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Edmund S. Lorenz

1854 - 1942 Person Name: E. S. Lorenz Topics: Devotional or Worship Composer of "[The name of Jesus is so sweet]" in Assembly Songs Pseudonymns: John D. Cresswell, L. S. Edwards, E. D. Mund, ==================== Lorenz, Edmund Simon. (North Lawrence, Stark County, Ohio, July 13, 1854--July 10, 1942, Dayton, Ohio). Son of Edward Lorenz, a German-born shoemaker who turned preacher, served German immigrants in northwestern Ohio, and was editor of the church paper, Froehliche Botschafter, 1894-1900. Edmund graduated from Toledo High School in 1870, taught German, and was made a school principal at a salary of $20 per week. At age 19, he moved to Dayton to become the music editor for the United Brethren Publishing House. He graduated from Otterbein College (B.A.) in 1880, studied at Union Biblical Seminary, 1878-1881, then went to Yale Divinity School where he graduated (B.D.) in 1883. He then spent a year studying theology in Leipzig, Germany. He was ordained by the Miami [Ohio] Conference of the United Brethren in Christ in 1877. The following year, he married Florence Kumler, with whom he had five children. Upon his return to the United States, he served as pastor of the High Street United Brethren Church in Dayton, 1884-1886, and then as president of Lebanon Valley College, 1887-1889. Ill health led him to resign his presidency. In 1890 he founded the Lorenz Publishing Company of Dayton, to which he devoted the remainder of his life. For their catalog, he wrote hymns, and composed many gospel songs, anthems, and cantatas, occasionally using pseudonyms such as E.D. Mund, Anna Chichester, and G.M. Dodge. He edited three of the Lorenz choir magazines, The Choir Leader, The Choir Herald, and Kirchenchor. Prominent among the many song-books and hymnals which he compiled and edited were those for his church: Hymns for the Sanctuary and Social Worship (1874), Pilgerlieder (1878), Songs of Grace (1879), The Otterbein Hymnal (1890), and The Church Hymnal (1934). For pastors and church musicians, he wrote several books stressing hymnody: Practical Church Music (1909), Church Music (1923), Music in Work and Worship (1925), and The Singing Church (1938). In 1936, Otterbein College awarded him the honorary D.Mus. degree and Lebanon Valley College the honorary LL.D. degree. --Information from granddaughter Ellen Jane Lorenz Porter, DNAH Archives

Daniel C. Roberts

1841 - 1907 Topics: Devotion Author of "God of Our Fathers" in Great Songs of the Church (Revised) Daniel C. Roberts (b. Bridgehampton, Long Island, NY, 1841; d. Concord, NH, 1907) Educated at Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio, served in the union army during the Civil War. He was ordained in the Episcopal Church as a priest in 1866 and ministered to several congregations in Vermont and Massachusetts. In 1878 he began a ministry at St. Paul Church in Concord, New Hampshire, that lasted for twenty-three years. Serving for many years president of the New Hampshire State Historical Society, Roberts once wrote, "I remain a country parson, known only within my small world," but his hymn "God of Our Fathers" brought him widespread recognition. Bert Polman ================= Roberts, Daniel C., D.D., of the Prot. Episcopal Church in America, b. at Bridge Hampton, L.I., Nov. 5, 1841, and graduated at Gambler College, 1857. After serving for a time as a private in the Civil War, he was ordained in 1866. He is at present (1905) Rector of Concord, N.H. His hymn, "God of our fathers, Whose almighty hand " (National Hymn), was written in 1876 for the "Centennial" Fourth of July celebration at Brandon, Vermont. In 1892 it was included in the Protestant Episcopal Hymnal, and again in Sursum Corda, 1898. [Rev. L. F. Benson, D.D.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

William Croft

1678 - 1727 Topics: Devotional; Devotional; Devotional Composer (attributed to) of "AND SHE ROCK THE BABY" William Croft, Mus. Doc. was born in the year 1677 and received his musical education in the Chapel Royal, under Dr. Blow. In 1700 he was admitted a Gentleman Extraordinary of the Chapel Boyd; and in 1707, upon the decease of Jeremiah Clarke, he was appointed joint organist with his mentor, Dr. Blow. In 1709 he was elected organist of Westminster Abbey. This amiable man and excellent musician died in 1727, in the fiftieth year of his age. A very large number of Dr. Croft's compositions remain still in manuscript. Cathedral chants of the XVI, XVII & XVIII centuries, ed. by Edward F. Rimbault, London: D. Almaine & Co., 1844

Robert Lowry

1826 - 1899 Topics: Devotional; Devotional; Devotional Composer of "AND SHE ROCK THE BABY" Robert Lowry was born in Philadelphia, March 12, 1826. His fondness for music was exhibited in his earliest years. As a child he amused himself with the various musical instruments that came into his hands. At the age of seventeen he joined the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia, and soon became an active worker in the Sunday-school as teacher and chorister. At the age of twenty-two he gave himself to the work of the ministry, and entered upon a course of study at the University of Lewisburg, Pa. At the age of twenty-eight he was graduated with the highest honors of his class. In the same year of his graduation, he entered upon the work of the ministry. He served as pastor at West Chester, Pa., 1851-1858; in New York City, 1859-1861; in Brooklyn, 1861-1869; in Lewisburg, Pa., 1869-1875. While pastor at Lewisburg, he was also professor of belles lettres in the University, and received the honorary degree of D. D. in 1875. He then went to Plainfield, N. J., where he became pastor of Park Avenue Church. In each of these fields his work was crowned with marked success. Dr. Lowry was a man of rare administrative ability, a most excellent preacher, a thorough Bible student, and whether in the pulpit or upon the platform, always a brilliant and interesting speaker. He was of a genial and pleasing disposition, and a high sense of humor was one of his most striking characteristics. Very few men had greater ability in painting pictures from the imagination. He could thrill an audience with his vivid descriptions, inspiring others with the same thoughts that inspired him. His melodies are sung in every civilized land, and many of his hymns have been translated into foreign tongues. While preaching the Gospel, in which he found great joy, was his life-work, music and hymnology were favorite studies, but were always a side issue, a recreation. In the year 1880, he took a rest of four years, visiting Europe. In 1885 he felt that he needed more rest, and resigned his pastorate at Plainfield, and visited in the South and West, also spending some time in Mexico. He returned, much improved in health, and again took up his work in Plainfield. On the death of Wm. B. Bradbury, Messrs. Biglow & Main, successors to Mr. Bradbury in the publishing business, selected Dr. Lowry for editor of their Sunday-school book, Bright Jewels, which was a great success. Subsequently Dr. W. Doane was associated with him in the issue of the Sunday-school song book, Pure Gold, the sales of which exceeded a million copies. Then came Royal Diadem, Welcome Tidings, Brightest and Best, Glad Refrain, Good as Gold, Joyful Lays, Fountain of Song, Bright Array, Temple Anthems, and numerous other volumes. The good quality of their books did much to stimulate the cause of sacred song in this country. When he saw that the obligations of musical editorship were laid upon him, he began the study of music in earnest, and sought the best musical text-books and works on the highest forms of musical composition. He possessed one of the finest musical libraries in the country. It abounded in works on the philosophy and science of musical sounds. He also had some musical works in his possession that were over one hundred and fifty years old. One of his labors of love some years ago was an attempt to reduce music to a mathematical basis. On the established fact that Middle C has two hundred and fifty-six vibrations per second, he prepared a scale and went to work on the rule of three. After infinite calculation and repeated experiments, he carried it far enough to discover that it would not work. A reporter once asked him what was his method of composition — "Do you write the words to fit the music, or the music to fit the words?" His reply was, "I have no method. Sometimes the music comes and the words follow, fitted insensibly to the melody. I watch my moods, and when anything good strikes me, whether words or music, and no matter where I am, at home or on the street, I jot it down. Often the margin of a newspaper or the back of an envelope serves as a notebook. My brain is a sort of spinning machine, I think, for there is music running through it all the time. I do not pick out my music on the keys of an instrument. The tunes of nearly all the hymns I have written have been completed on paper before I tried them on the organ. Frequently the words of the hymn and the music have been written at the same time." The Doctor frequently said that he regarded "Weeping Will Not Save Me" as the best and most evangelistic hymn he ever wrote. The following are some of his most popular and sweetest gospel melodies: "Shall We Gather at the River?," "One More Day's Work for Jesus," "Where is My Wandering Boy To-night?," "I Need Thee Every Hour," "The Mistakes of My Life," "How Can I Keep from Singing?," "All the Way My Saviour Leads Me," "Saviour, Thy Dying Love," "We're Marching to Zion," etc. "Shall We Gather at the River?" is perhaps, without question, the most widely popular of all his songs. Of this Mr. Lowry said: "It is brass band music, has a march movement, and for that reason has become popular, though for myself I do not think much of it." Yet he tells us how, on several occasions, he had been deeply moved by the singing of that hymn, "Going from Harrisburg to Lewisburg once I got into a car filled with half-drunken lumbermen. Suddenly one of them struck up, "Shall We Gather at the River?" and they sang it over and over again, repeating the chorus in a wild, boisterous way. I did not think so much of the music then as I listened to those singers, but I did think that perhaps the spirit of the hymn, the words so flippantly uttered, might somehow survive and be carried forward into the lives of those careless men, and ultimately lift them upward to the realization of the hope expressed in my hymn." "A different appreciation of it was evinced during the Robert Raikes' Centennial. I was in London, and had gone to meeting in the Old Bailey to see some of the most famous Sunday-school workers in the world. They were present from Europe, Asia, and America. I sat in a rear seat alone. After there had been a number of addresses delivered in various languages, I was preparing to leave, when the chairman of the meeting announced that the author of "Shall We Gather at the River?" was present, and I was requested by name to come forward. Men applauded and women waved their handkerchiefs as I went to the platform. It was a tribute to the hymn; but I felt, when it was over, that, after all, I had perhaps done some little good in the world, and I felt more than ever content to die when God called." On Children's Day in Brooklyn, in 1865, this song was sung by over forty thousand voices. While Dr. Lowry said, "I would rather preach a gospel sermon to an appreciative, receptive congregation than write a hymn," yet in spite of his preferences, his hymns have gone on and on, translated into many languages, preaching and comforting thousands upon thousands of souls, furnishing them expression for their deepest feelings of praise and gratitude to God for His goodness to the children of men. What he had thought in his inmost soul has become a part of the emotions of the whole Christian world. We are all his debtors. Rev. Robert Lowry, D. D., died at his residence in Plainfield, K J., November 25, 1899. Dead, yet he lives and his sermons in gospel song are still heard and are doing good. Dr. Lowry was a great and good man, and his life, well spent, is highly worthy of a place among the world's greatest gospel song and hymn writers. -- Biography of Gospel Song and Hymn Writers ------- Lowry, Robert, D.D., son of Crozier Lowry, was born at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 12, 1826, and educated at Lewisburg University. Having received ordination as a Baptist Minister, his first charge was at West Chester, Pennsylvania. From thence he passed to New York City, and then to Brooklyn, N. Y. In 1876 he was appointed Professor of Rhetoric in his University. On resigning his Professorship he undertook the charge of the 2nd Baptist Church, New Jersey. Dr. Lowry has been associated with some of the most popular Sunday School hymn-books published in the States, including Happy Voices, 1865; Chapel Melodies, 1868; Bright Jewels, 1869; Pure Gold, 1871; Royal Diadem, 1873; Tidal Wave, 1874; Fountain of Song1877; Welcome Tidings, 1877, &c. Of Dr. Lowry's hymns those which have attained the widest circulation are:— 1. Jerusalem, for ever bright. Heaven. Appeared in the American Tract Society's Happy Voices, 1865, with music by the author. 2. Low in the grave He lay. Resurrection of Christ. Written in 1874 and published in Brightest and Best, 1875. 3. Marching on, marching on. Sunday School Battle Song. Appeared, with music by the author, in Happy Voices, 1865. 4. My home is in heaven, my rest is not here. In Happy Voices, 1865, with music by the author. 5. My life flows on in endless song. Joy in God. In Bright Jewels, 1869; the Royal Diadem, 1873, and others in America and Great Britain, with music by the author. 6. One more day's work for Jesus. Work for Christ. Published, with music by the author, in Bright Jewels, 1869. 7. Shall we gather at the river? Mutual recognition in the Hereafter. The origin of this hymn is thus set forth in E. W. Long's Illustrated History of Hymns and their Authors, Philadelphia, 1876, p. 64:— ”On a very hot summer day, in 1864, a pastor was seated in his parlour in Brooklyn, N. Y. It was a time when an epidemic was sweeping through the city, and draping many persons and dwellings in mourning. All around friends and acquaintances were passing away to the spirit land in large numbers. The question began to arise in the heart, with unusual emphasis, ‘Shall we meet again? We are parting at the river of death, shall we meet at the river of life?' ‘Seating myself at the organ,’ says he, ‘simply to give vent to the pent up emotions of the heart, the words and music of the hymn began to flow out, as if by inspiration:— ‘Shall we gather at the river, Where bright angel feet have trod?’" In 1865 the hymn and music were given in Happy Voices, No. 220, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines and a chorus. The hymn has since passed into a great number of hymnals in Great Britain and America. 8. Take the wings of the morning; speed quickly thy flight. Exhortation to Repentance. Written for, and published with music by the author in, the Royal Diadem, 1873. 9. Weeping will not save me. Salvation through Faith. Published in the Chapel Melodies, 1868. 10. What can wash away my stain? Precious Blood of Jesus. Given in the Welcome Tidings, 1877, with music by the author. 11. Where is my wandering boy tonight! The absent Child. In the Fountain of Song, 1877, together with music by the author. Most of these hymns are given in Mr. I. D. Sankey's Sacred Songs & Solos, Pts. i., ii. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

E. H. Plumptre

1821 - 1891 Person Name: Edward H. Plumptre Topics: Christian Experience and Devotion Hope and Courage Author of "Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart" in Ecumenical Praise Edward H. Plumptre (b. London, England, August 6, 1821; d. Wells, England, February 1, 1891) was an eminent classical and biblical scholar who gained prominence in both church and university. Educated at King's College, London, and University College, Oxford, he was ordained in the Church of England in 1846. Plumptre served as a preacher at Oxford and a professor of pastoral theology at King's College, and held a number of other prestigious positions. His writings include A Life of Bishop Ken (1888), translations from Greek and Latin classics, and poetry and hymns. Plumptre was also a member of the committee that produced the Revised Version of the Bible. Bert Polman ==================== Plumptre, Edward Hayes, D.D., son of Mr. E. H. Plumptre, was born in London, Aug. 6, 1821, and educated at King's College, London, and University College, Oxford, graduating as a double first in 1844. He was for some time Fellow of Brasenose. On taking Holy Orders in 1846 he rapidly attained to a foremost position as a Theologian and Preacher. His appointments have been important and influential, and include that of Assistant Preacher at Lincoln's Inn; Select Preacher at Oxford; Professor of Pastoral Theology at King's College, London; Dean of Queen's, Oxford; Prebendary in St. Paul's Cathedral, London; Professor of Exegesis of the New Testament in King's College, London; Boyle Lecturer; Grinfield Lecturer on the Septuagint, Oxford; Examiner in the Theological schools at Oxford; Member of the Old Testament Company for the Revision of the A.V. of the Holy Scriptures; Rector of Pluckley, 1869; Vicar of Bickley, Kent, 1873; and Dean of Wells, 1881. Dean Plumptre's literary productions have been very numerous and important, and embrace the classics, history, divinity, biblical criticism, biography, and poetry. The list as set forth in Crockford's Clerical Directory is very extensive. His poetical works include Lazarus, and Other Poems, 1864; Master and Scholar, 1866; Things New and Old, 1884; and translations of Sophocles, Æschylus, and Dante. As a writer of sacred poetry he ranks very high. His hymns are elegant in style, fervent in spirit, and broad in treatment. The subjects chosen are mainly those associated with the revived Church life of the present day, from the Processional at a Choral Festival to hospital work and the spiritual life in schools and colleges. The rhythm of his verse has a special attraction for musicians, its poetry for the cultured, and its stately simplicity for the devout and earnest-minded. The two which have attained to the most extensive use in Great Britain and America are: Rejoice, ye pure in heart," and "Thine arm, O Lord, in days of old." His translations from the Latin, many of which were made for the Hymnary, 1871 and 1872, are very good and musical, but they have not been used in any way in proportion to their merits. His original hymns in common use include:— 1. Behold they gain the lonely height. The Transfiguration. Written for and first published in the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Church Hymns, 1871. 2. For all Thy countless bounties. National Hymns. Written for the Jubilee of Queen Victoria, 1887, and set to music by C. W. Lavington. It was printed, together with the National Anthem adapted for the Jubilee, in Good Words, 1887. 3. Lo, summer comes again! Harvest. Written in 1871 for use at the Harvest Festival in Pluckley Church, Kent, of which the author was then rector, and published in the same year in the Hymnary, No. 466. 4. March, march, onward soldiers true. Processional at Choral Festivals. Written in 1867 for the tune of Costa's March of the Israelites in the Oratorio of Eli, at the request of the Rev. Henry White, Chaplain of the Savoy, and first used in that Chapel. It was subsequently published in the Savoy Hymnary, N.D. [1870], in 4 stanzas of 4 lines; in a Choral Festival book at Peterborough, and in the S. P. C. K. Church Hymns, 1871. 5. 0 Light, Whose beams illumine all. The Way, the Truth, and the Life. Written in May 1864, and published in his Lazarus, and Other Poems, 1864, as one of five Hymns for School and College. It passed into the 1868 Appendix to Hymns Ancient & Modern, and again into other collections. 6. 0 Lord of hosts, all heaven possessing. For School or College. Written in May, 1864, and published in his Lazarus and other Poems, 1864, in 5 stanzas of 6 lines. 7. 0 praise the Lord our God. Processional Thanksgiving Hymn. Written May 1864, and published in his Lazarus, and other Poems, 1864, in 4 stanzas of 8 lines. It is a most suitable hymn for Sunday school gatherings. 8. Rejoice, ye pure in heart. Processional at Choral Festival. Written in May 1865, for the Peterborough Choral Festival of that year, and first used in Peterborough Cathedral. In the same year it was published with special music by Novello & Co; and again (without music) in the 2nd edition of Lazarus, and Other Poems, 1865. It was included in the 1868 Appendix to Hymns Ancient & Modern with the change in stanza i., line 3, of "Your orient banner wave on high," to "Your festal banner wave on high." It is more widely used than any other of the author's hymns. Authorized text in Hymns Ancient & Modern. 9. Thine arm, 0 Lord, in days of old. Hospitals. Written in 1864 for use in King's College Hospital, London, and first printed on a fly-sheet as "A Hymn used in the Chapel of King's College Hospital." It was included in the 2nd edition of Lazarus, and Other Poems, 1865; in the 1868 Appendix to Hymns Ancient & Modern; the S. P. C. K. Church Hymns, 1871; Thring's Collection, 1882; and many others. 10. Thy hand, 0 God, has guided. Church Defence. Included in the 1889 Supplemental Hymns to Hymns Ancient & Modern The closing line of each stanza, "One Church, one Faith, one Lord," comes in with fine effect. Dean Plumptre's Life of Bishop Ken, 1888, is an exhaustive and excellent work. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) =============== Plumptre, E. H., p. 897, i. Died at the Deanery, Wells, Feb. 1, 1891. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Mary Peters

1813 - 1856 Person Name: Mary Peters (1813-1856) Topics: Life in Christ Our Response to Christ - In Devotion Author of "Through the love of God our Saviour" in Church Hymnary (4th ed.) Also known as Mary P. Bowly ======= Peters, Mary, née Bowly, daughter of Richard Bowly, of Cirencester, was born in 1813, and subsequently married to the Rev. John McWilliam Peters, sometime Rector of Quennington, Gloucestershire, and died at Clifton, July 29, 1856. Her prose work, The World’s History from the Creation to the Accession of Queen Victoria, was published in seven volumes. Several of her hymns were contributed to the Plymouth Brethren's Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, London, D. Walther, 1842. These with others, 58 in all, were published by Nisbet & Co., London, 1847, as Hymns intended to help the Communion of Saints. Dr. Walker introduced several from these collections into his Cheltenham Psalms & Hymns, 1855. Many of these have been repeated in Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872. and other Church of England hymnbooks. These include, besides those annotated under their respective first lines :— i. From Psalms, Hymns, & Sacred Songs, 1842:— 1. Blessed Lord, our hearts are panting. Buria. Given in later collections as "Blessed Lord, our souls are longing." 2. How can there be one holy thought! Holiness through Christ. 3. Jesus, how much Thy Name unfolds. The Name of Jesus. 4. Lord, we see the day approaching. Second Advent. 5. 0 Lord, we know it matters not. Taught by the Spirit. 6. The murmurs of the wilderness. Praise to Jesus. 7. The saints awhile dispersed abroad. God within us. 8. Unworthy is thanksgiving. Jesus the Mediator. 9. Whom have we, Lord, but Thee. Christ All in All. 10. With thankful hearts we meet, 0 Lord. Public Worship. From her Hymns, &c, 1847:— 11. Earth's firmest ties will perish. Burial. 12. Enquire, my soul, enquire. Second Advent. 13. Hallelujah, we are hastening. Journeying Heavenward. 14. Holy Father, we address Thee. Holy Trinity. 15. Jesus, of Thee we ne'er would tire. Holy Communion. 16. Lord Jesus, in Thy Name alone. Holy Communion. 17. Lord, through the desert drear and wide. Prayer for Perseverance. 18. Many sons to glory bring. Security in Christ. 19. 0 Lord, whilst we confess the worth. Dead in Christ. Sometimes it begins with st. ii., "Dead to the world we here avow." 20. Our God is light, we do not go. Christ the Guide. 21. Praise ye the Lord, again, again. Public Worship. 22. Salvation to our God. Passiontide. 23. The holiest we enter. Public Worship. Sometimes given as "The holiest now we enter." 24. Through the love of God our Saviour. Security in Christ. 25. Thy grace, 0 Lord, to us hath shown. Offertory. 26. We're pilgrims in the wilderness. Life a Pilgrimage. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

J. Edwin Orr

1912 - 1987 Person Name: J. Edwin Orr, 1912-1987 Topics: Prayer and Devotion Author of "Search Me, O God" in Hymns of Promise Rv James Edwin Orr MA ThD EdD PhD United Kingdom/USA. Born at Belfast, Northern Ireland, son of a jeweler with both British and American citizenship (so his children did as well), he studied at the College of Technology, Belfast, Ireland. After spending some years as a baker, he began evangelizing in Britian and in Europe. In 1937 he married Ivy Carol Carlson, and they had a daughter: Eileen. After their marriage, the Orrs evangelized in Australia (1939), China, Canada, South America, and the U.S. In 1939 he enrolled at Northwest University, and in 1940 was ordained into the Baptist Christian ministry at Newark, NJ. He received a MA from Northwest University in 1941 and a ThD from Northern Baptist Seminary in 1943. During WWII he served as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force in the Pacific region. During these years he also wrote several accounts of his preaching tours. After the war he continued his studies and took his PhD at Oxford University in 1948, with his thesis on the second evangelical awakening in Britain. In 1949 he and his wife made the U.S. their permanent base and continued to travel the world promoting church revival and renewal. They evangelized in 150 countries on several continents. In 1966 he became a professor at the School of World Missions, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA. In 1971 he received his EdD degree from UCLA. He remained at Fuller until 1981., and as professor emeritus thereafter. He also received honorary degrees from an Indian seminary and the university of South Africa. Billy Graham wrote: “Dr J Edwn Orr, in my opinion, is one of the greatest authorities on the history of religious revivals in the Protestant world.” From 1951 on he was influential in Campus Crusade for Christ, and was one of its five original board members. He authored 40+ works, mostly on revival work. He also wrote a few hymn lyrics. He was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, the American Geographical Society, the Royal Historical Society, and the Royal Society of Literature. He died at Ridgecrest, NC. Burial: Camarillo, CA. John Perry

Eleanor Farjeon

1881 - 1965 Topics: Devotion Author of "Morning Has Broken" in Great Songs of the Church (Revised) Eleanor Farjeon, (born Feb. 13, 1881, London--died June 5, 1965, Hampstead, London), English writer for children whose magical but unsentimental tales, which often mock the behaviour of adults, earned her a revered place in many British nurseries. The daughter of a British novelist and granddaughter of a U.S. actor, Eleanor Farjeon grew up in the bohemian literary and dramatic circles of London. Attending opera and theatre at 4 and writing on her father’s typewriter at 7, Farjeon came to public attention at 16 as the librettist of an opera, with music by her brother Harry, which was produced by the Royal Academy of Music. Her success with Nursery Rhymes of London Town (1916), simple tunes originally for adults but adapted and sung in junior schools throughout England, spurred her writing. In addition to such favourites as Martin Pippin in the Apple Orchard (1921) and The Little Bookroom (1955), which won the Carnegie Medal and the first Hans Christian Anderson Award, Farjeon’s prolific writings include children’s educational books, among them Kings and Queens (1932; with Herbert Farjeon); adult books; and memoirs, notably A Nursery in the Nineties (1935; rev. ed. 1960). --www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/201881/Eleanor-Farjeon

César Malan

1787 - 1864 Person Name: Henri A. C. Malan Topics: Commitment, Dedication, Consecration, Devotion Composer of "HENDON" in Baptist Hymnal 2008 Rv Henri Abraham Cesar Malan, 1787-1864. Born in Geneva, Switzerland, into a bourgeois family that moved to Switzerland to escape religious persecution during the French Revolution, he attended the university in Marseilles, France, intending to become a businessman. Although having some grounding in religious faith by his mother, he decided to attend the Academy at Geneva (founded by Calvin) in preparation for ministry. He was ordained in 1810, after being appointed a college master (teaching Latin) in 1809. Malan was in accord with the National Church of Geneva as a Unitarian, but the Reveil Movement caused him to become a dissident (evangelical) instead of a proponent of the Reformed Church (believing works, not faith, was what mattered). In 1811 he married (wife’s name not found). They had at least two children (one son was Solomon, referenced below). From 1813 on Malan slowly became an evangelical, after being given an understanding of true salvation through grace (not works) in 1816 by two German Lutherans from Geneva. He became saved upon this realization and was so changed that he burned his prized collection of classical authors and manuscripts. In 1817 he preached around Geneva, and one sermon in particular, “Man only justified by faith alone” created a firestorm and brought him into conflict with religious authorities of the region. From then on he wished to help reform the national church from within, but the forces of the Venerable Company were too strong for him and excluded him from the pulpits and caused his dismissal from his regentsship at the college in 1818. Others in agreement with Malan were Charles Spurgeon, Robert Wilcox, Robert Haldane, and Henry Drummond. In 1820 he built a chapel in his garden and obtained the license of the State for it as a separatist place of worship. He preached in that chapel 43 years. In 1823 he was formally deprived of his status as a minister of the national Church. Various events caused his congregation to diminish over the next few years, and he began long tours of evangelization subsidized by religious friends in his land, Belgium, France, England and Scotland. He often preached to large congregations. Malan also authorized a hymn book, “Chants de Sion” (1841). A strong Calvinist, Malan lost no opportunity to evangelize. On one occasion an old man he visited pulled Malan’s hymnal out and told him he had prayed to see the author of it before he died. On a visit to England Malan also inspired author, Charlotte Elliott, to write the hymn lyrics for “Just as I am”, when seeking an answer to her conversion she asked and he advised her to come to Christ ‘just as she was’. Malan published a score of books and also produced many religious tracts and pamphlets largely on questions in dispute between the National and evangelical churches of Rome. He also wrote articles in the “Record” and in American reviews. His hymns were set to his own melodies. He was an artist, a mechanic, a carpenter, a metal forger, and a printer. He had his own workshop, forge and printing press. One of his greatest joys was the meeting of the evangelical alliance at Geneva in 1861 which helped change church views. He retired to his home, Vandoeuvres, in the countryside near Geneva in 1857, dying there seven years later.. He was honored by a visit from the Queen of Holland two years before his death. He is mainly remembered as a hymn writer, having written 1000+ hymn lyrics and tunes. One son, Solomon, a gifted linguist and theologian, became Vicar of Broadwindsor. About a dozen of his hymns appeared translated in the publication “Friendly visitor” (1826). He was an author, creator, composer, editor, correspondent, contributor, translator, owner, and performer. John Perry ================= Malan, Henri Abraham César. The family of Malan traces its origin to the valleys of Piedmont. A branch of it settled at Mérindol, in Dauphiné, but was driven from France by the persecutions that followed the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Pierre Malan [Cesar's father], after seeing his sister fall a victim to persecution, left Mérindol (1714), and arrived at Geneva (1722). Henri Abraham César Malan was born at Geneva in 1787. After an education at the College, he went to Marseilles, with the intention of learning business: but, soon after, entered the Academy at Geneva, as a preparation for the ministry, to which he was ordained in 1810. He had been appointed one of the masters at the College in the previous year. The National Church of Geneva was at that time almost Unitarian, and Malan's convictions were in accord with it. But the great movement known as the Réveil, of which the first products were the dissident church of Bourg de Four and at a later date that founded by Malan himself, and which finally imbued the whole Swiss Church with its spirit, was silently preparing itself. The germ of the movement may be traced in the Société des Amis (1810), of which Empeytaz and A. Bost were leaders; and in Malan's independent attainment to the doctrines of the Divinity of the Saviour and the free gifts of salvation through Him (1816). But the human agency, which gave it force, and determined its Calvinistic direction, was the visit of Robert Haldane (in the autumn of 1816), to whom not only these pioneers of the movement, but F. Monod, E. Rieu, Guers, Gonthier, Merle d'Aubigné, and others, always pointed as their spiritual father. Empeytaz and others sought to attain enfranchisement by the establishment of the "petite Eglise of Bourg de Four." Malan wished to reform the national Church from within: and a sermon at Geneva, which brought on him the obloquy of the professors and theologians that composed his audience, and which Haldane characterized as a republication of the Gospel, was his first overt act (Jan. 19, 1817). But the opposing forces were far too strong for him. The Venerable Company excluded him from the pulpits, and achieved his dismissal from his regentship at the College (1818). In 1820 he built a chapel (Chapelle du Temoignage) in his garden, and obtained the licence of the State for it, as a separatist place of worship. In 1823 he was formally deprived of his status as a minister of the national Church. The seven years that succeeded were the palmy days of the little chapel. Strangers, especially from England, mingled with the overflowing Swiss congregation. But (in 1830) a secession to Bourg de Four, and then the foundation of the Oratoire and the Société Evangelique, which in 1849 absorbed the congregation of Bourg de Four under the title of the Église Evangélique, thinned more and more the number of his adherents. His burning zeal for the conversion of souls found a larger outlet in long tours of evangelization, subsidized by religious friends, in his own land and Belgium and France, and also in Scotland and England, where he had friends among many religious bodies, and where he preached to large congregations. The distinguishing characteristic of these tours was his dealing with individuals. On the steamboat or the diligence, in the mountain walk, at the hotel, no opportunity was lost. On one occasion an old,man whom he visited drew from under his pillow a copy of his great hymnbook, Chants de Sion, 1841, and told him how he had prayed to see the author of it before he died. It is as the originator of the modern hymn movement in the French Reformed Church that Malan's fame cannot perish. The spirit of his hymns is perpetuated in the analysis of Christian experience, the never-wearied delineation of the hopes and fears, the joys and sorrows of the believer's soul, which are still the staple of French Protestant hymns. To this was added, in Malan himself, a marked didactic tone, necessitated by the great struggle of the Réveil for Evangelical doctrine; and an emphatic Calvinism, expressing itself with all the despondency of Newton and Cowper, but, in contrast with them, in bright assurance, peace and gladness. French criticism has pronounced his hymns unequal, and full of literary defects; but their unaffected freshness and fervent sincerity are universally allowed. In the Chants de Sion, hymns 20, ”Hosanna! Béni soit"; 165, “Mon coeur joyeux, plein d'espérance"; 199, "Du Rocher de Jacob"; 200, "Agneau de Dieu"; 239, "Trois fois Jehovah," are in every Protestant French hymnbook; and several others are very widely used. Besides his hymns Malan produced numberless tracts and pamphlets on the questions in dispute between the National and Evangelical Churches and the Church of Rome, as well as articles in the Record and in American reviews. He was a man of varied acquirements. His hymns were set to his own melodies. He was an artist, a mechanic: his little workshop had its forge, its carpenter's bench, its printing press. To the end of his life his strong Calvinism, and his dread of mere external union in church government, kept him distinct from all movements of church comprehension, though freely joining in communion with all the sections of Evangelical thought in Geneva and Scotland. At one time there seemed a prospect of his even rejoining the national Church, which had driven him from her. One of his greatest joys was the meeting of the Evangelical Alliance at Geneva (1861). He left no sect; one of his latest orders was the demolition of his decayed chapel, in which he had preached for 43 years. He died at Vandoeuvres, near Geneva, in 1864, leaving a numerous family, one of whom, the Rev. S. C. Malan, D.D., sometime Vicar of Broadwindsor, is well known as a linguist and a theologian of the English Church. To English readers Malan is chiefly known as a hymn-writer through translations of his "Non, ce n'est pas mourir" (q.v.): "It is not death to die", &c. About a dozen of his hymns appear in a translated form in the Friendly Visitor for 1826. [Rev. H. Leigh Bennett, M.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ================= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/César_Malan

John L. Bell

b. 1949 Person Name: John L. Bell (b. 1949) Topics: Life in Christ Our Response to Christ - In Devotion Arranger of "AMAZING GRACE (NEW BRITAIN)" in Church Hymnary (4th ed.) John Bell (b. 1949) was born in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock in Ayrshire, intending to be a music teacher when he felt the call to the ministry. But in frustration with his classes, he did volunteer work in a deprived neighborhood in London for a time and also served for two years as an associate pastor at the English Reformed Church in Amsterdam. After graduating he worked for five years as a youth pastor for the Church of Scotland, serving a large region that included about 500 churches. He then took a similar position with the Iona Community, and with his colleague Graham Maule, began to broaden the youth ministry to focus on renewal of the church’s worship. His approach soon turned to composing songs within the identifiable traditions of hymnody that began to address concerns missing from the current Scottish hymnal: "I discovered that seldom did our hymns represent the plight of poor people to God. There was nothing that dealt with unemployment, nothing that dealt with living in a multicultural society and feeling disenfranchised. There was nothing about child abuse…,that reflected concern for the developing world, nothing that helped see ourselves as brothers and sisters to those who are suffering from poverty or persecution." [from an interview in Reformed Worship (March 1993)] That concern not only led to writing many songs, but increasingly to introducing them internationally in many conferences, while also gathering songs from around the world. He was convener for the fourth edition of the Church of Scotland’s Church Hymnary (2005), a very different collection from the previous 1973 edition. His books, The Singing Thing and The Singing Thing Too, as well as the many collections of songs and worship resources produced by John Bell—some together with other members of the Iona Community’s “Wild Goose Resource Group,” —are available in North America from GIA Publications. Emily Brink