A Shelter in the Time of Storm – Vernon John Charlesworth

Did he have a memorable boating experience, or know sailors whose stories he just couldn’t forget? Or, was he thinking of the climate where he lived, and from that drew an analogy for some of the youngsters who were in his care? Vernon John Charlesworth might have penned some words for “A Shelter in the Time of Storm” in 1880 for both reasons when he composed that year. Could it have been that he was also thinking of one or more episodes from his own life that reaffirmed his need for spiritual protection?  He’d been a caretaker in a church for many years prior to this time too, and so he may have felt this message would resonate universally amongst people he knew. It still does.

Vernon Charlesworth was an Englishman who’d been ministering to people of all ages by his 42^nd year. He’d co-pastored a church for over a decade in one London area congregation while in his 20’s in the mid-19^th Century, so hearing of the challenges facing members of his spiritual family and trying to minister to them must have become a well-beaten path for Charlesworth by the time he reached his early 30’s. It was then that he switched gears and became the headmaster of the Stockwell Orphanage (commonly known as Spurgeon’s [Child Care], seen here in the picture)

in 1869, where he spent the bulk of his adult life – the next 46 years. He was a bit more than a decade into this new role when he wrote the words about the “Shelter” upon whom he’d come to depend. With so many youngsters in his charge, Charlesworth must have taken seriously his role to educate them, not only scholastically but holistically. These were kids who already had a strike against them – absence of parents or other adult relatives. So it wouldn’t be surprising if this composer-headmaster’s primary audience for his poetry were the children he saw every day, and to whom he probably wasn’t shy when it came to recommending the eternal brotherhood of Jesus. This would have been crucial for those who lacked earthy relatives and the moral and physical support they provide. This Englishman also must have had an intimate familiarity with storms, too, and undoubtedly that’s why his words would strike a chord with so many fishermen on the island nation’s northern coast. Its popularity with the locals and its resulting publication in a London newspaper captured the attention of a songwriter—Ira Sankey—whose music paired with the words further helped expose Charlesworth’s thoughts to the public.  The rest, as someone has said, is history.

Think about Vernon Charlesworth’s poem the next time you’re stuck beneath an umbrella, in traffic with the wiper blades flapping back and forth, or staring out a window pane at the leaden sky. No one stands in the rain unprotected, or strolls calmly along as the lightening and thunder crashes, do they? So why do some people stand in a spiritual tempest and try to make believe they’re OK?  One wonders if Charlesworth may have come across some folks who acted as if they were immune, sparking his words in an effort to jolt such people into reality. That might be a conversation worth having with someone, the next time the raindrops fall. Maybe you and I should think about that, as we open up the umbrellas the next time.        

The following website has a soundtrack for the song: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/s/h/e/sheltime.htm

See more information on the song discussed above in The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006.  Also, see Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990.

See a very brief biography of composer here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/c/h/a/r/charlesworth_vj.htm