choir with Cindy Mapes and Nancy Wrenn.
Arranging a Visit
JourneySongs is open to singing bedside in the Metro West Boston area when invited by a client, a client’s family or caregivers as availability allows. The service is provided free of charge.
A member of the choir will talk with the person requesting the service to arrange an appropriate time for the patient.
Please contact info@JourneySongs.org
Contact:
First Unitarian Univeralist Society of Newton
1326 Washington Street
West Newton, MA 02465