I first heard Hilary and Alison at a singing party on the Upper West Side of Manhattan three years ago this past month. They arrived late and the living room where we were all sittig was crowded, with every chair and sofa space occupied. So the two sisters sat on the floor in the center of the circle. As they did, someone started to sing Guthrie's "Roll On Columbia." Hilary and Alison joined in, and instantly I was awestruck. I am not a deeply religious person, but at that moment I felt a chill, for I readily understood that the voice of God spoke through their singing. I was in the presence of true holiness.
There is a Brightness which we can only know, as Saint Paul once said, as if we were looking through a dark lens. Thank you, dear Hilary, for being our lens, however briefly. And thank you, too, Alison, for being our lens as well. May God's voice and Hilary's spirit continue to be heard through your song.