Above:  The Union Jack

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WILLIAM WALSHAM HOW (DECEMBER 13, 1823-AUGUST 10, 1897)

Anglican Bishop of Wakefield and Hymn Writer

sister of

FRANCES JANE DOUGLAS (1829-DECEMBER 11, 1899)

Hymn Writer

I like to write about families of holy people.  Today I have the joy, therefore, to add a brother-and-sister team to the Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days.

William Wybergh How was a solicitor.  His famous son, William Walsham How (1823-1897), educated at Wadham College, Oxford, took Holy Orders in The Church of England in 1846.  He became the Bishop Suffragan of Bedford in 1879, having already declined opportunities to become the Bishop of  Manchester then of Durham.  How was among the greatest poets in The Church of England.  He had coedited Church Hymns (1871) and published his Poems and Hymns (1886) before becoming the Bishop of Wakefield in 1888, so his reputation was not in question.  How was sufficiently secure in his ego structure that his ambitions did not run amok.  Frances Pigou, Dean of Bristol, wrote of How:

William Walsham…was a man of great personal piety, which shone transparently in him…His well-known hymns are fragrant with it.  All brought into contact with him were conscious of it.  He was not a man of great intellectual power, but he was, like St. Barnabas, “a good man, full of faith and of the Holy Ghost”; and his ministry was singularly owned and blessed of God.  It is true that more men are won to God by holiness than by cleverness.

–quoted in Robert Guy McCutchan, Our Hymnody:  A Manual of The Methodist Hymnal, 2d. ed. (Nashville, TN:  Abingdon Press, 1937, page 244)

How served as the Bishop of Wakefield from 1888 to 1897.  He was

the poor man’s bishop

and

the people’s bishop,

a man who did not stand on ceremony.  Inscribed on his bishop’s staff was the Latin for

Feed with the word, feed with the life.

I have added the texts of some of his numerous hymns to my GATHERED PRAYERS blog.  Here is a link to my guide post for them:  http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/09/05/william-walsham-how/.

Of Bishop How’s sister, Frances Jane (How) Douglas (spelled “Douglass in some sources) I can find little information, not even her date of birth.  I do know that she wrote hymns, including “For All Thy Love and Goodness” (1848) (http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/31/for-all-thy-love-and-goodness/), which her brother revised for inclusion in Church Hymns (1871).  God knows the rest; that must suffice.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 23, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT DEDIDERIUS/DIDIER OF VIENNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF SAINT GUIBERT OF GORZE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK

THE FEAST SAINT JOHN BAPTIST ROSSI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST

THE FEAST OF NICOLAUS COPERNICUS, SCIENTIST

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For Further Reading:

http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?key=How%2c%20William%20Walsham%2c%201823-1897

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Dear God of beauty,

you have granted literary ability and spiritual sensitivity to

William Walsham How and Frances Jane Douglas and others, who have composed hymn texts.

May we, as you guide us,

find worthy hymn texts to be icons,

through which we see you.

In the Name of God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 44:1-3a, 5-15

Psalm 147

Revelation 5:11-14

Luke 2:8-20

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 20, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS AMATOR OF AUXERRE AND GERMANUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT MAMERTINUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT MARCIAN OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK

THE FEAST OF JOHANNES BUGENHAGEN, GERMAN LUTHERAN PASTOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCELLINUS OF EMBRUN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF OLAVUS AND LAURENTIUS PETRI, RENEWERS OF THE CHURCH

Above:  Library, New York University, 1904

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-det-4a11791

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SAMUEL HANSON COX (SR.) (AUGUST 25, 1793-OCTOBER 2, 1880)

U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Abolitionist

father of

ARTHUR CLEVELAND COXE (MAY 10, 1818-JULY 20, 1896)

Episcopal Bishop of Western New York, Hymn Writer, and Translator of Hymns

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Today I add a father and a son to the Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days.

Samuel Hanson Cox (1793-1880), born in Rahway, New Jesey, grew up a Quaker.  He renounced that denomination to serve in the United States armed forces during the War of 1812.  After that conflict Cox became a Presbyterian minister, serving at Mendham, New Jersey (1817-1821) then at the City of New York (1821-1834).  In 1932 he cofounded the University of the City of New York, now New York University, where he taught theology.  Cox’s opposition to slavery offended a sufficient number of people that a mob sacked his home and church building during the anti-abolitionist riots in 1834, forcing him to leave the city for safety.  So Cox became the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn, not yet part of the City of New York.  He also began to teach Ecclesiastical History at the Union Theological Seminary in time.  Cox, a prominent New School Presbyterian, served as the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (New School) in 1849-1850.

[Historical Note:  The organizational roots of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (1789-1838) went back to 1706, when The Church of Scotland founded the Presbytery of Philadelphia.  The PCUSA (1789-1838) divided over, among other things, the Second Great Awakening.  The Old School opposed it while the New School accommodated itself to the movement.  Just to confuse people, I suppose, each body which formed from the 1838 schism called itself simply the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.  The New School divided over slavery 1858, with the United Synod of the South forming.  The Old School split likewise in 1861, spawning the Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America.  The PCCSA absorbed the United Synod of the South in 1864 and renamed itself the Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS) in 1865, after the Confederacy had ceased to exist.  The two PCUSAs reunited in 1869-1870 as the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (what else?).  This body merged with the United Presbyterian Church of North America in 1958 to create The United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., which reunited with the almost entirely Southern PCUS in 1983 to form the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).]

Cox retired in 1854.  He died at Broxville, New York, in 1880.

Cox had two sons, both of whom became Episcopal clergymen and added “e” to the last name.  One son, Samuel Hanson Coxe, Jr., served parishes in the State of New York.  The other son, Arthur Cleveland Coxe, rose to the office of bishop.

Arthur Cleveland Coxe was born at Mendham, New Jersey, in 1818, during his father’s tenure as the Presbyterian minister there.  Coxe attended the University of the City of New York, which his father had cofounded.  Coxe published throughout his life, beginning with poetry during his freshman year of college.  He graduated in 1838 then matriculated at General Theological Seminary.  Coxe, ordained to the Diaconate in 1841 and the Priesthood the next year, served at St. John’s Church, Hartford, Connecticut, from 1842 to 1854; Grace Church, Baltimore, Maryland, from 1854 to 1863; and Calvary Episcopal Church, New York, New York, from 1863 to 1865.  In 1865 Coxe became the Bishop Coadjutor of Western New York, having already declined an opportunity to become the Bishop of Texas.  His tenure as Bishop Coadjutor lasted for just a few months, for the bishop died, making Coxe the next bishop, a post he held for the rest of his life.

Coxe published prose and poetry, including hymns.  He wrote the following text in 1850:

Saviour, sprinkle many nations,

Fruitful let Thy sorrows be;

By Thy pains and consolations

Draw the Gentiles unto Thee.

Of Thy cross, the wondrous story,

Be it to the nations told;

Let them see Thee in Thy glory

And Thy mercy manifold.

—–

Far and wide, though all unknowing,

Pants for Thee each mortal breast;

Human tears for Thee are flowing,

Human hearts in Thee would rest.

Thirsting, as for dews of even,

As the new-mown grass for rain,

Thee they seek as God of heaven,

Thee as man for sinners slain.

—–

Saviour, lo!  the isles are waiting,

Stretched the hand and stained the sight,

For Thy Spirit, new-creating,

Love’s pure flame and wisdom’s light;

Give the word, and of the preacher

Speed the foot and tough the tongue,

Till on earth by every creature

Glory to the Lamb be sung.

Coxe was a humble man, one who, until the last four years of his life, refused to let any of his hymns appear in official Episcopal hymnals, even though he served on the denominational Hymnal Commission.  Of Coxe Robert Guy McCutchan wrote the following:

Bishop Coxe was a man of unusual gifts:  great personal charm, wonderful eloquence, a scholar of distinction, and a poet whose master-motive was his love of Christ, his love of souls.

—Our Hymnody:  A Manual of The Methodist Hymnal, 2d. ed.  (Nashville, TN:  Abingdon Press, 1937, pages 149-150)

Bishop Coxe spoke out on a variety of issues.  He opposed any translation of the Bible other than the Authorized (King James) Version. (I disagree with him on that point.  That translation is, for me, properly a museum piece.)  He also opposed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception and defended the Apostolic nature of Anglican orders.  (I agree with him on both of those counts.)  But, regardless of how much I agree or disagree with Bishop Coxe, I honor him for his work for God.  And I honor his father’s efforts for God and the enslaved.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 20, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT ALCUIN OF YORK, DEACON AND ABBOT

THE FEAST OF SAINT HELENA, MOTHER OF EMPEROR CONSTANTINE I

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For Further Reading:

Samuel Hanson Cox:

http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/browse?type=lcsubc&key=Cox%2C%20Samuel%20H.%20(Samuel%20Hanson)%2C%201793-1880&c=x

Arthur Cleveland Coxe:

http://anglicanhistory.org/usa/accoxe/

http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?key=Coxe%2C%20A.%20Cleveland%20(Arthur%20Cleveland)%2C%201818-1896

http://anglicanhistory.org/usa/wcdoane/coxe1896.html

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Heavenly Father, shepherd of your people, we thank you for your servants

Samuel Hanson Cox and Arthur Cleveland Coxe,

who were faithful in the care and nurture of your flock.

We pray that, following their examples and the teachings of their holy lives,

we may by your grace attain our full maturity in Christ,

through the same Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.  

Ezekiel 34:11-16 or Acts 20:17-35

Psalm 84

1 Peter 5:1-4 or Ephesians 3:14-21

John 21:15-17 or Matthew 24:42-47

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 60

Above:  A Globe

Image Source = Christian Fischer

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WILLIAM PIERSON MERRILL (JANUARY 10, 1867-JUNE 19, 1954)

U.S. Presbyterian Minister, Social Reformer, and Hymn Writer

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Doctor Merrill, an author of repute, an outstanding preacher, an authority on hymns and tunes, has for nearly a half century battled for righteous causes in America’s three largest cities.

—Robert Guy McCutchan, Our Hymnody:  A Manual of The Methodist Hymnal, 2d. ed. (Nashville, TN:  Abingdon Press, 1937, pages 304-305)

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Many readers of this post might not know the name “William Pierson Merrill” yet might be quite familiar with his great hymn, “Rise Up, O Men of God.”

Rise up, O men of God!

Have done with lesser things;

Give heart and soul and mind and strength

To serve the King of kings.

—–

Rise up, O men of God!

His Kingdom tarries long;

Bring in the day of brotherhood,

And end the night of wrong.

—–

Rise up, O men of God!

The Church for you doth wait,

Her strength unequal to her task;

Rise up and make her great.

—–

Lift high the Cross of Christ!

Tread where His feet have trod;

As brothers of the Son of Man

Rise up, O men of God!

I wonder how many people who have sung that hymn would find Merrill’s theology horrifying or at least objectionable.  I, of course, consider it to be neither.

William Pierson Merrill (1867-1954) graduated from Rutgers College, New Brunswick, New Jersey, then from Union Theological Seminary, New York, New York.  The Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. ordained him in 1890.  He served at the following churches:

1. Trinity Presbyterian Church, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1890-1895);
2. Sixth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, Illinois (1895-1911); and
3. Brick Presbyterian Church, New York, New York (1911-1938).  From there he retired.

Update on the churches:

1. Trinity Presbyterian Church has become The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill by means of a reunion of Trinity with its parent congregation, First Presbyterian Church.
2. Sixth Presbyterian Church (not to be confused with the former Sixth United Presbyterian Church) has ceased to exist, as has its building.
3. Brick Presbyterian Church has moved from the location it occupied when Merrill was pastor.

Merrill was a peace activist and a biblical scholar.  He published a commentary on Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah in 1927.  And, in 1914, he became the first President of the Church Peace Union, now the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs.   Merrill’s liberalism and internationalism were evident in Christian Internationalism (1918) and Liberal Christianity (1925).

Merrill declined the opportunity to become the President of Union Theological Seminary in 1917 yet accepted the position of Moderator of the Presbytery of New York from 1940 to 1942.

William Pierson Merrill spoke out for ethics in public life on the global scale.  Indeed, he chose not to focus on “lesser things,” but to work on bringing in “the day of brotherhood.”  That was a worthy cause, one which continues to be crucial.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 26, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS REMACLUS OF MAASTRICHT, THEODORE OF MAASTRICHT, LAMBERT OF MAASTRICHT, HUBERT OF MAASTRICHT AND LIEGE, AND FLORIBERT OF LIEGE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT LANDRADA OF MUNSTERBILSEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBESS; AND SAINTS OTGER OF UTRECHT, PLECHELM OF GUELDERLAND, AND WIRO, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES

THE FEAST OF CHRISTINA ROSSETTI, POET

THE FEAST OF SAINT PASCHASIUS RADBERTUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT

THE FEAST OF ROBERT HUNT, FIRST ANGLICAN CHAPLAIN AT JAMESTOWN, VIRGINIA

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For Further Reading:

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/m/e/merrill_wp.htm

http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?key=Merrill%2c%20William%20Pierson%2c%201867-1954

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Holy and righteous God, you created us in your image.

Grant us grace to contend fearlessly against evil and to make no peace with oppression.

Help us, like your servant William Pierson Merrill,

to work for justice among people and nations, to the glory of your name,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Hosea 2:18-23

Psalm 94:1-15

Romans 12:9-21

Luke 6:20-36

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 60

Above:  Europe in 1648

Image in the Public Domain

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BENJAMIN SCHMOLCK (DECEMBER 21, 1672-FEBRUARY 12, 1737)

German Lutheran Pastor and Hymn Writer

Benjamin Schmolck entered the world at Brauchitzchdorf, Silesia (now Chrostnik, Poland).  He studied at Laubon and Leipzig before becoming a Lutheran pastor, assisting his father at Brauchitzchdorf.  Schmolck transferred to Schweidnitz, Silesia (now Swidnica, Poland), the next year.  There he labored under difficult circumstances for the next thirty-five years, for the Peace of Westphalia imposed restrictions on Lutheranism.  Schmolck and two other pastors had to serve thirty-six villages; more churches and pastors were forbidden.

Schmolck found the time to write over 900 hymns and the texts of many cantatas.  Robert Guy McCutchan, in his 1937 companion volume to the 1935 U.S. Methodist Hymnal, quoted an unidentified source, which said of Schmolck’s hymns:

A deep and genuine personal religion, and a fervent love to the Saviour, inspire his best hymns; and as they are not simply thought out but felt, they come from the heart to the heart.

Among Schmolck’s hymns were “Blessed Jesus, Here We Stand,” “My Jesus, as Thou Wilt,” and “Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty.”

Schmolck died at Schweidnitz on February 12, 1737.  Many of his hymns remain popular.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 14, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT VENANTIUS HONORIUS CLEMENTIUS FORTUNATUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF POITIERS

THE FEAST OF CARL PHILIPP EMANUEL BACH, COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MYSTIC

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Heavenly Father, shepherd of your people,

we thank you for your servant Benjamin Schmolck,

who was faithful in the care and nurture of your flock.

We pray that, following his example and the teaching of his holy life,

we may by your grace attain our full maturity in Christ;

through the same Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Ezekiel 34:11-16 or Acts 20:17-35

Psalm 84

1 Peter 5:1-4 or Epheisans 3:14-21

John 21:15-17 or Matthew 24:42-47

–Adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 60

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Revised from November 29, 2016

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Above:  Vatican Flag

Image in the Public Domain

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FREDERICK OAKELEY (SEPTEMBER 5, 1802-JANUARY 29, 1880)

Anglican then Roman Catholic Priest

Frederick Oakeley was the son of Sir Charles Oakeley, former Governor of Madras.  The younger Oakeley graduated from Oxford and became a priest of The Church of England.  His brother-in-law, William George Ward, brought him over to  the Tractarian camp of the Established Church.  So it was, in 1839, while serving at All Saints’ Church, Margaret Street, London, that Oakeley attracted attention (much of it negative) because of his Anglo-Catholic ways.  James Moffatt, in his companion volume to the 1927 Scottish Presbyterian Hymnary, noted Oakeley’s

ultra-ritualistic service (page 450),

a comment I would expect from a Presbyterian of a certain stripe.  Oakeley’s drift toward Roman Catholicism led to his suspension and his formal conversion in 1845.  He became Canon of Westminster in 1852.  Oakeley wrote extensively on matters of Roman Catholic doctrine and liturgy, especially antiphonal chanting.  Robert Guy McCutchan, in his companion volume to the 1935 U.S. Methodist Hymnal, observed

His publications were numerous, some having considerable value.  (page 132)

Such faint praise from a Methodist source in the 1930s does not surprise me, given the relative state of ecumenism at the time.

Perhaps Oakeley’s best known hymn is “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” which he translated from Latin, in which there are eight stanzas.  Most English versions in hymnals have fewer stanzas, however.  I collect hymnals, many of which I have consulted while preparing this post.  Some of these volumes contain a different English translation, that of Edward Caswall.  Others contain Oakeley’s translation.  And certain hymnals offer hybrid versions.  I have reconstructed a five-verse Oakeley version from The Hymnal (1933) of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. and The Hymnal of the Evangelical United Brethren Church (1957).

O come, all ye faithful,

Joyful and triumphant, (or Joyfully triumphant)

O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem!

Come and behold Him

Born the King of Angels!

Refrain:

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord!

The Brightness of glory,

Light of light eternal,

Our lowly nature

He hath not abhorred:

Son of the Father, Word of God Incarnate!

Refrain

O see how the shepherds,

Summoned to His cradle,

Now leaving their flocks,

Draw nigh with lowly fear;

We, too, will thither bend our joyful footsteps;

Refrain

O sing, choirs of angels,

Sing in exultation,

O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above! (or Through heaven’s arches be your praises poured!)

Glory to God (or Now to our God be glory)

In the highest!

Refrain

Amen, Lord, we greet Thee,

Born this happy morning; (or Born for our salvation)

O Jesus, to Thee be glory giv’n; (or Jesus, be forever Thy name adored:)

Word of the Father,

Now in flesh appearing,

Refrain

I have researched, drafted, and typed this post immediately prior to Advent 2012.  So it seems appropriate to ponder Oakeley, a translator of one of the great Christmas carols, at this moment.  His legacy survives him; it is current.  Recently, while spending too much time at YouTube, I found a video of cats meowing the hymn.  It was not a sublime experience.  No, “O Come, All Ye Faithful” deserves more respect, as does Frederick Oakeley.

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Holy God, whose majesty surpasses all human definition and capacity to grasp,

thank you for those (especially Frederick Oakeley)

who have nurtured and encouraged the reverent worship of you.

May their work inspire us to worship you in knowledge, truth, and beauty.

In the Name of God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

1 Corinthians 25:1-8

Psalm 145

Revelation 15:1-4

John 4:19-26

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 30, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT ANDREW THE APOSTLE, MARTYR

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Revised on November 21, 2016

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Above:  Flag of England

Image in the Public Domain

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CHARLES KINGSLEY (JUNE 12, 1819-JANUARY 23, 1875)

Anglican Priest, Novelist, and Hymn Writer

Charles Kingsley, son of an Anglican priest, witnessed the Bristol Riots of 1831 when he was a boy.  The riots were related to denied demands to redistribute parliamentary seats, to establish proper representation.  Violence followed frustration and led to the destruction of property and the loss of life.  The riots made a deep depression on the young Kingsley, who had a sensitive nature.

Kingsley continued his education, which terminated formally at Magdalene College, Cambridge.  He, ordained priest in 1842, served as Curate of Eversley until 1844, when he became Rector there.  Later positions included chaplain to Queen Victoria (1859-1860), Professor of Modern History, Cambridge (1860-1869), Canon of Chester (1869-1873), and Canon of Westminster (1873-1875).

Kingsley, a British liberal, supported Darwinian Evolution (even in 1859, making him an early defender of the great scientist) and advocated for Christian Socialism.  Needless to say, he was no stranger to controversy.  He, a skilled novelist who wrote very descriptive passages, published Christian Socialist novels, including Acton Locke (1850) and Yeast (1851).  The politics of these novels led to Kingsley’s temporary inhibition by the Bishop of London.  The priest also wrote historical novels, including Hypatia (1853) and Westward Ho (1855).

James Moffatt, in his companion volume to the 1927 Scottish Presbyterian Hymmary, struggled with Kingsley’s Christian Socialism.  Moffatt commended Kingsley for being a

chivalrous friend of the poor (page 393)

yet wrote in a cautious tone regarding Christian Socialism.  Nevertheless, Moffatt did leave a final verdict:  Kingsley was a

courageous idealist

who sought to act kindly.

Yet, reality being as complicated as it is, acting out of idealism can prove difficult sometimes.  In 1865, in Jamaica, economic injustice mixed with frustrations led to riots in which innocent people died.  Finally, the colonial governor, Edward Eyre, sent in troops to end the uprising.  This action led to the threat of legal jeopardy for Eyre.  Some people sought to scapegoat Eyre, in fact.  Kingsley joined a committee to oppose this attempted scapegoating.  Perhaps nobody in the Jamaican events was on the side of the angels.  I suppose that Kingsley’s memories of the 1831 Bristol Riots influenced his thinking in 1866.  And I leave the final verdict to God.

Kingsley also debated with John Henry Newman; the latter was the superior controversalist.  But Kingsley did have a sensitive nature, one not well attuned to debating.  Yet, if you, O reader, ever found Newman’s Apologia Pro Vita Sua helpful, you have the debate with Kingsley to thank for that book’s existence.

On December 4, 1871, at the laying of the foundation for a new wing of Queen’s Hospital, Birmingham, a thousand-voice choir debuted a new hymn by Kingsley.  Hymnals omit the first two verses and entitle the hymn “From Thee All Skill and Science Flow.”  Robert Guy McCutchan, in his 1937 companion volume to the U.S. Methodist Hymnal (1935), quoted an unidentified source which called this hymn

the epitome of his [Kingsley’s] life, and a mirror of his mind and heart.  (page 453)

The full lyrics follow:

Accept this building, gracious Lord,

No temple though it be;

We raised it for our suffering kin

And so, good Lord, for Thee.

Accept our little gift, and give,

To all who here may dwell,

The will and power to do their work,

Or bear their sorrows well.

From Thee all skill and science flow,

All pity, care and love,

All calm and courage, faith and hope:

O pour them from above!

And part them, Lord, to each and all,

As each and all shall need,

To rise, like incense, each to Thee,

In noble thought and deed.

And hasten, Lord, that perfect day

When pain and death shall cease,

And Thy just rule shall fill the earth

With health and light and peace;

When ever blue the sky shall gleam,

And ever green the sod,

And man’s rude work deface no more

The paradise of God.

Charles Kingsley’s legacy is one of caring for others.  Jesus and the Hebrew prophets would have approved.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 30, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT ANDREW THE APOSTLE, MARTYR

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Almighty God, we praise you for hour servant Charles Kingsley,

through whom you have called the church to its tasks and renewed its life.

Raise up, in our own day, teachers and prophets inspired by your Spirit,

whose voices will give strength to your church and proclaim the reality of your reign,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Psalm 46

1 Corinthians 3:11-23

Mark 10:35-45

–Adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2o06), page 60

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Revised on November 21, 2016

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Above:  Minster Choir East, York, England

Image Source = Library of Congress

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SIR JOSEPH BARNBY (AUGUST 12, 1838-JANUARY 28, 1896)

Anglican Church Musician and Composer

Each of us, in order to achieve his or her potential, needs the desire to accomplish it, the proper work ethic, and the opportunities to apply the desire and the work ethic.  Sir Joseph Barnby was quite fortunate, for he had all three.

Barnby, born at York, England, joined the York Minster choir at age seven.  He began to teach three years later and to work as an organist at age twelve.  He became the master of his school at age fifteen.  The alumnus of the Royal Academy of Music had a distinguished career in music, mostly in church settings.  His church choirs in London parishes, the best such ensembles in that city. performed the Passions of Johann Sebastian Bach annually.  Barnby conducted the first performances of Richard Wagner‘s Parsifal and Antonin Dvorak‘s Stabat Mater in England.  And Barnby served as musical advisor to Novello, Ewer and Company from 1861 to 1876.  The firm founded a choir for him to lead.  He worked as Director of  Music at Eton College from 1875 to 1892, conducted the Royal Choral Society, and became (in 1892) the Principal of the Guildhall School of Music.  His knighthood (in 1892) was merited yet rare for choral directors.

Barnby was a prolific composer.  Robert Guy McCutchan wrote of the saint in the 1937 companion volume to the U.S. Methodist Hymnal of 1935.  Barnby, McCutchan  wrote, was

…one of the most prolific, if not the greatest of the late nineteenth-century group of hymn-tune writers.

–page 57

Barnby composed an oratio (Rebekah), solo pieces, service music, anthems for choirs, and 246 hymn tunes.  Perhaps the best-known hymn tune he composed was Laudes Domini, the traditional tune for “When Morning Gilds the Skies.”

Barnby also edited five hymnals, the most renowned of which is the 1872 Anglican Hymnary, a High Church volume.  If you, O reader, desire to find a copy of that book, follow this link, where you will find it available in various formats.

The positive legacy of Sir Joseph Barnby lingers, fortunately.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 26, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN BERCHMANS, ROMAN CATHOLIC SEMINARIAN

THE FEAST OF ISAAC WATTS, HYMN WRITER

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Eternal God, light of the world and Creator of all that is good and lovely:

We bless your name for inspiring Joseph Barnby and all those who

with words and images have filled us with desire and love for you;

through Jesus Christ our Savior, who with you and the Holy Spirit reigns,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

1 Chronicles 29:14b-19

Psalm 90:14-17

2 Corinthians 3:1-3

John 21:15-17, 24-25

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 728

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Revised on November 21, 2016

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