“When a man’s conscience and the laws clash, it is his conscience that he must follow.”
– Henry David Thoreau

Hello friends,

It’s been another difficult week for our community and our nation.

We have watched, along with you, the challenges being faced in cities all across the country, including our own.

We have watched and we have endured and we have prayed for justice and peace to prevail.

In preparing for our Sunday morning message this week we reflected on our nation’s history and the Civil Rights Movement and came across this recording of the majestic opera soprano Jessye Norman singing an inspiring version of a beloved and widely performed negro spiritual.

He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands ,” is a song that rose out of the oral tradition of African Americans. The lyrics inspire hope and deliver a message filled with certainty and assurance.

It is our hope it will help to bring you solace in these troubling day.

Jessye Norman sings on the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington, “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands”

The Metropolitan Opera called Jessye Norman “one of the greatest sopranos of the century”. She was a trailblazing performer and one of the rare black singers to attain worldwide stardom in the world of Opera, performing at such revered houses as La Scala and the Metropolita Opera, and singing title roles in works including Carmen, Aida and more.

“He’s Got the Whole World in his Hands,” is an anonymous spiritual and has become one of the most widely known and loved spirituals, sung by young and old everywhere. Like other songs arising out of an oral tradition, it has many variations in both text and tune. Performers have often created brand new stanzas, which is also in keeping with that oral tradition.

Be well, be safe…
the Carr Center