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Elizabeth Alexander
Elizabeth Alexander (Seafarer Press)
Go Out! (Individual Song)
A rousing song of commission with a message of inclusion and love.
SATB, piano
(Performed by Choir of Unity Church-Unitarian – Ruth Palmer, conductor.)
Two centuries ago American minister John Murray angered many in the religious establishment by rejecting the notion of “hellfire and brimstone,” preaching instead a gospel of tolerance and unconditional love. Murray’s inclusive, universalist message is given a modern choral treatment in “Go Out!,” a rousing song of commission with words by Alfred S. Cole and music by Elizabeth Alexander. With soulful harmonies, infectious rhythms, and a dynamic piano accompaniment, “Go Out!” offers people all faiths a welcoming embrace.
Composer’s Notes
About the text: Preaching a gospel of religious tolerance and unconditional love, the message of early American minister John Murray (1741-1815) is as relevant and refreshing today as it was during his own time.
While in training as a Methodist minister in England, Murray came to believe that salvation did not hinge on rigid adherence to religious law, but was instead granted to all through the grace of God. This notion of radical religious tolerance, called universalism, led many religious leaders to view Murray and his like-minded colleagues as heretics. Immigrating to America in search of religious freedom, he preached widely before founding a church in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
The church founded by Murray and others, The Universalist Church in America, merged with the American Unitarian Association in 1961, forming the denomination now known as Unitarian-Universalism. Today members of many faith traditions see Murray’s message of grace and acceptance as a vital part of creating a peaceful world.
About the lyric: Universalist minister Alfred S. Cole (1893-1977) wrote extensively about religious history, including a biography of John Murray cowritten with Clarence Skinner entitled Hell’s Ramparts Fell. Cole’s most enduring quote, which has been widely misattributed to Murray himself, rejects the concept of eternal damnation in favor of a gospel of forgiveness and love:
“Go out into the highways and by-ways of America, your new country. Give the people, blanketed with a decaying and crumbling Calvinism, something of your new vision. You may possess only a small light but uncover it, let it shine, use it in order to bring more light and understanding to the hearts and minds of men. Give them, not Hell, but hope and courage. Do not push them deeper into their theological despair, but preach the kindness and everlasting love of God.”
(Our Liberal Heritage by Alfred S. Cole. Beacon Press, Boston, 1951)
A final note about the lyric: Cole’s writing opens with a reference to the Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14:16-24), a story which lies at the very heart of universalist philosophy. In the parable, a man of means opens his feast to more and more guests until at last he invites absolutely everyone with no discrimination. He instructs his servant to “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”
-Elizabeth Alexander
Text
Go out into the highways and by-ways
And give the people something of your new vision.
You may possess only a small light, but uncover it and let it shine.
Use it to bring more understanding into every heart and mind.*
Give them not hell, but hope and courage.
Do not push them deeper into their despair,
But preach the kindness and the everlasting love of God.
Text by Alfred S. Cole, after Rev. John Murray. Excerpted from Our Liberal Heritage (Beacon Press)
Adapted by Elizabeth Alexander
* Composer Note: Cole’s original line was “Use it in order to bring more understanding to the hearts and minds of men.” I
don’t often alter a writer’s original words, but in this case the text’s “universalist” nature called for a gentle gender-neutral tweak.
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