<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div><span></span></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div><span></span></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; ">Courtesy of the Huffington Post at:</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; "><br></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; "><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; white-space: nowrap; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; "><a href="http://tinyurl.com/atzawqe">http://tinyurl.com/atzawqe</a></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; "><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; white-space: nowrap; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; "> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; ">-------------------------------------</div><div><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: none; overflow: visible; "></p><h1 class="title-blog" style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: none; overflow: visible; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-size: 30px !important; line-height: 36px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-align: left; ">Nuns, LGBT Youth and the Power of a Single Song</h1><p></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: none; overflow: visible; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">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.</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: none; overflow: visible; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Amidst this groundswell of much-needed activity, however, a single song stands out to me for its clarity of message and its beautiful simplicity.</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: none; overflow: visible; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"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. <em style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: none; overflow: visible; ">Bare </em>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.</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto;list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: none; overflow: visible; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="text-align: justify; ">"I feel so honored to be able to sing that song every night," says Missi Pyle, </span><span style="text-align: justify; ">the accomplished actor who starred in the Academy Award-winning </span><em style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: none; overflow: visible; text-align: justify; ">The Artist </em><span style="text-align: justify; ">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.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto;list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: none; overflow: visible; "></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: none; overflow: visible; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In developing the song, which is new for this production of <em style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: none; overflow: visible; ">Bare</em>, 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."</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: none; overflow: visible; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">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.'"</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: none; overflow: visible; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">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."</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: none; overflow: visible; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I couldn't agree more. Listening to Sister Joan send her clarion message to the struggling student in a recent performance of <em style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: none; overflow: visible; ">Bare </em>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:</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto;list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: none; overflow: visible; "><span style="text-align: left; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"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."</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto;list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: none; overflow: visible; "><span style="text-align: left; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">--------------------</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto;list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: none; overflow: visible; "><span style="text-align: left; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"You're Not Alone" sung by Lynne Shankel</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto;list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: none; overflow: visible; "><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; white-space: nowrap; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); "><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/songs/Youre_Not_Alone.mp3">http://www.tomandrodna.com/songs/Youre_Not_Alone.mp3</a></span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto;list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; border: none; overflow: visible; "></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 7px; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s3">"When you feel like you're lost</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">on a lonely road</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">And no one else is near</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">When you're scared of it all</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">And you can't recall</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">How you got to here</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">Wondering if you matter</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">Wondering what to do</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">Watching the pieces scatter</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">Through it all I promise you</span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 7px; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s3">You're not alone</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">Not while I'm here</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">You're</span><span class="s3"> not alone</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">Let me quiet your fear</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">Things may not be easy</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">But one thing you should know</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">You're not alone</span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 7px; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s3">You have a story the world should hear</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">Don't</span><span class="s3"> hide your light</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">If people see your joy and hate you</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">As hate they might</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">Know that they fear the stranger</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">Go on and love them too</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">And know that through any danger</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">Somebody's there for you</span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 7px; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s3">You're not alone</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">Not while I'm here</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">You're</span><span class="s3"> not alone</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">Let the world disappear</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">I will still be standing</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">Right here by your side</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">You're not alone</span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 7px; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s3">Gotta</span><span class="s3"> make the journey truthful</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">With</span><span class="s3"> every step you take</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">Why would you be someone else</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">For someone else's sake?</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">You're created in His image</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">You're a perfect child of God</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">And this part of you</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">It's the heart of who you are</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">It's who you are</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">And you just need to know</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">You're not alone</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">Don't you ever let go</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">If you listen in the darkness</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">A voice is calling out</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">You're not alone</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">You're not alone</span><span class="s3"><br></span><span class="s3">You're not alone"</span></span></p><p></p></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; ">-------------------------------------<br><br><div>Seeya round town, Moscow, because . . .</div><div><br></div><div>"Moscow Cares"</div><div><a href="http://www.MoscowCares.com">http://www.MoscowCares.com</a></div><div> </div><div><div>Tom Hansen</div><div>Moscow, Idaho</div><div><br></div><div>"<span style="font-size: medium; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); ">There's room at the top they are telling you still</span><span style="font-size: medium; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); "> </span></div><span style="font-size: medium; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); ">But first you must learn how to smile as you kill </span><br style="font-size: medium; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); "><span style="font-size: medium; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); ">If you want to be like the folks on the hill."</span></div><div><font size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469);"><br></span></font></div><div><font size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469);">- John Lennon<br></span></font><div> </div></div></div></div></div></body></html>