Alone. . . 
by 3rd Margaret. 
Compact disk from Softsound Recording. 
$12 plus $2 shipping per CD.

[Ed. note: The ellipsis is part of the title 
and not an indication of omitted words.] 

Reviewed by Virginia Ramey Mollenkott

I hope all EEWC members who met at Butler University had an opportunity to meet Marg Herder, our superb sound technician.  But I think that even those who talked with her will be surprised, as I was, by the tremendous musical talent and spiritual passion that are central to Marg's life. The best way to learn all of that, and to be moved and inspired in the process, is to buy and immerse ourselves in her mystical compact disk, "Alone. . . ." 

I predict that when you have heard the cosmic sweep of this music, you will be as astonished as I was to learn that "this music was created by 3rd Margaret alone in her studio." (Marg calls her professional self "3rd Margaret" to give honor to her grandmother and her mother, "the two Margarets before me," both of them church musicians. ) The music can be experienced on as many levels as there are moments and listeners, but ultimately the album captures Marg's anguish when she learned that although she was trained to be a church musician, in fact the church was not a safe or welcoming place for lesbian women like herself. She entered into music to rediscover and recreate meaning and eventually was able to "feel the joining" so that "alone" could "fall away." 

Through the marvels of the electronic keyboard, she creates the sense of constantly moving sea, swirling in a cycle that ultimately curls around the still point of eternity. She challenges us to find ways to call our children home again; she sings love songs to the Holy Lady who lives in eternity and in the human heart (hallelujah, hallelu!); she celebrates the cycle of life and death in which "Darkness makes way for Light," embers die, and instantly "Another seed begins to grow." She sings of discovering that it is the silence within herself that is "the fire burning. . . the light I was supposed to see. . .the new day dawning. . . the teacher come [to] illumine me." And she throws down a loving challenge to the church people who drove her away: "How your children must fear, to see your love disappear." The music collapses into a minor key that evokes the pain of that rejection (I remember, too, Marg, I remember!). She tells the church that marginalized people "don't see what you're gonna lose by thinking everyone could walk in Her light" (indeed!), and that if we think anybody is unworthy to share in true fellowship with us, we "don't know Her." But there is hope for even the stodgiest Christian: "We can know you/You can know us/ We can know Her." 

EEWC members can rejoice that Marg told many of her lesbian friends who fear Christians' cruelty that they need not fear EEWC, because "this group is different" and is giving her cause "to rethink everything." 

The best way to get this miraculous album is to order it from because then Marg will personally burn your copy, infusing it with her spirit directed at your own, and will supply you with a copy of the lyrics as well. Or you can get the same benefit by ordering by snail mail from Marg Herder at Softsound, 5653 E. 62nd Place, Indianapolis, IN 46220 

As she says on her website, through her music Marg is "building a new church" and "learning to be warmed by the fire of love." And indeed, not just in her dreams but in reality, it is obvious that Marg is still walking with the Divine Lady Shepherd for whom she has never ceased to yearn. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be filled.

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Reviewer Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, Ph.D. is one of EEWC's founding members and a frequent contributor to EEWC Update and speaker at EEWC conferences. Her most recent book is Omnigender: A Trans-religious Approach (Cleveland Ohio: Pilgrim Press, 2001).

© 2002 Evangelical and Ecumenical Women's Caucus