Bay Area Book Tour 2018: Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley, CA

Thursday, September 13

On Thursday, I presented a lecture at the Jesuit School of Theology that is part of the consortium of ecumenical institutions of higher learning at the renowned Graduate Theological Union (GTU) in Berkeley, California. It was the first week of the new school year. I had a handful of students, local pastoral musicians and, delightfully, members of a Catholic women book club who were eager to meet an author and discuss his book. 

If you’ve read From Mountains High then you know the historical significance of JST. 

The success of Neither Silver Nor Gold took the composers by surprise. With the blessing and support of their superiors, the five regrouped in Berkeley, California, during the summer of 1974 at Shalom House, the student residence of the Jesuit School of Theology. Tim had moved on from the Jesuits, but he wanted to come, and the others welcomed him with open arms. For the next five weeks, they would live together, pray together, and compose music. They did not have the goal of creating a new album. Their summer together was to be an extended retreat, a time to discern where the Holy Spirit was leading them. Neither Silver Nor Gold was a grace-filled confirmation that the gift of music was a seed that God had planted in them. Perhaps it was something they needed to pay attention to in a greater way… 

They bonded as seekers, as musicians, as brothers; and the Spirit blessed them with the inspiration to compose songs that would become an iconic part of the modern liturgical repertoire. 

-From Mountains High, page 58

So Shalom House was right across the street from the room where I was lecturing. I could see it from the window. After spending almost seven years of research, interviews and writing, to actually be at the hallowed ground where the St. Louis Jesuits composed “Be Not Afraid,” “Earthen Vessels,” “Sing to the Mountains,” and other iconic liturgical songs was nothing short of a thrill for me. 

I was still perfecting my Keynote software presentation and JST just unveiled its new media set-up for the school year. So we were a match made in heaven as assistant dean Paul Kircher and I scrambled to enable Bluetooth and wired connections between my laptop and their system. We eventually succeeded in getting everything working just ten minutes before our scheduled start! 

But the best connection might still be my acoustic guitar. Even with a smaller group, nothing matches the experience of singing those grand old songs and the memories they evoke. 

After the presentation, I enjoyed listening to personal stories from the folks who attended. Some of the women in that book club had great anecdotes of singing in folk choirs in the days of their youth. It’s this interaction with my public that makes book tours so rewarding. 

Grateful thanks to Paul Kircher, Assistant Dean of Students, and to Dr. Mary Beth Lamb for their gracious hospitality and warm welcome.