O Master, let me walk with Thee,
In lowly paths of service free;
Tell me Thy secret; help me bear
The strain of toil, the fret of care.
Help me the slow of heart to move
By some clear, winning word of love;
Teach me the wayward feet to stay,
And guide them in the homeward way.
Teach me Thy patience, still with Thee,
In closer, dearer company,
In work that keeps faith sweet and strong,
In trust that triumphs over wrong.
In hope that sends a shining ray
Far down the future’s broadening way,
In peace that only Thou canst give,
With Thee, O Master, let me live.
He is considered the Father of the Social Gospel in America
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Quite a story lies behind this simple, prayerful old hymn. The author, Washington Gladden, was a Congregational pastor in the United States. He served during the post-Civil War period and recognized the seriousness and prevalence of racial and economic injustice. He is considered the Father of the Social Gospel in America. Gladden was an activist who crusaded for reform in industry, commerce and politics on behalf of “the working man”. Some of his contemporaries turned against him because he believed more in “applied Christianity” than “Biblical Christianity”. Members of his own denomination were angry when he criticized them for making a substantial donation to missions, because the money came from a large oil company whose policies he did not respect. It was at a time when he felt the heavy burden of criticism that he sat alone in his church and wrote the above hymn. Omitted from the final, published version was a verse with these lines, expressing Gladden’s hurt reaction to his critics: Help me to bear the sting of spite, The hate of men who hide Thy light. Dr. Charles Richards saw the poem in a magazine and selected the music of H. Percy Smith to accompany it in his book, Christian Praise.
recognized the seriousness and prevalence of racial and economic injustice
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Adelaide Pollard was a determined, independent young woman. Her parents had christened her “Sarah” when she was born in 1862, but as she disliked that name, she changed it to “Adelaide” when she was older. She attended the Boston School of Oratory and taught in a Chicago girls’ school. While struggling with frail health, she came into contact with a Scottish faith healer, John Dowie. He proclaimed himself as the “Elijah” who was to precede the second coming of Christ. His attempt to build “Zion City” on 6800 acres of land he purchased was unsuccessful. However, Adelaide was apparently healed of her diabetes under Dowie’s ministry.
The author of the hymn, John Oxenham, lived from 1852-1941, and therefore had his share of wartime experience. He was a prolific English journalist, who also wrote hymns, poems and novels, often using this pen name, but he was actually named William Dunkerley. For journalism he used another pseudonym – Julian Ross. Dunkerley was born in Manchester, England, lived in America for a short time following his marriage, and returned to England to live in Ealing, West London. There he was a deacon and teacher at a church in the 1880’s, before moving to Worthing, Sussex in 1922. He became Worthing’s mayor. As John Oxenham, he wrote a best-selling book of poetry, Bees in Amber, and the poem, Greatheart. He contributed much to Jerome K. Jerome’s publication, The Idler.
Bill Himes wrote this song while coping with the terminal cancer diagnosis of his first wife when their two children were still quite young. Such surrender to God’s will he demonstrates! Such a challenge to all of us to do the same, whatever our circumstances!
This lively song was written by Generals John Gowans (R) and John Larsson(R) for the musical Jesus Folk , which was introduced at a National Congress in Wembley, England in 1972. The full version was first performed in Croydon in 1973. Its theme is the transformation that Christ brings to the lives of His followers. The musical contains a sequence on the crucifixion, and a highlight at the original presentation was when the resurrected Jesus walked through the audience, saying to his followers left on stage, “Goodbye… and remember… I’m with you always.”
At 376 years, Huron Carol is the oldest carol originating in North America. Father Jean de Brebeuf, a Jesuit priest and missionary, wrote it while stationed at Fort Ste. Marie – near today’s Midland, Ontario, Canada. Brebeuf had learned the Huron language, and used it to write this carol, replacing traditional words and phrases with ones the indigenous people could understand. In this way he was able to ensure that the new listeners and singers would grasp the wonder that God sent Jesus to show His love for everyone.
Who would expect this beautiful Christmas hymn of adoration and peace to have given rise to controversy in the 19th century church? First written in French as a poem by Placide Cappeau, it was meant to be read at Christmas Eve mass in the town of Roquemore, France. Soon after completing the poem, Cappeau, at one time the town’s mayor, went to Paris on business. There he met a well-known musician, Adolphe Charles Adam, and asked him if he could write music for the poem. This was done and the hymn was performed on Christmas Eve, 1847, as planned. The song was very well received, and its popularity spread around France. Church officials, however, began to show displeasure, saying it lacked musical taste and was not in the spirit of religion. Soon people discovered that it was not the hymn that disturbed the officials, but the lifestyles of the writers. What were those lifestyles? Cappeau was a wine merchant by trade and an outspoken social critic who, as the song suggests, was opposed to slavery and injustice. Although he attended church, he called himself a non-Christian. Adam was Jewish, and church leaders thought his ballet and opera compositions were not compatible with Christian hymns. The leaders’ ulterior motives were exposed, however, and the hymn continued to grow in popularity, eventually being translated into 
English by John Sullivan Dwight, an American. Whether or not the hymn had an influence, slavery was abolished in France in 1848 – one year after O Holy Night was first sung.
This lovely, lilting Christmas carol is simple enough to be sung by children’s choirs as well as adult ones, and is in the Salvation Army’s “new” Song Book so that congregations, too, can enjoy singing it. The author, Major Joy Webb, wrote most of her songs for adults, and is known for her innovative “Joystrings” – the Salvation Army’s first “pop” band, which became famous in England in the 1960’s. The group even made the radio pop charts of the day, particularly with On a Starry Night and It’s an Open Secret . 
Major Webb is a classically trained pianist and vocalist who also plays the guitar. In 2004, in her retirement, she was awarded the Order of the Founder – the Salvation Army’s highest honour. It was said that throughout her career she had “demonstrated outstanding commitment to the creative and innovative use of music, poetry and drama in evangelism and worship, achieving unparalleled success in expressing the Gospel in the popular idioms of the day, while constantly reflecting the standards of the Gospel in her personal life.” Her autobiography can be found in her book, Bridge of Songs.
Christmas was wonderful in my home. Our mother knew how to give children a magical time even though we had very little money. There were five of us in our family. And although my dad’s business was successful, and he was well respected in the community, he didn’t charge very much for his excellent work. And mom wasn’t employed outside the home when we were young, so expensive gifts were out of the question. It wasn’t in my dad’s nature to make too much out of celebrations; that was mom’s territory. However, the one thing dad insisted on was good quality music. So at Christmas he provided a rich atmosphere from his Christmas album collection. I loved the fine things my parents brought into my life.
One very special gift under the tree each year came to us children from our beloved Uncle Bert. Every November, he and Aunt Elizabeth wrote us a letter asking what we would like from the Sears catalogue. They gave a generous price outline and we could choose within it. Every year my sister and I, when we were small, would ask for baby dolls. And every December a big package arrived at our country mail box, full of gifts. These gifts went straight to mom’s bedroom closet to wait for December 25th. And even though they were wrapped and covered over with shopping bags, Connie and I could not resist an early visit to that closet. There was nothing on earth like the thrill of uncovering those spectacular new dolls in their boxes and the smell of the unique materials they were made of, especially when it was a forbidden activity – a sneak peek at shimmering buried treasure.
Whether or not our mother knew that such foul activity took place under her wholesome roof, she never said a word. Even if she did know, she probably wouldn’t say anything. Such was her nature, to have a twinkle in her eye and to fully understand the minds of her small children. She wouldn’t overlook deliberate, repeated disobedience or bad behavior from her kids, but she had grace enough to ‘get’ the breathless, even urgent heart of a child with big stars in her eyes.
I do, even now, after all these years, feel sorry that I deceived everyone. I’m not proud that I broke a trust and I have asked God to forgive that sneaky little girl from long ago. But without a doubt I found my Christmas stocking filled, not with anything as cruel as coal, but with sweet gifts and candy, all hand-crafted and blessed by a loving mother.
Although this carol is usually sung by a mainly adult congregation, it was written for children, as the words indicate. However, we are all God’s children and we all need to follow Christ’s pattern for living! Cecil Frances Alexander wrote the words, and the carol was published in her book, Hymns for Little Children . It is believed that she had no children of her own, but overheard a group of children complaining about the dreariness of church catechism that they were required to learn. Mrs. Alexander then decided to write hymns telling of Christian doctrine. Her hymn book was published in 1848, and in twenty years sold over a quarter of a million copies.
The composer of the music, Henry John Gauntlett, was a talented man: a lawyer, musician, organ designer, journalist and editor. He was the son of an English clergyman, and at only ten years of age he was appointed church organist in the town of Olney! He served in this position for the next ten years. In 1846, at the age of forty-one, he was asked by Felix Mendelssohn to play the organ part in his oratorio, Elijah. Although Gauntlett wrote about 10,000 tunes, Irby , the one to which we sing the above carol, is likely the only one for which he is recognised today, and it is not known how the tune came to be partnered with the words.
Albert was born in England in 1886, the son of Salvation Army officers who helped pioneer the Army’s work in Norway. He was greatly influenced in his youth by a woman Salvationist who kept a shop in Dundee, Scotland, where his father was once the officer. She spoke such appropriate words to Albert each time he bought items there, that she had a lasting effect on his life. It is unlikely that this woman was still alive to see the boy rise to become the Army’s worldwide leader!
Ballington was born in 1857 in Yorkshire, England, as the second son of William and Catherine Booth, founders of The Salvation Army. He was educated in various schools in England and at the youthful age of twenty-three he was placed in charge of the first Salvation Army training home for men officers. Later, after two years in command of The Salvation Army in Australia, he returned to England, where he married Maud Charlesworth in 1886. In 1887, Ballington and Maud were sent in charge of the Army’s work in the United States. They resigned after eight years because of policy differences and conflicts within the Booth family, particularly William Booth’s authoritarian leadership style. This led Ballington to establish Volunteers of America , a religious and social welfare organisation similar in concept to The Salvation Army. He was its general and commander-in-chief for forty-four years. Ballington played several musical instruments and composed a number of songs. He died in Long Island, New York, in 1940.