Music by Kaitie Ty Warren; Words by Kaitie and Amanda Mehl West
© 2023
This song emerged deliberately as Amanda and Kaitie wanted to work through some thoughts about inclusion within sanctuary. Teaching at a retreat for “women only,” Kaitie and Amanda felt it needed to be addressed that, when we create boundaries for the sake of sanctuary, there will always be the potential for harm as some folx are left out. In addition to wanting to address the more full and complex gender spectrum, Kaitie and Amanda felt it was important to have a song to address a common (perhaps universal) experience: leaving parts of ourselves at the doors in order to be included in a community, workspace, family, field, or culture.
With many thanks to Jennie Pearl and Dylan Wilder Quinn from Holistic Resistance for coaching us in Disrupting Our Whiteness (a co-hort just for songleaders) and helping us work through some thoughts before we created this song, we present Safe Here, dedicated to folx and the parts of all of us who don’t feel inherently included, safe, or welcome. We see that you have more complexities than may be safe to bring into a space, and whether or not you bring them in, we want you to know that those parts of you are loved.
Love,
Kaitie and Amanda
(she/they and she/her/they)
Parts separated/teaching:
Parts together/singing:
Long recording live, ~100 beautiful people singing together at Sisters in Harmony 2023 retreat
Originally this song was about setting healthy boundaries, but it was never taught in a community setting this way. If you like nerding out about the origins of songs, you can see the original version here:
Living Room Choir ANEW 