Every week, I’m so excited to see folks at the church that I haven’t seen in over a year. Clearly the pandemic is waning (although not everywhere) and if we aren’t at the end of this nightmare, we are at least at the beginning of the end. One thing that has caught my attention is how many people have told me similar stories about how they survived the isolation of the past year. They seem to have bonded around a specific group of friends from our family of faith, and those friends continued to talk every day and sometimes they met outdoors in parks. Maybe you also had a group of friends like that who encouraged you, checked in on you, and loved on you during this time. Sometimes the friends were longtime acquaintances from our church family and other times they may have been people you did not know as well, but who took an interest in befriending you. It seems like in this past year, friends were never so important.
As we continue in this sermon series, Music That Changed the World, I was thinking about a song that spoke to this all-important idea of the need to have friends. It was simply titled Friends by Bette Midler. Now, before I say anymore, I have come to understand that much of the music and singers that I love included songs I heard growing up. So, if you are under the age of 40… okay, maybe even 50, you might not have been born when some of this music was first sung. So, in an effort (tongue in cheek) to help those of you who are younger to identify and better understand who these singers were, I have included links to assist with your continuing music education.
Bette Midler, (bettemidler.com), also known as the Divine Miss M, is now 75. Where did the years go? She first appeared on the music scene in the early 70’s with such hits as Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, The Rose, Wind Beneath My Wings and From A Distance. Before Bette made it big on the radio, she could be found singing in all sorts of places, including Broadway in Fiddler on the Roof. Her early accompanist was a singer-song writer named Barry Manilow (barrymanilow.com), who would also go on to fame later as a pop star in the 70’s.
The song, Friends, was not one of her bigger hits but it has always resonated with me. It was released in 1973 and was a minor hit. However, it has continued to show up over the years. It was performed on The Muppet show (muppet.fandom.com) in the late 70’s and a rendition of the song is featured in the 2001 movie, Shrek. I listen to it now on my phone in various digital music apps.
Bette sings, “you got to have friends” and, as I said, that was never so true as in the past year. Our mission statement is to share God’s love and bring hope to the world. Maybe there’s someone out there who is feeling lonely who you could provide some hope to by sending a card or giving them a call… ’cause we all need to have some friends.
– Rev. Dave Poteet, Pastor of Congregational Care
