“...’twas grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.”

 

— Verse 3, “Amazing Grace” by John Newton

 

In the summer of 2024, I began working on ideas for a song. Having recently reworked the popular hymn “Be Thou My Vision” for The Table music team at Central United Methodist Church in Sacramento, California, I wondered what I might do with “Amazing Grace.” Before I knew it, I had composed, fairly quickly, “Safe Thus Far,” a new tune to John Newton’s famous “Amazing Grace!” text. I wasn’t sure what I’d do with it, so I moved on and began work on another tune. This time, the feel was completely different, but not having text for it, I used what I had just been working with, “Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound…”  as a placeholder. But something happened.

 

The song took over. When I finished, the tune demanded to use the same lyrics.

 

What was I going to do with two “Amazing Grace!” songs? Rather than try to explain it, I leaned in and went for a third tune, then a fourth. By the fall, I had written nearly 20 new songs. Each had a different style from folk, to AfroBeat; each had the same text, if only with some slight variation.

 

Again, what was I going to do with twenty “Amazing Grace!” songs? An album? A concert? But more importantly, why? The line “...safe thus far…” stuck out to me. It suggested that perhaps the story wasn’t over for the narrator. That while something hand changed in them, they hadn't yet made it to their destination: home. That someday, with grace,  they would be.

 

More questions: How might these songs encourage a community? What about community members who were struggling to find more than a spiritual home, but a physical one one here and now on earth? Is this what I could do with these songs?

 

Nina Simone is my musical and artistic muse. I’ve always been mesmerized by her journey from jazz and lounge artist to a fiery turn as musical activist.  In one of her prophetic moments, she challenged those listening, saying, “You can't help it. An artist's duty, as far as I'm concerned, is to reflect the times.”

 

And so, upon hearing the muse, I must reflect the times too.

 

”...was blind, but now I see…”

How can we reach beyond this communal blindness to the plight of our neighbor to truly seeing one another?

 

“…’tis grace hath brought me safe thus far…”

What makes us feel safe?

 

“…and grace will lead me home…”

What is grace? And where is home?

 

Safe Thus Far celebrates the blessedness of all, the inherent worthiness of every human, and our responsibility to one another. These songs are not necessarily the voices of those experiencing housing insecurity, but of us all.