Why my kids need to know "Lift Every Voice and Sing"
"Move your mouth and act like you know the words! Watermelon!" Photo by Maya Lane / United Methodist Hymnal, 1989 I was "whisper-yelling" at my 13-year-old through my teeth, a technique I miraculously inherited from a mom. She had mastered the church-mom skill of setting us straight mid-song while maintaining a smile and staying on key. My daughters and I have had the opportunity to sing "Lift Every Voice and Sing" three times in the past 30 days. Three! (And we're not even midway through Black History Month.) At church, my kids are the ones just standing there during worship, looking like they're being punished -- even when the lyrics are being displayed karaoke style. Singing in public is not their thing, even though they've both been blessed with beautiful voices. It should not have surprised me that they weren't moving their mouths when prompted to stand for "Lift Every Voice and Sing," but for some reaso