[Vision2020] Nuns, LGBT Youth and the Power of a Single Song

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of the Huffington Post at:

http://tinyurl.com/atzawqe
   
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Nuns, LGBT Youth and the Power of a Single Song
A simple message: "You're a perfect child of God." Simple, yes, but it is also a profound message that everybody can and should hear -- hopefully repeatedly -- and one that seems especially urgent for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth in an era of entrenched bullying, depression, and suicide. America's recent strides to support such youth are remarkable. The Trevor Project and the It Gets Better project are the most headlined, and they are bolstered by waves of community-level activism like the Out in the Silence campaign for justice and equality in rural and small town America.

Amidst this groundswell of much-needed activity, however, a single song stands out to me for its clarity of message and its beautiful simplicity.

"You're Not Alone," developed by lyricist Jon Hartmere and composer Lynne Shankel for the current off-Broadway revival of the musical Bare will become a new anthem for LGBT youth. Bare churns in tempo with the lives of a group of sexually awakening teenagers who are struggling within the confines of a Catholic school. "You're Not Alone" comes late in the second act and represents the show's emotional pinnacle, piercing through the turmoil. Sister Joan, an empathetic nun, is consoling one of her gay students who is caught in the whirlwinds of the drama. She uses the clearest words imaginable.

"I feel so honored to be able to sing that song every night," says Missi Pyle, the accomplished actor who starred in the Academy Award-winning The Artist and plays Sister Joan in this production. Pyle, who grew up Southern Baptist in communities where being gay was "wrong in the eyes of God," explains the power of singing the song each night.

In developing the song, which is new for this production of Bare, Hartmere and Shankel first settled on the hook -- "you're not alone" -- and then fleshed out the remainder of the lyrics and music. As they did so, both felt a tremendous sense of responsibility to create a song that would resonate with LGBT youth and provide them with assurance and hope amidst hostile environments. Hartmere explains, "You don't have to look very far to find examples of intolerance, places where you can't be different." Indeed, as I write this article, I have just learned that 15-year-old Jadin Bell has passed away after hanging himself on his school's playground in Oregon. "If we can just reach one kid," says Shankel. "If they think about this show and they can feel better about themselves, or it makes them not make a sad choice, we feel hugely responsible."

That the song is sung by a teacher to her student illuminates the special role that teachers can play in supporting their students while opening new horizons. "I think that teachers have such an amazing opportunity-slash-responsibility to their students to open a kid's eyes to what is possible beyond what they think is possible," says Shankel. Hartmere himself was a teacher who spoke frankly to his classrooms about his sexual orientation and the offense he felt at hearing insults tossed around. "One day on the yard," he describes, "I heard a kid call someone else gay, and one of the girls from my class said, 'Don't use that word because my teacher's gay, and I like him.'"

In addition to being a teacher, Sister Joan is obviously a nun. Hartmere, who was raised Catholic and whose great aunt is a nun, believes that this character and her song should help to provide a counter-balance to conceptions of the Catholic Church as a monolithic, doctrinaire haven for sex offenders. "There's another angle here," says Hartmere, "another way of looking at things. Nuns are an amazing group of people who have an amazing worldview that should be listened to more."

I couldn't agree more. Listening to Sister Joan send her clarion message to the struggling student in a recent performance of Bare transported me directly to 1992, when I was a freshman at a Catholic high school in Charleston, South Carolina. I was coming to terms with my sexual orientation, lonely, lost, confused, and yes, suicidal. My Sister Joan was Sister A.J. -- short for Alice Joseph -- of the Sisters of Mercy order. Sister A.J. was in her 50s when she taught me and passed away some years ago now; God rest her soul. Much like the teacher whose supportive note to a gay student recently went viral, Sister A.J. wrote the following note on one of my essays:

"By the way, you were born homosexual, overweight, and with a loving heart. Don't worry about your homosexuality. One day the pope will understand. PS...I love you."

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"You're Not Alone" sung by Lynne Shankel

http://www.tomandrodna.com/songs/Youre_Not_Alone.mp3

"When you feel like you're lost
on a lonely road
And no one else is near
When you're scared of it all
And you can't recall
How you got to here
Wondering if you matter
Wondering what to do
Watching the pieces scatter
Through it all I promise you
You're not alone
Not while I'm here
You're not alone
Let me quiet your fear
Things may not be easy
But one thing you should know
You're not alone
You have a story the world should hear
Don't hide your light
If people see your joy and hate you
As hate they might
Know that they fear the stranger
Go on and love them too
And know that through any danger
Somebody's there for you
You're not alone
Not while I'm here
You're not alone
Let the world disappear
I will still be standing
Right here by your side
You're not alone
Gotta make the journey truthful
With every step you take
Why would you be someone else
For someone else's sake?
You're created in His image
You're a perfect child of God
And this part of you
It's the heart of who you are
It's who you are
And you just need to know
You're not alone
Don't you ever let go
If you listen in the darkness
A voice is calling out
You're not alone
You're not alone
You're not alone"
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Seeya round town, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares"
http://www.MoscowCares.com
  
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"There's room at the top they are telling you still 
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill 
If you want to be like the folks on the hill."

- John Lennon
 
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