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Roommates Anne Sanyi & Claire Kuttler, celebrating the Inauguration. Both grew up at St. Paul.

Song for the Inauguration

“I was completely caught up in the joy and the honor of the moment, the privilege of being that close to a part of the Inauguration in a special way. It was such a blessing.”

For Claire Kuttler, singing for President Barack Obama’s pre-inaugural prayer service at Washington D.C.’s historic St. John’s Episcopal Church was an “invigorating, thankful feeling.”

A recent graduate of the University of Maryland in opera performance, Claire sings in the church’s 12-member professional choir. For days before the Jan. 20 service, she had considered the import of this moment in history. She wasn’t particularly nervous. “There was no reason not to just sing and take in everything I could,” she reflects.

At 8:45 a.m., the invitation-only congregation was seated and the choir was singing prelude pieces, when Michelle and Barack Obama arrived. “Their presence was overwhelming for me. They always have such grace under pressure. They’re a beautiful iconic couple. It was enough to bring tears to my eyes.”

“I do think Michelle smiled directly at me,” says Claire.

Outside the church in Lafayette Square, NBC’s
TODAY Show told viewers about the 24-year-old Iowa choir member who had caucused for Obama in Iowa a year earlier.

Claire had sung for President Bush in this church across the street from the White House. But this new administration thrills her. She says it’s “about changing the world.”

Claire took the soprano solo for the first verse of Moses Hogan’s stirring spiritual arrangement of This Little Light of Mine. In readings, prayers, and music, the service was shaped in “the spirit of the Obama campaign for inclusion,” recalls Claire. The preacher — Bishop T.D. Jakes of Dallas megachurch the Potter’s House — delivered the message on the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace. “He said that you can’t experience the greatness of light without feeling the heat of the fire.” And that God would be in the fire with this new President.

Claire felt like she knew Vashti McKenzie, the pioneering black woman who delivered the benediction. McKenzie is the first female bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Claire had first heard this woman’s wisdom on race, gender, and religion in a podcast of the radio program Speaking of Faith.

After worship, Claire dashed toward the National Mall to witness the oath of office. “It was such a colorful array of humanity. No one was marginalized. It was such a unified feeling.”

Singing in a church choir is a natural for Claire, who tuned in at St. Paul at age six or so. When Claire was eight, the Kuttler family moved to Germany for six years. Back for high school, she began singing duets in worship with her mom Barb before trying solos. West High School musicals also put her on the path to a music career.

Claire’s D.C. choir job gets her out of bed and to church on Sunday mornings, and it helps pay some bills. Here she “continues her faith journey” in a church steeped in traditional liturgy and open hospitality. An avid listener of Krista Tippett’s wide-ranging radio program Speaking of Faith, she likes to “put faith into my life in any way I can.” She calls it part of “this huge puzzle of spirituality.”

Claire knows that her voice is a gift of God. “Music to me is so intertwined with faith. It’s who I am.” But making her way in a music career is “a tough goodness.” There are mountaintop days like the inaugural service, and others that are disappointing.

“A singer’s life requires so much faith that a gig will come along and the rent will get paid. I try to be grateful — that I’ve found something so meaningful to pursue. I try not to get caught up in worry, and remember the passage to ‘be not afraid.’ You try to take heart in Christ’s love for you and keep your feet on the ground, as you make your way in the world.”

With her passion for justice and inclusion, Claire is experiencing “such an exciting and exhilarating time” in Washington D.C. It’s enough to make her lift up her voice and sing.

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"The place God calls you to is where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." ~Frederick Buechner