Gradually, the various vocal parts came together and soon Jessop poured himself into directing the full choir, which has sung for 10 U.S. presidents and calls itself America's Choir. The new version is slower than the original song and the massed voices soared with the words:
"When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all; I'm on your side. When times get rough and friends just can't be found -- like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down."
In that moment, hundreds of men and women in the convention center were caught up in what amounts to one of our greatest religious gifts as Americans -- our capacity to reshape whatever cultural resources we have at hand to cobble together the spiritual resources that will meet our needs in each challenging season.
Craig and Sue Wagenschutz said they were inspired as they left the convention center. They are members of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and were visiting Salt Lake City to attend a nearby business convention. But they wanted to come and hear the famous choir and immediately felt at home.
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