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Carolyn Winfrey Gillette

b. 1961 Scripture: Deuteronomy 15:11 Author of "When Mary Poured a Rich Perfume" in Songs of Grace Carolyn Winfrey Gillette has been a pastor in rural, small town, suburban, and city churches; she has also served as a hospice chaplain, a hospital chaplain, and a school bus aide helping children with special needs. She and her husband Bruce are pastors of the First Presbyterian Union Church in Owego, NY. Carolyn is a gifted hymn writer who has written over 400 hymns. These hymns have been sung by congregations throughout the United States and around the world — from the Washington National Cathedral to St. Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland to St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town, South Africa to small town churches and small household congregations; they have also been sung at national church and international ecumenical meetings. She has written four books: "I Sing to My Savior: New Hymns from the Stories in Luke's Gospel", "God's World is Changing: New Hymns for Advent and Christmas", "Gifts of Love: New Hymns for Today's Worship" (Geneva Press) and "Songs of Grace: New Hymns for God and Neighbo"r (Upper Room Books). Her hymns have been published in over 20 books. Two of her hymns have been published by the Choristers Guild as anthems. Carolyn was commissioned to write the lead article for the special issue on "Singing Our Lives" for Baylor University's "Christian Reflectio"n journal. Her hymns have also been in "Call to Worship" journal, "The Chorister" (cover story), "Reformed Worship," "The Presbyterian Outlook" and posted on thousands of web sites. All of her hymns can be found on her website with indices to scriptural references, topics, tunes, and the three-year cycle of the Revised Common Lectionary: http://www.carolynshymns.com The World Council of Churches, National Council of Churches, Church World Service and Churches Uniting in Christ have asked her to write hymns. Habitat for Humanity International used a hymn by Carolyn for their 30th anniversary celebration. Family Promise (Interfaith Hospitality Network) did a music video of her hymn for their ministry with homeless families. The Humane Society of the United States did a music video contest of her hymn for their Blessing of the Animals service. The Presbyterian Church (USA) 216th General Assembly presented her with the "Ecumenical and Interreligious Service Recognition." Sojourners did a short video about her hymn writing. A Canadian scholar wrote her biography for the "Cambridge Dictionary for Hymnology." Feature stories about Carolyn's hymns addressing concerns facing the Church, nation and world, were done by The New Yorker, The Christian Century, America, National Public Radio, national PBS-TV, and newspapers (Philadelphia Inquirer, Washington Post, New Jersey Courier Post, Delaware News Journal, and others). Carolyn is a graduate of Lebanon Valley College and Princeton Theological Seminary. She finds joy in parish ministry, hymn writing, and most of all in her family as a wife, mother (and foster mother), grandmother, sister, and human parent to a rescue dog, "Annie." Carolyn sees her hymn writing as a partnership and is very grateful for prayers for her hymn writing, suggestions for hymns, gifts for hymn use and commissions, and invitations to speak at conferences, workshops, and church gatherings (in person and online). She hopes her hymns nurture people in their discipleship and support churches in their worship and service in the world. Sing to the Lord a new song! Copied from "About the Author" in "I Sing to My Savior: New Hymns from the Stories in Luke's Gospel." Email from Bruce Gillette

William Crosswell

1804 - 1851 Person Name: Rev. William Croswell (1804-1851) Scripture: Deuteronomy 15:11 Author of "The Poor always with you" in Many Voices; or, Carmina Sanctorum, Evangelistic Edition with Tunes Crosswell, William, D.D., was born at Hudson, N.Y., Nov. 7, 1804; graduated at Yale College, 1822; entered for a time upon law studies, but eventually he entered Hartford College as a Theological Student, and then took Holy Orders in the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1829. In 1829 he became Rector of Christ Church, Boston; in 1840, of St. Peter's, Auburn, New York; and in 1844, of the Church of the Advent, Boston. Died suddenly at Boston, Nov. 9, 1851. Whilst at Hartford he assisted, during 1827-28, in editing The Watchman, and contributed to it many of his poetical pieces. His Memoir was written by his father, the Rev. Dr. Crosswell, of New Haven; and his Poems, collected by his father, were edited, with a short Memoir, by Dr. (now Bishop) Coxe, and published at Boston in 1800. Of his hymns the folowing are in common use:— 1. Lord, go with us, and we go. Journeying. This in Hymns for the Church and Home, 1860, No. 212, is a portion of his "Traveller's Hymn," first published in 1833. Concerning it Dr. Coxe says, "When on a journey with him, I reminded him of his 'Traveller's Hymn,' which I had seen but could not remember; and he told me, if I recollect aright, that it was a sort of Impromptu, which bubbled up when he was going with Dr. Wainwright from Boston to New York to attend the General Convention" (Memoir, p. xlii.); and in his notes, p. 282, he indirectly fixes the date of composition as 1832. Orig. text in 2 stanzas of 8 lines, in Poems, p. 255. 2. Lord, lead the way the Saviour went. For Sisters of Mercy. Written in 1831 for the Howard Benevolent Society of Boston. Dr. Coxe has entitled it "Hymn forSisters of Mercy," and says he "ventured to give it a name suited to the present state of the Church, in which Deaconesses and Sisters of Mercy are among other realizations of the poet's ardent hopes. Perhaps we owe them to his faithful prayers." (Notes to the Poems, p. 283.) It is generally accepted as the best American hymn for benevolent occasions. Original text, Poems, p. 256. 3. Now gird your patient loins again. Advent. This hymn for Advent is in 3 stanzas of 4 lines. Poems, p. 209; Hymns for Church and Home, No. 55. 4. 0 Saviour, leave us not alone. Lent. This is from his hymn for Lent beginning, "Thou who, for forty days and nights," in 4 stanzas of 4 double lines. In its abbreviated form it is found in Hymns for Church and Home, No. 85. Original in Poems, p. 219, in 4 stanzas of 4 double lines. 5. We come not with a costly store. Epiphany. For the Epiphany, from his Poems, p. 215, and based upon the Gospel of the day, in 2 stanzas of 8 lines. 6. And now the solemn rite is past. Ordination. This is composed of stanzas vii., viii. of his poem, "The Ordinal," in Poems, pp. 69-71, slightly altered. "The Ordinal" was written in 1828, and describes minutely his own ordination at his father's church, at New Haven, and the feel¬ings inspired, by the solemnity. It was printed in The Watchman, 1828. (Poems, Preface, p. xxvii.) The portion given as "And now the solemn rite is past" was included in Hall's Mitre, 1836. Dr. Crosswell also translated the "Veni, Creator Spiritus" as "Creator, Spirit, come and bless us." His hymns are mostly unknown to the English collections. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ================= Crosswell, W., p. 269, ii. On the title-page of his Poems, 1861, this author is given as W. Croswell, and the best authorities are in favour of this spelling of the name. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Rory Cooney

b. 1952 Person Name: Rory Cooney, b. 1952 Scripture: Deuteronomy 15 Author of "The Trumpet in the Morning" in Gather Comprehensive, Second Edition

B. F. White

1800 - 1879 Person Name: B. F. White, 1800-1879 Scripture: Deuteronomy 15 Composer of "MORNING TRUMPET" in Gather Comprehensive, Second Edition Benjamin F. White (b. Spartanburg, SC, 1800; d. Atlanta, GA, 1879), was coeditor of The Sacred Harp (1844). He came from a family of fourteen children and was largely self-taught. Eventually White became a popular singing-school teacher and editor of the weekly Harris County newspaper. Bert Polman

Graham Kendrick

b. 1950 Person Name: Graham Kendrick, b. 1950 Scripture: Deuteronomy 15:7 Author of "God of the poor" in Singing the Faith Graham Kendrick (b. England, August 2, 1950), the son of a Baptist minister in Northamptonshire, is one of the most prolific Christian singer-songwriters in the United Kingdom. He’s written music for over thirty years, and to date has released thirty-eight albums. He is best known for his songs “Shine, Jesus, Shine,” “Knowing You,” and “The Servant King.” Kendrick has received honorary doctorates in divinity from Brunel University and Wycliffe College. In 1987 he helped co-found the March for Jesus, which today is a global phenomenon in which Christians take their faith to the streets in a celebration of Christ. In 1995 Kendrick received a Dove Award for his international work, and he remains an active advocate for Compassion International, which is a Christian child sponsorship organization dedicated to the long-term development of children living in poverty around the world, and also is a contributor to CompassionArt, an organization with the aim of generating income from works of art to assist in the relief of suffering around the planet. Laura de Jong

Fred Pratt Green

1903 - 2000 Person Name: Fred Pratt Green (1903-) Scripture: Deuteronomy 15:7-11 Author of "For the Fruit of All Creation" in Common Praise (1998) The name of the Rev. F. Pratt Green is one of the best-known of the contemporary school of hymnwriters in the British Isles. His name and writings appear in practically every new hymnal and "hymn supplement" wherever English is spoken and sung. And now they are appearing in American hymnals, poetry magazines, and anthologies. Mr. Green was born in Liverpool, England, in 1903. Ordained in the British Methodist ministry, he has been pastor and district superintendent in Brighton and York, and now served in Norwich. There he continued to write new hymns "that fill the gap between the hymns of the first part of this century and the 'far-out' compositions that have crowded into some churches in the last decade or more." --Seven New Hymns of Hope , 1971. Used by permission.

Georgia Elma Harkness

1891 - 1974 Person Name: Georgia Harkness Scripture: Deuteronomy 15:7-8 Author of "God of the Fertile Fields" in Voices Together Georgia Elma Harkness (1891-1974), first woman to teach theology in an American seminary, was once a household name, but few today know who she is–and all of her writings are out of print. We need to recover the work of this neglected theologian for the life of the church today. Born 21 April 1891, Harkness was the youngest of four children born to Joseph Warren Harkness and Lillie Merrill Harkness. She was born in Harkness, NY, a town in the Adirondacks named for her grandfather. A Methodist, she was personally converted in a revival as a teenager, and sensed a calling to serve the church. Her family was upper middle class and progressive, thereby giving her opportunities for education beyond what was available to most girls and women of her era. Avoiding the women’s colleges, she earned a B.A. (philosophy) from Cornell University in 1912. In a later age, Harkness would probably have gone straight to a seminary and training for the ministry, but seminaries did not admit women as regular, degree-seeking, students and ordained women were very rare. Harkness intended to volunteer for overseas mission work after her graduation from Cornell, but family problems prevented this. She taught high school for six (6) years, but was restless. She wanted to do more to serve the church and she wanted to pursue studies in theology. So, she went to Boston University (related to the Methodists). Denied entrance because of her sex to BU’s School of Theology, she matriculated in the Department of Religion of the Graduate School and earned a Ph.D. in philosophy of religion in 1923 with a dissertation entitled, ”The Relations Between Philosophy of Religion and Ethics in the Thought of Thomas Hill Green.” (Green (1836-1882), was a liberal British Idealist philosopher and social reformer who died 10 years before Harkness’ birth. ) For the next 15 years, Harkness taught courses in religion and philosophy at Elmira College in Elmira, NY–at the time a women’s college, but now co-educational. During summers and sabbatical leaves, Harkness continued her theological education by attending Harvard Divinity School, Yale Divinity School, and Union Theological Seminary (NY) always with the status of “special” (non-degree) student. In 1926, she was ordained by the Methodist Church (later part of the United Methodist Church), but, along with all other women, she was not admitted to any Conference (and, thus, could not function as a minister) until 1956. From 1937 to 1940, Harkness was Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Mount Holyoke College in Massachussetts and from 1940-1949, she was Professor of Applied Theology at Garrett Biblical Institute near Chicago, IL. Garrett Biblical Institute, now known as Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, is a post-baccalaureate Methodist theological seminary whose main mission is the preparation of divinity students for ordained ministry. Harkness was the first woman hired to teach theology at any seminary in the U.S. Today, the Chair of Applied Theology at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary is known as the Georgia Harkness Chair of Applied Theology. Harkness ended her active teaching ministry at The Pacific School of Religion, an ecumenical seminary related to the United Church of Christ outside of San Francisco,CA. She was Professor of Applied Theology at PSR from 1949 until her retirement in 1960. Her early interests in global missions and in global and ecumenical Christianity never left Harkness. Unable to be a missionary herself, Harkness did support work for Methodist global missions, including writing materials for them, especially the Methodist Board of World Peace and and the Board of Social and Economic Relations. After World War II, Harkness also did much to support the global ecumenical work of the World Council of Churches, serving on both the Faith and Order and Church and World Commissions. Her hymn, “The Hope of the World,” was chosen by the Hymn Society of America (now the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada) for the Second global meeting of the World Council of Churches which was held in Evanston, IL in 1954 and had as it’s theme, “Christ, the Hope of the World.” Harkness had previously played key roles in the Life and Work conference at Oxford (1937), and at the first assembly of the World Council of Churches in Amsterdam, 1948. In the 1957-1958 school year, Harkness served as Visiting Professor at both the International Christian University in Japan and the ecumenical Union Theological Seminary, Manila, the Philippines. This pioneer for women in ministry and early feminist theologian usually was irenic and balanced in her approach to such matters. Living in a very patriarchal and sexist era, she knew the dangers of appearing to male-dominated structures as “shrill,” or “strident,” in her advocacy of equality, and so was quick to praise opening or partial steps even while continuing to push for full gender equality in home, church, and society. Typical of Harkness’ approach on these matters, she advocated equal ordination and ministry for decades, but when the 1956 Methodist meeting in Minneapolis opened the door for full pastoral ministry for women, Harkness let younger female colleagues take the lead in advocating for the motion on the floor. However, her caution did not mean timidity, for at the World Council of Churches in 1948, Harkness openly confronted Karl Barth himself on his theology of female subordination! Though Barth’s influence intimidated many, Harkness refuted him point-by-point in open debate and the great man’s startled reaction showed that he was completely unused to confronting strong, independent women! (A year later, when someone mentioned the event to him, Barth replied, “Remember me not of that woman!”) Harkness wrote over 30 books in her lifetime. She dealt with numerous theological subjects: Christian ethics, social concern in global contexts, equality of the sexes, racial equality and integration (though she was not an active participant in the Civil Rights struggle, she openly supported its goals and there was much personal correspondence between Harkness and African America leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr., and Howard Thurman), the nature of the church, a study from her own Wesleyan Methodist perspective of Calvin’s ethics, prayer and the life of devotion, mysticism, the Holy Spirit, eschatology (partially anticipating themes later made more prominent by Wolfhart Pannenberg and Jürgen Moltmann), the relation of religion to philosophy and to science, secularism (which she saw as more of a challenge than a reason to celebrate, contrasting with the early work of Harvey Cox), and apologetics. Concerned to be understood by a wide audience, Harkness wrote with clarity and a refusal to cloak her thought in academic obscurantism (which led her critics to charge her with a lack of depth or profundity), but always a wide awareness of the history of Christian thought and of current trends on the global scene. She characterized her theological perspective as that of a “chastened liberalism.” She had been raised in the optimism of the late 19th C., been educated in the traditions of Idealism and Borden Parker Bowne’s “Boston Personalism,” as well as the Social Gospel. Even after World War I and into the Great Depression, Harkness could declare her faith in human moral progress, her strong pacifism, and rejoice that belief in Original Sin was disappearing. “The faster it goes, the better,” she remarked to The Christian Century. Yet she interacted with the rise of Neoorthodoxy in the perspectives of Barth, Brunner, Suzanne de Dietrich, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Paul Tillich. On the eve of the Second World War, Harkness called on liberal Protestantism to recall the meaning of the cross and the power of the resurrection. Not surrendering her pacifism, she stated that although she remained committed to liberalism, “it was a chastened and deepened liberalism.” Human moral progress was possible, but did not follow an evolutionary certainty, and was dependant always on the grace of God. She still considered traditional formulations of original sin to be problematic, but recognized anew the power of sin in both individuals and social structures. Harkness’ books are entirely out of print and the influence she once had is largely eclipsed, even among contemporary feminist theologians. Yet the Chair of Applied Theology at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary is named for her and so is a scholarship for women ministry students over 30 at Pacific School of Religion. The church historian Rosemary Skinner Keller wrote a secondary study of Harkness, Georgia Harkness: For Such a Time as This (Abingdon Press, 1992) and in the Doctrine volume of his 3-part Systematic Theology, James Wm. McClendon lists Harkness (along with Walter Rauschenbusch, E.Y. Mullins, D.C. MacIntosh, W.T. Conner, and Dale Moody) as among the guiding forerunners of his approach. Rebekah Miles, Professor of Ethics at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology, has just edited a reader of Harkness’ early essays, Georgia Harkness: The Remaking of a Liberal Theologian (Westminster/John Knox Press, 2010). Miles had previously written a biographical and theological sketch of Harkness as a chapter in Makers of Christian Theology in America, ed., Mark Toulouse and James Duke (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1997). --pilgrimpathways.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/

Felice Giardini

1716 - 1796 Person Name: Felice de Giardini Scripture: Deuteronomy 15:7-8 Composer of "ITALIAN HYMN" in Voices Together Felice Giardini, born in Italy. When young, he studied singing, harpsichord, and violin. He became a composer and violin virtuoso. By age 12 he was playing in theatre orchestras. His most instructive lesson: While playing a solo passage during an opera, he decided to show off his skills by improvising several bravura variations that the composer, Jommelli, had not written . Although the audience applauded loudly, Jomelli, who happened to be there, went up and slapped Giardini in the face. He learned a lesson from that. He toured Europe as a violinist, considered one of the greatest musical artists of his time. He served as orchestra leader and director of the Italian Opera in London, giving concerts. He tried to run a theatre in Naples, but encountered adversity. He went to Russia, but had little fortune there, where he died. John Perry

John Barnard

b. 1948 Person Name: John Barnard (b. 1948) Scripture: Deuteronomy 15:7 Arranger of "[Beauty for brokenness, hope for despair]" in Ancient and Modern

George Bradford Caird

1917 - 1984 Person Name: George B. Caird, 1917-1984 Scripture: Deuteronomy 15:7-11 Author of "Almighty Father, who for us thy son didst give" in Common Praise George Bradford Caird (17 July 1917 – 21 April 1984), D.Phil., D.D., FBA, was a British churchman, theologian, humanitarian, and biblical scholar. At the time of his death he was Dean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford. Born in London, England to parents from Dundee, Scotland, George Caird's early years were spent in Birmingham, England, where his father was a construction engineer, and where he attended King Edward's School. His university education began at Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he received the B.A. in 1939, First-Class Honours in both parts of the Classical Tripos, with distinction in Greek and Latin verse. A lifelong Congregationalist, he then left Cambridge to study theology at Mansfield College, Oxford, and acquired the Oxford M.A., First-Class Honours, in 1943. In 1944 he was granted the Oxford D.Phil. for his thesis "The New Testament Conception of Doxa (Glory)". After serving three years as a pastor in Highgate, London, in 1946 Caird and his young bride, Viola Mary Newport, known to all as "Mollie," pulled up stakes and left for Canada. Virtually fluent in ancient Hebrew, there he was quickly made Professor of Old Testament at St. Stephen's College, Edmonton, Alberta, and later (simultaneously) Professor of New Testament at McGill University and Principal of the United Theological College of Montreal. In 1959 Caird returned to Oxford and the Congregationalist stronghold of Mansfield College, where he was first Senior Tutor (under John Marsh) and later Principal (1970–1977). Because he was non-Church of England, and because Mansfield was still a Permanent Private Hall and had not yet achieved status as a constituent College of the University (see Colleges of the University of Oxford) during this period (1969–1977), Caird was barred from holding an official university lectureship. However, as a compensation he was granted the honorary position of Reader (academic rank) in Biblical Studies, a status somewhere between Senior Lecturer and Professor. And whenever he lectured on the New Testament at Mansfield, students from all over the university came and filled the large lecture hall to capacity. According to Henry Chadwick, "He lectured as he preached, almost always without a note . . . with nothing before him but a Greek New Testament, usually upside down, for he knew the text by heart". In 1975-1976 Caird took on almost full-time administration, serving as Moderator of the United Reformed Church, and during his tenure he visited South Africa. His work in the fields of Old and New Testament (he remains one of the few modern biblical interpreters to have held chairs in both) led to four honorary doctorates (including the Oxford D.D.), election to the British Academy (and the granting of its Burkitt Medal for Biblical Studies), and appointment to be the Dean Ireland's Professor and Professorial Fellow at The Queen's College, Oxford. In 1980 he won the Collins Religious Book Award for his work The Language and Imagery of the Bible. His final years involved biblical translation as a member of the translation panel of The Revised English Bible, as previously he had been a translator of The New English Bible's Apocrypha. He also co-edited (with Henry Chadwick ) Oxford's The Journal of Theological Studies from 1977-1984. In his lifetime he wrote nearly sixty articles, over a hundred book reviews, and six books. Following his resignation as Principal of Mansfield and his taking up of the Dean Ireland's chair, the Cairds left Oxford and moved into the sixteenth century thatched-roof "Brook Cottage" at Letcombe Regis, next to Wantage, Oxfordshire, seventeen miles southwest of Oxford. There they converted the cottage's back storeroom into "the Dusty" - a study for Caird to write in during his imminent retirement; it was there that he was working on his seventh major work, New Testament Theology, when he was felled by a heart attack on Easter Eve, 1984. His funeral was held in Mansfield College Chapel on 28 April, with Principal Donald Sykes delivering the eulogy; a memorial celebration was later conducted (13 October) in Great St. Mary's Church, Oxford, with his close friend Henry Chadwick delivering the address. A Festschrift was at the time in the works, which was subsequently converted into a memorial volume, The Glory of Christ in the New Testament: Studies in Christology in Memory of George Bradford Caird, edited by two of his students, Lincoln Hurst (L. D. Hurst) and Tom Wright (N. T. Wright), and published by Oxford University Press in late 1987. Shortly after his death, some quick decisions needed to be made, particularly that involving his half-completed New Testament Theology; accordingly, Hurst was appointed Caird's Literary Executor. In addition, his children (see below) set up a foundation, The G. B. Caird Memorial Trust, the proceeds from which might enable (successfully, as it turned out) a new senior position to be set up in his name at Mansfield College: the G. B. Caird Fellow in New Testament Theology. It is currently occupied by Dr. John Muddiman. Caird's academic legacy is also seen in that during the course of his career he taught numerous people who went on to garner serious scholarly attention. These include Marcus Borg, Colin Gunton, Lincoln Hurst, David P. Moessner, John Muddiman, Allison Trites, Francis Watson, and N. T. Wright. According to British Old Testament scholar James Barr, Caird was sometimes "practically adored" by students. While to some Caird could appear austere, even intimidating, "he was in fact full of fun and humour". In his leisure time he enjoyed (most famously) bird-watching, croquet, snooker, music, theatre, reading mysteries, ping pong, chess, and all forms of puzzles — especially the crossword and jigsaw variety. Music in particular occupied his time: it "was important to him, and he wrote several hymns, some of which were included within standard hymnals such as Congregational Praise and Hymns Ancient and Modern". He and Mollie had four children: James, Margaret (Meg) Laing, John, and George (Geordie). To Caird the home was never just a house: it was a bastion of the family - a center of games, poetry, music, and other cultural activity, where he was, according to Henry Chadwick, "sublimely happy . . . it was a microcosm of vigorous debate and breathtaking wit, sparkling with his wife and his three sons and his daughter, whose gifts were a source of deep joy for him. From Mollie he caught his love for bird-watching, and from his children he loved to learn about architecture [James], drama [John], music [Geordie], and medieval philology [Meg]". Also, "no picture of George would be right which omitted his intense affection for his grandchildren." --en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ (excerpts)

Geoffrey T. Shaw

1879 - 1943 Person Name: Geoffrey Shaw, 1870-1943 Scripture: Deuteronomy 15:7-11 Harmonizer of "ANNUE CHRISTE" in Common Praise

Fanny Crosby

1820 - 1915 Person Name: Fanny J. Crosby Scripture: Deuteronomy 15:10 Author of "Onward Go the Sunbeams" in The Bright Array Pseudonymns: A.V., Mrs. A. E. Andrews, Mrs. E. A. Andrews, Mrs. E. L. Andrews, James L. Black, Henrietta E. Blair, Charles Bruce, Robert Bruce, Leah Carlton, Eleanor Craddock, Lyman G. Cuyler, D.H.W., Ella Dare, Ellen Dare, Mrs. Ellen Douglass, Lizzie Edwards. Miss Grace Elliot, Grace J. Frances, Victoria Frances, Jennie Garnett, Frank Gould, H. D. K., Frances Hope, Annie L. James, Martha J. Lankton [Langton], Grace Lindsey, Maud Marion, Sallie Martin, Wilson Meade, Alice Monteith, Martha C. Oliver, Mrs. N. D. Plume, Kate Smiley, Sallie Smith, J. L. Sterling, John Sterling, Julia Sterling, Anna C. Storey, Victoria Stuart, Ida Scott Taylor, Mary R. Tilden, Mrs. J. B. Thresher, Hope Tryaway, Grace Tureman, Carrie M. Wilson, W.H.D. Frances Jane Crosby, the daughter of John and Mercy Crosby, was born in Southeast, Putnam County, N. Y., March 24, 1820. She became blind at the age of six weeks from maltreatment of her eyes during a spell of sickness. When she was eight years old she moved with her parents to Ridgefield, Conn., the family remaining there four years. At the age of fifteen she entered the New York Institution for the Blind, where she received a good education. She became a teacher in the institution in 1847, and continued her work until March 1, 1858. She taught English grammar, rhetoric and American history. This was the great developing period in her life. During the vacations of 1852 and 1853, spent at North Reading, Mass., she wrote the words to many songs for Dr. Geo. F. Root, then the teacher of music at the blind institution. Among them were, "Hazel Dell,", "The Honeysuckle Glen," "Rosalie, the Prairie Flower," "Music in the Air," "Proud World, Good-bye, I'm Going Home," "All Together", "Never Forget the Dear Ones," and others. Subsequently she wrote the words for the cantatas of The Flower Queen and The Pilgrim Fathers, all of which were very popular in their day, though it was not generally known at the time that she was the author. While teaching at the institution she met Presidents Van Buren and Tyler, Hon. Henry Clay, Governor Wm. H. Seward, General Winfield Scott, and other distinguished characters of American history. Concerning Mr. Clay, she gives the following: "When Mr. Clay came to the institution during his last visit to New York, I was selected to welcome him with a poem. Six months before he had lost a son at the battle of Monterey, and I had sent him some verses. In my address I carefully avoided any allusion to them, in order not to wound him. When I had finished he drew my arm in his, and, addressing the audience, said through his tears: 'This is not the first poem for which I am indebted to this lady. Six months ago she sent me some lines on the death of my dear son.' Both of us were overcome for a few moments. Soon, by a splendid effort, Mr. Clay recovered himself, but I could not control my tears." In connection with her meeting these notable men, we might add that Miss Fanny Crosby had the honor of being the first woman whose voice was heard publicly in the Senate Chamber at Washington. She read a poem there on one occasion. In addition to the thousands of hymns that she has written (about eight thousand poems in all), many of which have not been set to music, she has published four volumes of verses. The first was issued in 1844 and was entitled The Blind Girl, and Other Poems, a second volume, Monterey, and Other Poems, followed in 1849, and the third, A Wreath of Columbia's Flowers, in 1858. The fourth, Bells at Evening and Other Verses, with a biographical sketch by Rev. Robert Lowry, and a fine half-tone portrait, in 1897, the sales of which have reached a fourth edition. The book is published by The Biglow & Main Co., New York. Though these show the poetical bent of her mind, they have little to do with her world-wide fame. It is as a writer of Sunday-school songs and gospel hymns that she is known wherever the English language is spoken, and, in fact, wherever any other language is heard. Fanny was married March 5, 1858, to Alex. Van Alstyne, who was also a scholar in the same institution in which she was educated. She began to write Sunday-school hymns for Wm. B. Bradbury in 1864. Her first hymn, "We are going, we are going To a home beyond the skies", was written at the Ponton Hotel on Franklin Street, New York City, on February 5th of that year. This hymn was sung at Mr. Bradbury's funeral in January, 1868. Since 1864 she supported herself by writing hymns. She resided in New York City nearly all her life, where, she says, she is "a member of the Old John Street M. E. Church in good standing." She spent regular hours on certain days at the office of The Biglow & Main Co., the firm for which she did most of her writing, and for whom she has composed over four thousand hymns. Her hymns have been in great demand and have been used by many of our most popular composers, among whom may be mentioned Wm. B. Bradbury, Geo. F. Root, W. H. Doane, Rev. Robert Lowry, Ira D. Sankey, J. R. Sweney, W. J. Kirkpatrick, H. P. Main, H. P. Danks, Philip Phillips, B. G. Unseld, and others. She could compose at any time and did not need to wait for any special inspiration, and her best hymns have come on the spur of the moment. She always composed with an open book in her hand, generally a copy of Golden Hymns, held closely over her eyes, bottom side up. She learned to play on the guitar and piano while at the institution, and has a clear soprano voice. She also received a technical training in music, and for this reason she could, and did, compose airs for some of her hymns. One of these is, "Jesus, dear, I come to Thee, Thou hast said I may," both words and music of which are wonderfully sweet. "Safe in the arms of Jesus", probably one of her best known hymns, was her own favorite. Fanny loved her work, and was happy in it. She was always ready either to sympathize or join in a mirthful conversation, as the case may be. The secret of this contentment dates from her first composition at the age of eight years. "It has been the motto of my life," she says. It is: "O what a happy soul am I! Although I cannot see, I am resolved that in this world Contented I will be;" This has continued to be her philosophy. She says that had it not been for her affliction she might not have so good an education, nor so great an influence, and certainly not so fine a memory. She knows a great many portions of the Bible by heart, and had committed to memory the first four books of the Old Testament, and also the four Gospels before she was ten years of age. Her scope of subjects is wide, embracing everything from a contemplation of heaven, as in "The Bright Forever" and "The Blessed Homeland", to an appeal to the work of this world, as in "To the Work" and "Rescue the Perishing." The most of Fanny's published hymns have appeared under the name of Fanny J. Crosby or Mrs. Yan Alstyne, but quite a large number have appeared under the nom de plumes of Grace J. Frances, Mrs. C. M. Wilson, Lizzie Edwards, Ella Dale, Henrietta E. Blair, Rose Atherton, Maud Marion, Leah Carlton, nearly two hundred different names. -Biographies of Gospel Song and Hymn Writers (excerpts) ======================= Van Alstyne, Frances Jane, née Crosby, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was born at South East, Putnam County, New York, March 24, 1823. When six weeks old she lost her sight. About 1835 she entered the New York City Institution for the Blind. On completing her training she became a teacher therein from 1847 to 1858. In 1858 she was married to Alexander Van Alstyne, a musician, who was also blind. Her first poem was published in 1831; and her first volumes of verse as A Blind Girl, and Other Poems, 1844; Monteresy, and Other Poems, 1849; and A Wreath of Columbia's Flowers, 1858. Her first hymn was "We are going, we are going" (Death and Burial), which was written for Mr. Bradbury and published in the Golden Censer, 1864. From 1853 to 1858 she wrote 20 songs, which were set to music by G. F. Root. Her songs and hymns number some 2,000 or more, and have been published mainly in several of the popular American Sunday school collections, and often under a nom de plume. About 60 have come into common use in Great Britain. The majority of these are taken from the following American collections:— i. From The Shining Star, 1864. 1. Softly on the breath of evening. Evening. ii. From Fresh Laurels, 1867. 2. Beautiful Mansions, home of the blest. Heaven. 3. Jesus the Water of Life has given. The Water of Life. 4. Light and Comfort of my soul. In Affliction. 5. There's a cry from Macedonia. Missions. 6. We are marching on with shield and banner bright. Sunday School Anniversary. iii. From Musical Leaves, 1868. 7. 0 what are you going to do, brother? Youth for God. iv. From Sabbath Carols, 1868. 8. Dark is the night, and cold the wind is blowing. Affliction anticipated. 9. Lord, at Thy mercy seat, Humbly I fall. Lent. v. From Silver Spray, 1868. 10. If I come to Jesus, He will make me glad. Peace in Jesus. 11. 'Twill not be long—our journey here. Heaven anticipated. vi. From Notes of Joy, 1869. 12. Little beams of rosy light. The Divine Father. 13. Press on! press on! a glorious throng. Pressing towards the Prize. vii. From Bright Jewels, 1869. 14. Christ the Lord is risen today, He is risen indeed. Easter. 15. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord! Sing 0 ye people, &c. Holiness of God. 16. Jesus, keep me near the Cross. Near the Cross of Christ. 17. Saviour, bless a little child. A Child's Prayer. Written Feb. 6, 1869. viii. From Songs of Devotion, 1870. 18. Pass me not, 0 gentle Saviour. Lent. Written in 1868. 19. Rescue the perishing, care for the dying. Home Missions. ix. From Pure Gold, 1871. 20. Great is Jehovah. King of kings. Greatness of God. 21. I would be Thy little lamb. The Good Shepherd. 22. Lead me to Jesus, lead me to Jesus. Desiring Jesus. 23. To the work, to the work, we are servants of God. Home Missions. 24. Why labour for treasures that rust and decay? The Fadeless Crown. x. From the Royal Diadem, 1873. 25. I am Jesus' little friend. For Infant Schools. 26. Jesus I love Thee. Loving Jesus. 27. Mourner, wheresoe'er thou art. To the Sorrowing and Penitent. Written Oct. 3, 1871. 28. Never be faint or weary. Joy in Jesus. 29. Only a step to Jesus. Invitation. xi. From Winnowed Hymns, 1873-4. 30. Loving Saviour, hear my cry. Lent. xii. From Echoes of Zion, 1874. 31. Say, where is thy refuge, my brother? Home Missions. xiii. From Songs of Grace and Glory, 1874. 32. Thou my everlasting Portion. Christ the Portion of His People. xiv. From Brightest and Best, 1875. 33. All the way my Saviour leads me. Jesus the Guide. 34. I am Thine, O Lord: I have heard Thy voice. Holiness desired. 35. O come to the Saviour, believe in His name. Invitation. Written, Sep. 7, 1874. 36. O how sweet when we mingle. Communion of Saints. Written in 1866. 37. O my Saviour, hear me. Prayer to Jesus for blessing and love. 38. Only Jesus feels and knows. Jesus the Divine Friend. 39. Revive Thy work, O Lord. Home Missions. 40. Saviour, more than life to me. Jesus All and in All. 41. To God be the glory, great things He hath done. Praise for Redemption. xv. From Calvary Songs, 1875. 42. Come, O come with thy broken heart. Invitation. xvi. From Gospel Music, 1876. 43. Here from the world we turn. Divine Worship. 44. When Jesus comes to reward His servants. Watching, xvii. From Welcome Tidings, 1877. 45. O hear my cry, be gracious now to me. For Pardon and Peace. xviii. From The Fountain of Song, 1877. 46. Lord, my trust I repose on Thee. Trusting in Jesus. xix. From Good as Gold, 1880. 47. In Thy cleft, O Rock of Ages. Safety in Jesus. 48. Sound the alarm ! let the watchman cry. Home Missions. 49. Tenderly He leads us. Christ the Leader. 50. 'Tis the blessed hour of prayer. The Hour of Prayer. In addition to these hymns, all of which are in common use in Great Britain (mainly through I. D. Sankey's Sacred Songs and Solos, the Methodist Sunday School Hymn Book, the Silver Street Sunday Scholars Companion, and other collections for Sunday schools), there are also "A blessing for you, will you take it?" (Pardon through Jesus); "My song shall be of Jesus" (Praise of Jesus); “Now, just a word for Jesus"(Home Missions); "Onward, upward, Christian soldier" (Pressing Heavenward); 44 Sinner, how thy heart is troubled" (Invitation); "'Tis a goodly, pleasant land" (Heaven anticipated); and "When the dewy light was fading" (Death anticipated). All of these are in I. D. Sankey's Sacred Songs & Solos. Mrs. Van Alstyne's most popular composition is "Safe in the arms of Jesus" (Safety in Jesus). This was written in 1868, at the request of Mr. W. H. Doane, to his well-known melody with which it is inseparably associated, and published in Bright Jewels, 1869. Mrs. Van Alstyne's hymns have sometimes been published anonymously; but the greater part are signed by a bewildering number of initials. The combined sales of the volumes of songs and hymns named above have amounted in English-speaking countries to millions of copies. Notwithstanding the immense circulation thus given to Mrs. Van Alstyne's hymns, they are, with few exceptions, very weak and poor, their simplicity and earnestness being their redeeming features. Their popularity is largely due to the melodies to which they are wedded. Since the above was in type we have found that the following are also in common use in Great Britain:— 51. Suppose the little cowslip. Value of Little Things. 52. Sweet hour of prayer. The Hour of Prayer. These are in Bradbury's Golden Chain, 1861. 53. Never lose the golden rule. Love to our Neighbours. In Bradbury's Golden Censer, 1864. 54. I will not be afraid at night. Trust in God. In Bradbury's Fresh Laurels, 1867. 55. Praise Him, praise Him, Jesus our, &c. Praise of Jesus. In Biglow & Main's Bright Jewels, 1869. 56. More like Jesus would I be. More like Jesus. In Perkins & Taylor's Songs of Salvation, 1870. 57. Behold me standing at the door. Christ at the Door. In Biglow & Main's Christian Songs, 1872. 58. If I come to Jesus. Jesus the Children's Guide. 59. Jesus, Lord, I come to Thee. Trust in Jesus. 60. Let me learn of Jesus. Jesus the Children's Friend. 61. Singing for Jesus, O singing for Jesus. Singing for Jesus. 62. There is a Name divinely sweet Holy Name of Jesus. Of these hymns Nos. 58-62 we have not been able to trace. --Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907 ================ Van Alstyne, Frances J., p. 1203, ii. From the American collections of recent date we find that Mrs. Van Alstyne is still actively engaged in hymn-writing. In the Funk and Wagnalls Company Gloria Deo, 1903, there are about 30 of her hymns, most of which are new. They are all signed, and some are dated, but we have not space to quote the first lines and subjects, as this hymnal is not an official collection of any denomination. Another name, "Mrs. S. K. Bourne" is credited in the same hymnal with about 40 new hymns. If this signature is not another pen-name of Mrs. Van Alstyne's (and these pen-names and initials of hers are very numerous), we can only say that she has a very successful understudy in "Mrs. S. K. Bourne." --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Ralph Vaughan Williams

1872 - 1958 Scripture: Deuteronomy 15:11 Arranger of "FOREST GREEN " in Songs of Grace Through his composing, conducting, collecting, editing, and teaching, Ralph Vaughan Williams (b. Down Ampney, Gloucestershire, England, October 12, 1872; d. Westminster, London, England, August 26, 1958) became the chief figure in the realm of English music and church music in the first half of the twentieth century. His education included instruction at the Royal College of Music in London and Trinity College, Cambridge, as well as additional studies in Berlin and Paris. During World War I he served in the army medical corps in France. Vaughan Williams taught music at the Royal College of Music (1920-1940), conducted the Bach Choir in London (1920-1927), and directed the Leith Hill Music Festival in Dorking (1905-1953). A major influence in his life was the English folk song. A knowledgeable collector of folk songs, he was also a member of the Folksong Society and a supporter of the English Folk Dance Society. Vaughan Williams wrote various articles and books, including National Music (1935), and composed numerous arrangements of folk songs; many of his compositions show the impact of folk rhythms and melodic modes. His original compositions cover nearly all musical genres, from orchestral symphonies and concertos to choral works, from songs to operas, and from chamber music to music for films. Vaughan Williams's church music includes anthems; choral-orchestral works, such as Magnificat (1932), Dona Nobis Pacem (1936), and Hodie (1953); and hymn tune settings for organ. But most important to the history of hymnody, he was music editor of the most influential British hymnal at the beginning of the twentieth century, The English Hymnal (1906), and coeditor (with Martin Shaw) of Songs of Praise (1925, 1931) and the Oxford Book of Carols (1928). Bert Polman

W. Howard Doane

1832 - 1915 Person Name: W. H. Doane Scripture: Deuteronomy 15:10 Composer of "[Onward go the sunbeams]" in The Bright Array An industrialist and philanthropist, William H. Doane (b. Preston, CT, 1832; d. South Orange, NJ, 1915), was also a staunch supporter of evangelistic campaigns and a prolific writer of hymn tunes. He was head of a large woodworking machinery plant in Cincinnati and a civic leader in that city. He showed his devotion to the church by supporting the work of the evangelistic team of Dwight L. Moody and Ira D. Sankey and by endowing Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and Denison University in Granville, Ohio. An amateur composer, Doane wrote over twenty-two hundred hymn and gospel song tunes, and he edited over forty songbooks. Bert Polman ============ Doane, William Howard, p. 304, he was born Feb. 3, 1832. His first Sunday School hymn-book was Sabbath Gems published in 1861. He has composed about 1000 tunes, songs, anthems, &c. He has written but few hymns. Of these "No one knows but Jesus," "Precious Saviour, dearest Friend," and "Saviour, like a bird to Thee," are noted in Burrage's Baptist Hymn Writers. 1888, p. 557. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) =================== Doane, W. H. (William Howard), born in Preston, Connecticut, 1831, and educated for the musical profession by eminent American and German masters. He has had for years the superintendence of a large Baptist Sunday School in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he resides. Although not a hymnwriter, the wonderful success which has attended his musical setting of numerous American hymns, and the number of his musical editions of hymnbooks for Sunday Schools and evangelistic purposes, bring him within the sphere of hymnological literature. Amongst his collections we have:— (1) Silver Spray, 1868; (2) Pure Gold, 1877; (3) Royal Diadem, 1873; (4) Welcome Tidings, 1877; (5) Brightest and Best, 1875; (6) Fountain of Song; (7) Songs of Devotion, 1870; (8) Temple Anthems, &c. His most popular melodies include "Near the Cross," "Safe in the Arms of Jesus," "Pass me Not," "More Love to Thee," "Rescue the Perishing," "Tell me the Old, Old Story," &c. - John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

B. J. Carter

Scripture: Deuteronomy 15:12-19 Author of "Slavery is Dead" in A Collection of Revival Hymns and Plantation Melodies

Charlotte E. Couchman

Scripture: Deuteronomy 1-34 Author of "Deuteronomy" in Each Little Dewdrop Wife of Thomas D. Couchman.

Julius Röntgen

1855 - 1932 Person Name: Julius Röntgen (1855-1933) Scripture: Deuteronomy 15:11 Arranger of "IN BABILONE" in Songs of Grace An important Dutch pianist, composer, conductor, scholar, and editor, Julius Rontgen (b. Leipzig, Germany, 1855; d. Utrecht, the Netherlands, 1932) studied music in Leipzig with well-known German teachers. In 1877 he moved to Amsterdam, where he first taught at the Amsterdam Conservatory. In 1886 he became conductor of the Society for the Advancement of Musical Art. He returned to the Conservatory as director in 1918, and then retired in 1924 to devote himself to composition. He was a friend of leading composers of his day, including Liszt, Brahms, and Grieg, and wrote a biography of Grieg. Rontgen's compositions include symphonies, chamber works, operas, and film scores. Bert Polman

Thomas Olivers

1725 - 1799 Scripture: Deuteronomy 15:11-12 Adapter of "LEONI" in Songs of Grace Thomas Olivers was born in Tregonan, Montgomeryshire, in 1725. His youth was one of profligacy, but under the ministry of Whitefield, he was led to a change of life. He was for a time apprenticed to a shoemaker, and followed his trade in several places. In 1763, John Wesley engaged him as an assistant; and for twenty-five years he performed the duties of an itinerant ministry. During the latter portion of his life he was dependent on a pension granted him by the Wesleyan Conference. He died in 1799. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872. ================== Olivers, Thomas, was born at Tregynon, near Newtown, Montgomeryshire, in 1725. His father's death, when the son was only four years of age, followed by that of the mother shortly afterwards, caused him to be passed on to the care of one relative after another, by whom he was brought up in a somewhat careless manner, and with little education. He was apprenticed to a shoemaker. His youth was one of great ungodliness, through which at the age of 18 he was compelled to leave his native place. He journeyed to Shrewsbury, Wrexham, and Bristol, miserably poor and very wretched. At Bristol he heard G. Whitefield preach from the text "Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?" That sermon turned the whole current of his life, and he became a decided Christian. His intention at the first was to join the followers of Whitefield, but being discouraged from doing so by one of Whitefield's preachers, he subsequently joined the Methodist Society at Bradford-on-Avon. At that town, where he purposed carrying on his business of shoemaking, he met John Wesley, who, recognising in him both ability and zeal, engaged him as one of his preachers. Olivers joined Wesley at once, and proceeded as an evangelist to Cornwall. This was on Oct. 1, 1753. He continued his work till his death, which took place suddenly in London, in March 1799. He was buried in Wesley's tomb in the City Road Chapel burying ground, London. Olivers was for some time co-editor with J. Wesley of the Arminian Magazine, but his lack of education unfitted him for the work. As the author of the tune Helmsley, and of the hymn “The God of Abraham praise," he is widely known. He also wrote “Come Immortal King of glory;" and "O Thou God of my salvation," whilst residing at Chester; and an Elegy on the death of John Wesley. His hymns and the Elegy were reprinted (with a Memoir by the Rev. J. Kirk) by D. Sedgwick, in 1868. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Meyer Lyon

1751 - 1797 Scripture: Deuteronomy 15:11-12 Adapter of "LEONI" in Songs of Grace Died: 1797, Kingston, Jamaica. Pseudonym: Leoni. Lyon was a chorister at the Great Synagogue, Duke’s Place, London, and a public singer either at Drury Lane or Covent Garden. Subsequently he became the first qualified chazan of the English and German Synagogue in Jamaica. Sources: Julian, p. 1151 McCutchan, pp. 27-28 Music: LEONI http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/l/y/o/lyon_m.htm ================ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myer_Lyon

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