Let There Be Peace…
Let there be peace on earth,
and let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on earth,
the peace that was meant to be.
With God as our Father
brothers all are we.
Let me walk with my brother
in perfect harmony.
Those lyrics are from the song Let There Be Peace on Earth, the theme song of The International Children’s Choir. At church the Saturday before Memorial Day, it was no surprise to hear the first few notes of that song. Memories of war and hope for peace are intertwined.
I happened to be sitting next to my brother. We turned, and looked at each other with a nod and a smile. Neither of us needed a hymnal, we knew the words by heart. It was a familiar song to us, one that we both carried from our childhood.
As the song continued, my mind drifted back to Brookwater Elementary School. There I stood, at the stage end of the cafetorium, a duel-purpose cafeteria and auditorium, while the music teacher, Miss Prescott, played this song on the piano. She didn’t simply play the piano, she commanded the notes to sound as she skillfully ran her hands up and down the keys. Hers was more than a passion for music; it was a fire that burned within and fueled her soul.
She wore her salt-and-pepper hair (heavy on the salt) in a bun, but not one of those tight buns that pull back the skin, giving an expression of surprise. She wore her bun loosely, softening the already rounded edges of her face. Her short-sleeved, flower print dresses swayed with the music, mimicking a field of flowers in a breeze. Yet, she was sturdy. Did that impression come from her sensible black shoes, ankles brimming over the edges? Her skins elasticity was gone, and she appeared to carry extra. We kids watched the excess skin of her arms move in time with the music, a visual metronome.
We soon learned that there would be no lip-synching with Miss Prescott! She pound out the beat on top of the piano with her left hand as her right hand played all the notes. The whole time her eyes were on us, making sure we sang along.
It wasn’t until later that I realized Miss Prescott's genius. We learned to love music and take it as seriously as she did. In turn, music became an integral part of our lives. Little did we realize we were memorizing the names of the States as we sang the song, Fifty Nifty United States. To this day I can recite all fifty States - alphabetically, and in tune!
The sixties and seventies were known for folk songs. Miss Prescott dialed into this, teaching us songs about childhood and innocence. As we sang Up, Up, and Away, we imagined what it would be like to see the world from the perspective of a hot air balloon. Then we were transported to a magical land as we sang Puff, the Magic Dragon.
She taught us about the world and our place in it. The Vietnam War raged the entire span of my elementary years. Our parents tried to shield us, but we could feel the tension. Miss Prescott used the lyrics of the songs to teach us about our times. She gave us an outlet, a place where it was okay to talk about the war, except we sang about it.
We learned that America included all peoples as we sang This Land is Your Land. By singing Joni Mitchell's immortal words from Both Sides Now, we understood a give and take in the world. Blowing in the Wind helped us see that some questions don’t have answers. The hardest lesson of all came from Leaving On a Jet Plane. There are times when a goodbye is forever.
Which brings me back to Let There Be Peace on Earth. It could be a combination of easy lyrics and a key that most of us kids could sing, but it was a crowd favorite. Miss Prescott seized an opportunity to plant seeds with this song. She paralleled our perfect harmony with life, and taught us that peace was attainable, it began with each one of us.
Over the years, the seed of peace she planted in me got choked out by other things. My career, family, ambition, and place in society seemed so important. I cultivated those things while peace lay dormant.
Hearing that song again reminded me how blessed I am to have had that seed planted. Now it’s my turn to nurture it and give it room to grow. It begins with me.
Let peace begin with me,
let this be the moment now.
With every step I take
let this be my solemn vow;
To take each moment and live
each moment in peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth
and let it begin with me.