The Supporting Choir

Several friends facing change…

…Ryan and Jess have been waiting for their first baby. The pregnancy has progressed. Baby was born last week…

…After years of unhappiness in her job Mandy had a successful interview. She’s starting a new job…

…Stu had many happy years with his partner. The relationship turned sour. He’s left her and is now living alone…

…Janet’s lovely husband Brian has become increasingly poorly. Brian’s had to go into a care home to receive the care he needs. …

Facing change we may feel alone, a soloist discovering a new tune. We need a four-part choir to support us…

Bass: (Lowest male voices) It’s the foundation, the base, on which all other parts are built, supporting all of the other voices above them.

We need a firm, secure bass… supportive, solid, dependable friends and family on which we can sing our new tune.

Tenor: (Higher male voices) ‘Tenor’ comes from the Latin ‘tenere’ meaning ‘to hold’. Tenors hold the tune. Life’s new tunes need to be discovered and held on to.

We need those holding the tune with us ‘singing from the same sheet’, standing alongside us, especially when our solo voice seems weak.

Contralto: (Lower women’s voices) From ‘Contra – against’, ‘Alto – high’. It’s an alternative, sometimes taking the tune from the tenor, sometimes presenting harmony.

Alone we can only sing one tune. Friends who can present an alternative to the tune we know, maintaining harmony, preventing discord, are invaluable…

Soprano: (Highest women’s voices) From the word for ‘high’ or ‘above’. Sopranos soar high above all others… the most visible, the most noticed.

Focusing on our new tune we may lose the big picture. We need choir-friends with an overview who are prepared to be noticed.

Conductor: From my faith perspective… God, the conductor, has the score, can see where the new tune – as yet unheard – is heading. He can manage the harmony, obtain balance, indicate the dynamics… My soloist friends need to follow their conductor. Their supportive choir and I do too.