Threshold Choir: ‘Kindness Made Audible’
- Maria O'Donnell
- Mar 27
- 4 min read
Bedside Singing Comforts Those Crossing the Threshold of Life to Letting Go
By Maria G. O’Donnell
Staff Writer
Sweet, comforting melodies. Breathtaking harmonies. Peaceful, yet uplifting lyrics on the voices of angels. They may as well be, for the voices of The Greater Hartford Threshold Choir certainly resonate as angelic.
With a love of singing and comforting others through song, the all-volunteer members of Threshold Choir attend the bedsides of people on the threshold of the end of life – those who are in hospitals or hospice. Hearing is the last sense a person has at this stage, and Threshold Choir’s harmonious a cappella voices bring patients peace and comfort. Some members are caretakers or hospice volunteers themselves. New members are welcome and invited to join.
Written exclusively by and for Threshold Choir, songs are inspirational and secular, not specifically religious. Such titles include So Many Angels, Peace Will Come, Hold Me, Eternal Light, Rest Easy, Remember Me, Bless These Hands (for caregivers), and We Are All Just Walking Each Other Home. The last song is usually saved for the end of the session. Bedside sings don’t cost anything, although the non-profit organization welcomes donations.
Dorothy Mason of West Simsbury founded the Greater Hartford Chapter of Threshold Choir in 2009 and was inspired by the international organization’s founder, Kate Munger of California. Mason and current Choir Administrator Ann Nichols of West Hartford took part in a Massachusetts-based workshop at a retreat run by Munger, and Nichols recalled, “Dorothy came back from Massachusetts lit, on-fire, and enthusiastic. That’s what created the spark. She’s a beam of light, and we’ve been riding on that beam all these years.”
Mason recalled that at the retreat workshop, Munger “sang these beautiful songs; these songs bypass the mind and go directly to the heart. They allow people to be held.” Mason explained that Munger, who loved to sing since childhood, started Threshold Choir 25 years ago when a close friend was dying.
“She went and sang to him for hours and decided to start a group,” said Mason. “She wanted to sing songs to people who were dying out of her experience of her friend dying.” Mason remembered being so “on fire,” she ran across the campus and told Caroline Jestin, “You have to do the music part! Now she’s leading it” as Music Director, assuming the mantle from former director, P.K. Allen.
Jestin said, “We made a plan – we’re going to start this.”
A Christmas party at Dorothy and Andrew (also a choir member) Mason’s house had everyone singing, and the Masons tapped people to join Threshold Choir. “The Christmas party was the source, and word spread,” said Mason.
Simsbury resident, Membership and Outreach Chair Marilyn Douglas and volunteer singer since 2009, noted, “We aren’t professional singers.” She added that she hopes the choir will “appeal to new facilities for singing invitations. We sing by invitation only.” Private homes may be visited, as well, usually by the invitation of a facility, according to Douglas, who refers to their service as “ministry,” and that it’s “not limited to end of life. We can do healing or grieving of various natures.” Memorial services are another venue for the choir.
Jestin noted that many hospice organizations make requests for bedside sings, including long-term care facilities and nursing homes with people approaching death. Sing Coordinator is Betsy McAleer of Bloomfield, and she has a hospice liaison at McLean health facility in Simsbury.
In addition to singing for patients, Nichols said the choir is there to support families and caregivers, too. “People around the whole death process find it frightening and overwhelming. We speak to the whole grieving process.”
Although there are 16 members of the choir, McAleer noted that only three or four members attend bedside, which she considers “sacred space.” It depends on “who’s available and when. Requests come anytime and can be urgent,” for either that afternoon or next day. Jestin added, “We learn all the parts [of the songs] so we can interchange as needed.” McAleer agreed, “We strive to blend our voices.”
Threshold Choir rehearses twice a month, from 2:00-4:00 p.m., at either St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Simsbury or Valley Community Baptist Church in Avon. At a recent rehearsal at St. Alban’s, Jestin (Music Director) invited members to warm up with a series of gentle “oooo’s.”
It’s one thing to be part of the choir’s circle and listen to their songs, but they offer the amazing experience of the Zero Gravity Chair. A couple of the choir’s own members tried it, as well as a couple of non-members, including this writer. A person is invited to lie in a fold-out chair and gets lovingly tucked in with a cozy blanket. Close the eyes. Take in the transcendent.
Each song starts with melody in unison. A pause. A new verse expands into multiple harmonies. Voices across from each other meld together for a heavenly experience: The soulful textures, angelic richness, soothing, and comforting lyrics provide a cradle of peace and compassion. The poetry of the harmonies floats and weaves through the room, washing over you, caressing the senses.
An outside listener isn’t the only one moved by the music. Douglas said, “It’s normal to close your eyes when you’re singing; it brings you peace and serenity. It’s not uncommon members become teary; it’s very moving.”
For organizations who may want to invite Threshold Choir into their space for singing engagements, please contact Sing Coordinator Betsy McAleer at 860-305-8127, email Betsymca430@gmail.com (Please note: Betsy’s spam filter will catch unknown calls; please leave a message.)
For those interested in joining the choir, please contact Membership and Outreach Chair Marilyn Douglas at 860-299-5803, email: gmmrdouglas@gmail.com. For more information about the world-wide Threshold Choir, visit Thresholdchoir.org.
