THE NECROLOGY . . .  will be read during the All Saints' Day service on Sunday, November 3. Please submit names for the list no later than Tuesday, October 28. You can either email this list to kmaccourt@gmail.com or leave a written list in the church office.

The Language of Song Is Universal

"Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his Name!
Make known his might, the deeds his arm has done;
his mercy sure, from age to age the same;
his holy Name - the Lord, the Mighty One."
- Hymn “Tell out, my soul”

I’m classically trained in opera and in church music, so when I think of “tell out my soul” I am reminded that music is a universal language. I only speak English fluently, but I sing in other languages. I can do this because I’ve learned to interpret the universal feelings in the music—love or loss or longing—that the composer intended. When I sing, I’m telling out on their behalf. 

Last Saturday I was singing Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Pie Jesu.” One way to translate these words, in the context of a requiem, is “Lord give them rest.” It left me thinking of trans people and immigrants and others whose identity is currently under attack, and I find myself praying for their rest in Jesus.

I was not raised in The Episcopal Church, so I’m relatively new to the hymnody. But I convened our cathedral’s young adult ministry and now I am on the vestry. I seem to get called to leadership roles even when I’m not looking for them. Maybe because I stand up for others? I was raised as a girl and taught to be more quiet and passive, but as a non-binary adult I lead out loud and assertively. It’s a common understanding in music circles that the skill of your choir is only as good as the worst voice. Everyone is diminished if we don’t support each other’s voices.

I am especially thankful for the voices and the teachers that have supported me along the way. My first church music director
believed in and encouraged me when I was only nine or ten. I had great college music professors and church music directors at St.
Bartholomew’s in Poway and at Trinity Cathedral in San Jose. These people told me that I have a gift to share, and I believed them.

An Interview by the Very Rev. Julia McCray Goldsmith . . .
Trinity “Trin” Hall (they/ them) is a 24 year old freelance soprano and pastry artist,
president of the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral San Jose Young Adult Ministry.

Mark your calendar . . . Stewardship Ingathering November 9, 2025

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