"Softly and Tenderly" reminded me of the wonderful 1985 movie "Trip to Bountiful" which stars Geraldine Page, and features this hymn. I have a short summary of the film below The video clip shows opening and closing credits from the movie while Cynthia Clawson is singing. Also there is a short segment showing Page humming the song as she is sitting in her rocking chair contemplating Bountiful.
The hymn also reminded me that from 1992 to 2004, I was part of the layman's "Parish Vigil Prayer Service Ministry" at St. Pius X Catholic Church in White Bear Lake, MN. In this ministry one of us would take turns to preside over the wake service of a deceased parishioner.
The service usually took place at 7 pm, in the middle of the "showing" the evening prior to the funeral Mass the next day. The services were never easy for me because usually I didn't know the person very well and thus I was an outsider (and a logical scientific kind of guy at that) entering into a sometimes very emotional setting! It was a good thing I had help from above!! I would always have to explain in my introductory remarks that I wasn't a priest or a deacon, just a lay person helping out. None-the-less I was often called "Father".
We used prayers and scripture from a Catholic book called "Order of Christian Funerals" The entire service never lasted more than 15-20 minutes and we had a certain latitude to give a short teaching if we wished or play music and sing songs if we desired. Sometimes I played a cassette tape recording of Cynthia Clawson singing "Softly and Tenderly" The mourners on hearing the beautiful music became hushed. How could any Christian not be touched by such soothing words of promise and haunting melody!
"Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling for you and for me;
See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.
Chorus
"Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home! "
Cynthia Clawson's singing was featured in the 1985 movie "Trip to Bountiful". This movie takes place in Texas in1947. An an elderly woman (Geraldine Page) lives in a cramped apartment with her loving son (John Heard) and his bossy wife (Carlin Glynn) The elderly Page, wants nothing else but to return to her (fictional) home town Bountiful, Texas before she dies. She doesn't know however, that over the years, Bountiful has become a ghost town with crumbling shacks. She "escapes" from the apartment and tries to take a train but none are running to Bountiful any more. She does catch a bus and meets up with a young woman (Rebecca DeMornay) who befriends her and delights in Page's stories. The Sheriff (Richard Bradford) is ordered to find Page and catches up with her just 12 miles from Bountiful. He relents and allows her to complete her journey resulting in Page feeling happy and at peace with herself for the first time in years.
During the opening credits, Page, as a young mother is chasing her son (played as an adult by John Heard) over a wildflower covered field.
The end of the clip shows a quite satisfied Page getting into her son's (1947?) Chevy and leaving Bountiful for the last time. The daughter-in-law is barely seen on the front passenger side of the car.
Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EgJxPbS9ds
[Note that among You Tube's current "Terms of Service" requirements is the statement: "If you use the YouTube Embeddable Player on your website, you must include a prominent link back to the YouTube website on the pages containing the Embeddable Player and you may not modify, build upon, or block any portion of the Embeddable Player in any way" Thus, I've included the link for the above embedded video back to You Tube.]
