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News and Ideas from around the Anglican World |
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December 2005
Music to help the dying. And the living.
By Karen Stiller
A recording artist and musician from the Toronto diocese has just released a series of CDs that she hopes will change how the Bev Foster terminally ill and their caregivers approach death. Bev Foster, a musician and worship leader who attends Church of the Ascension in Port Perry, Ont., calls her project Room 217. It is a series of soothing CDs designed to bring “comfort and hope” to dying patients.
Currently three CDs strong, the CD launch was held recently in Toronto and one of the CDs, Spirit Wings, was nominated for a Covenant Award when her father lay dying in Room 217 of a small Ontario hospital. Like many families, Foster’s spent some hospital time singing well-loved songs and hymns to her father. Foster says that music reassured her father, a devoted Christian, and relaxed her whole family as they kept their bedside vigil.
Singing around a hospital bed is not rare, but it may come more naturally (and be better received) within some families, like Foster’s who are musical, than others. “I knew that I could fill that need by creating CDs that were ready to play for dying patients and their caregivers,” explains Foster.
To create the project, Foster used target groups to determine what music they would find comforting if they or a loved one were dying. “I surveyed over 100 people and asked them a simple question: ‘If you were in your last week of life, what songs would you want to listen to?’ ” she explains. “From there I chose songs that are beautiful—songs that are moving. Then I let the beauty of the music speak for itself, and made room for God to speak through the music.”
The result is the first three CDs of a series that Foster envisions to be 15 strong by the end. Spirit Wings, Gentle Waters and Celtic Whisperings are the first three offerings and feature Foster’s voice—well trained from years of music teaching; independent recording on her Strongheart label, and accompanist singing for the famed Orpheus Choir of Toronto—as well as cello, piano and other elements that Foster believes help create the three key pillars of Room 217: hope, beauty and gentleness.
Faith is also present, but it won’t hit anyone over the head. That was intentional. “There are Christian songs, but also ‘old favourites.’ I think music can connect us to God whether it is overtly Christian or not,” says Foster. “I believe Room 217 will be used to minister to a wide variety of people, some of whom may be introduced to God through this music for the first time. I call them “Gateway songs” because they are a pathway into relationship, both with God and with people.” Foster wanted to create a series that focuses on comfort and hope but that hospitals and palliative care units would still be comfortable carrying and recommending to their patients.
According to Phyllis Bobbit, director of Spiritual care at Toronto’s Grace Hospital, Foster hit the mark. “We have Room 217 Spirit Wings on all four floors at Toronto Grace Hospital. We have used it with patients and their family and it made a big difference to them,” says Bobbit.
Heather Collier, administrator of Wellesley Gardens, a long term care facility for the elderly in Toronto, agrees. Collier says it’s not only the infirm in their care that enjoy the CDs; it’s the managers and staff. “They’re very calming,” she says. When Collier first played the CDs to usher patients into an activity, the activity never happened. The patients chose instead to just sit and listen to the music. “We use them now in our regular daily activities. It’s great for people who become agitated and need calming down.” Collier believes the old adage that “music is a universal language,” helps make Foster’s CDs so powerful. “Everyone can respond to it. It definitely works,” she says.
Foster points out that the CDs not only “work” for the terminally ill but can also help relax children at bedtime and that an artist friend paints to them. “I think of the music as a ribbon, there are no hard edges. It is acoustic, meaning it is simple and lovely. It’s not over-produced. There are harps and cellos and beautiful instruments played by some of the best,” explains Foster. “I hope that listeners will be drawn into the presence of God. That they will bring their humanness, their fear, and their stress and meet God there.”
For more information on Room 217 and Bev Foster, visit www.room217.ca
Karen Stiller is a regular contributer to TAP, and a freelance writer. She lives in Port Perry, ON. |
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Musician Bev Foster: |
Copyright The Anglican Planet © 2005 |