Sing-along Café Thursday, April 2nd, 2026

Our spring thoughts went swiftly to thoughts of home, gathering at home for the holidays, and going home. But, we went pretty deep into what home is and where home is. Family, and more specifically for most of us, mother makes home. The Beatles had us thinking about how family isn't always a warm embrace for everyone. People can feel lonely at home when they they don't meet expectations, their authentic selves are not acceptable. This is a big theme in my work on inclusivity in the church. And, we also talked about the landscape of Ontario feeling like home, or how some specific "country roads" will take you home.

We marvelled at how songs can mean different things at different times, how we hear different things, and how talking about them makes them so much more meaningful. This is something I remember discussing at my old Book Club, about reading. I wonder if you've had that experience too, a book club. Singing together and then puzzling over the messages and themes, and then connecting them to our own lives, and sharing our experiences is really powerful. We all agreed that this fun hour once a week is much more important to us than a simple escape into song. And, we appreciate the care and safety we feel when we discuss serious, weighty things among ourselves.

We did a lot of good talking, and hardly had time to nibble on the panettone, or sip tea.

We didn't talk about what theme to choose for next Thursday, and I didn't send a new announcement to Sandra to put in the newsletter, so our official theme is still Spring. Perhaps we can focus on the Earth, as nature comes back to life. We can still do some things from our Home and Family playlist if we like, because all living things that share the Earth are our relatives. My Earth playlist is called Earth and Peace.

Home by Michael Bublé
Home by Phillip Phillips
Take Me Home, Country Roads by John Denver
Take the Long Way Home by Supertramp
Long Way Home by Walk Off The Earth
She's Leaving Home by the Beatles
Humble and Kind by Tim McGraw
The Seal Lullaby by Eric Whitacre
Loves Me Like a Rock by Paul Simon

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