Music's healing touch

By Cindy Cantrell, Globe Correspondent

After her father passed away in 2005, Newton resident Cindy Mapes was determined to do something to honor the ‘‘amazing’’ hospice care he received. A singer, songwriter, and music educator, she is now doing that musically, through an interfaith choir that will sing to those who are ill and dying.

Mapes and other members of the JourneySongs choir will visit the Newton Free Library at 7 p.m. Wednesday to meet others who would like to join, and those who would like to request its services for area patients. Its repertoire includes hymns, gospel music, rounds, and chants.

The program will include a screening of ‘‘Holding Our Own: Embracing the End of Life,’’ a documentary that features a Vermont-based hospice chorus that served as an inspiration for JourneySongs. Cosponsored by the First Unitarian Society in Newton, the choir’s organizers include Anne Watson-Born of Brookline and Newton residents Kate Mason and Nancy Wrenn.

‘‘I see our choir as accompanying the person on their journey, whether they’re struggling with chemo treatment, in a nursing home, or actively dying,’’ Mapes said. ‘‘This is a wonderful way for each of us to use music while being as present as possible for the person who needs us.’’

For details on JourneySongs, call Cindy Mapes at 617-527-4858.