“O Little Town of Bethlehem” (1868) pg. 230
Words: Phillips Brooks (1835 – 1893)
Music: Lewis H. Redner (1830 – 1908)
Three years after his return from a trip to the Holy Land in 1865, Philadelphia preacher Phillips Brooks found himself still deeply moved by Bethlehem’s “simplicity and wondrous beauty.” Brooks wrote about his horseback journey from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, where he assisted with the midnight service on Christmas Eve, 1865. “I remember standing in the old church in Bethlehem, close to the spot where Jesus was born, when the whole church was ringing hour after hour with splendid hymns of praise to God. How again and again it seemed as if I could hear voices I knew well, telling each other of the Wonderful Night of the Savior’s birth.”
He penned some lines that he thought captured the serene atmosphere of the place where Jesus was born, and asked the organist of his church, Lewis Redner, if he could compose a melody.
Redner was a wealthy real estate broker as well as the church organist at Holy Trinity Church. Redner struggled with his task day after day, until, waking from a nap on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, he seemed to hear “an angel strain” and was finally inspired to jot down a tune that matched Brooks’ verses perfectly.
That was in 1868, but ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’ did not gain its universal popularity until 1882, when it was published in the new hymnal of the Episcopal Church.
Meanwhile…1868…139 years ago…in the United States…
U. S. President: Andrew Johnson…Vice-President: None
U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach President Andrew Johnson
Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) was opened
Brigham Young married his 27th and final wife
William Hinds received a patent for the “Candlestick”
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company was formed (Snoopy came later)
Frederick Olmsted was hired to design the City of Buffalo’s public parks
Ref. ThenSingsMySoul Cyberhymnal TimelinesOfHistory SilverCreek.com DmarieCapsule RDM Lego
Words: Phillips Brooks (1835 – 1893)
Music: Lewis H. Redner (1830 – 1908)
Three years after his return from a trip to the Holy Land in 1865, Philadelphia preacher Phillips Brooks found himself still deeply moved by Bethlehem’s “simplicity and wondrous beauty.” Brooks wrote about his horseback journey from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, where he assisted with the midnight service on Christmas Eve, 1865. “I remember standing in the old church in Bethlehem, close to the spot where Jesus was born, when the whole church was ringing hour after hour with splendid hymns of praise to God. How again and again it seemed as if I could hear voices I knew well, telling each other of the Wonderful Night of the Savior’s birth.”
He penned some lines that he thought captured the serene atmosphere of the place where Jesus was born, and asked the organist of his church, Lewis Redner, if he could compose a melody.
Redner was a wealthy real estate broker as well as the church organist at Holy Trinity Church. Redner struggled with his task day after day, until, waking from a nap on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, he seemed to hear “an angel strain” and was finally inspired to jot down a tune that matched Brooks’ verses perfectly.
That was in 1868, but ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’ did not gain its universal popularity until 1882, when it was published in the new hymnal of the Episcopal Church.
Meanwhile…1868…139 years ago…in the United States…
U. S. President: Andrew Johnson…Vice-President: None
U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach President Andrew Johnson
Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) was opened
Brigham Young married his 27th and final wife
William Hinds received a patent for the “Candlestick”
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company was formed (Snoopy came later)
Frederick Olmsted was hired to design the City of Buffalo’s public parks
Ref. ThenSingsMySoul Cyberhymnal TimelinesOfHistory SilverCreek.com DmarieCapsule RDM Lego
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