Church in the Wildwood -- William S. Pitts

 

He was just enjoying the scenery. That’s one way to illustrate the episode in which William Savage Pitts interacted with nature to imagine how a building not yet constructed could help nurture a community that was looking about them in two different directions -- horizontally and vertically. This was the “Church in the Wildwood” (also known as “The Little Brown Church in the Vale” [See the map-picture of Chickasaw County, Iowa, and the town of Nashua marked with a red circle in the southwest corner of the county.]). When William visited the area in 1857, the construction site was in the small community of Bradford, which has since declined in size, with no post office there since 1899. But the little church that was erected a few years later has remained. What was it that Pitts saw, besides the wooded valley that surrounded him that day?       

 

A picture of the church from 2011 shows a sign on it that says the building was constructed in the period 1860-64. That, in a nutshell, perhaps captures what the 27-year-old William Pitts was trying to describe in his original poem. Somehow, he could hope that this little church, across many years, would help focus attention and act like glue for residents of that area – that they would appreciate their Creator as they looked around themselves and took stock of their lives. Could Pitts have known that a tiny, somewhat dingy-looking structure that he nevertheless admired in the mid-1800s would still be around 150 years later? After all, who paints a building brown?! Perhaps William thought the color that the members of that church community chose actually helped emphasize the church’s similarity with its setting. Pitts evidently thought this nature spot underscored the peace and beauty of His creation, a theme that he visits throughout his five stanzas. This spurred his appreciation for worship in such a spot, where people would respond to a ‘clear ringing bell’ on the ‘Sabbath’ (v.2). It creates an image of a God who gently invites and coaxes the faithful to join Him in spirit amidst His creation. Pitts could also foresee generations of the church’s members drawing descendants to that spot (vv.3 and 4), with reminders that the departed ‘lie’, sleep’, and are ‘close by the side of that loved one’, but are merely resting in a ‘tomb’ in that place. Evidently, like many rural churches, Pitts expected that a cemetery, to silently speak to people as they arrived and departed from the site, would occupy a portion of the church’s grounds. The church was also something like a stepping stone, as Pitts in his concluding thoughts envisaged a journey beginning there and proceeding toward ‘mansions of light’ (v.5). Pitts’ own story of the song indicates it was sung for the first time some seven years later in this crude structure during its dedication. That both the song and the church building have endured says something…how many other little, rural churches identify with that little brown one in the vale?      

 

Pitts’ verses and refrain today still call churchgoers at the little brown church in the wildwood to nurture their faith, to look for and appreciate God in a church community, as it has done for many generations. Pitts’ own account of seeing for the first time the vale spot planned for the church indicates he was struck by the natural beauty he beheld there. As others have noted, nature has a unique ability to inspire reverence for and celebration of His dominion. So, the people of the little brown church did not attempt to erect a grand edifice, for that would have distracted from Him. Perhaps all they wanted was a basic roof, floor, and some walls. He’d already provided everything else. Besides, they probably suspected there was already a grand place awaiting them elsewhere. Where do you suppose that is?

 

See here for the song’s verses and the story of the song: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/l/i/t/t/l/littlebc.htm

 

See author’s brief biography here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/p/i/t/t/pitts_ws.htm

 

See here for background on the town of Nashua, Iowa and a picture of the little brown church: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nashua,_Iowa

 

Information on the unincorporated site of the church named Bradford: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradford,_Chickasaw_County,_Iowa

This Is My Father's World -- Maltbie D. Babcock

He wasn’t the first to scrawl some words following a nature walk in the woods. And, maybe other individuals before Maltbie Davenport Babcock had likewise been enthralled with their surroundings in Lockport, New York, but he actually mouthed some of his song’s memorable words virtually every day when he went on his nature treks in the mid-to-late 19^th Century. “This Is My Father’s World”, one can imagine him saying as he looked upon scenes, perhaps including the waterways of nature and the manmade locks built to manage their flow in the area (see picture). He might have focused completely on the creation that he observed, but he instead took note that it also had a Creator. That’s apparent in the first words of each of his poem-song’s six verses, and it’s an easy concept to grasp -that is, if you look at what Maltbie did with the same discerning eye.  

It wasn’t surprising that Maltbie Babcock would choose to be out in nature when “This Is My Father’s World” gestated in his spirit. He was an avid athlete in college, in addition to having a high musical IQ. So, running or hiking was a routine he adopted early in his ministerial career in Lockport, his first professional assignment following college. He would probably have said a better spot could not have been picked for him, given the area’s proximity to Lake Ontario and the nearby woods and farmland. His daily jaunts to investigate ‘my father’s world’ were the source for the 16-stanza poem he crafted, much of which became the lyrics for a song that was crafted by a close friend (Franklin Shephard) following his untimely death in 1901. Put yourself in Maltbie’s shoes on one of his walks or runs near Lake Ontario, on a hilly area near some woods or a farm where all sorts of wildlife occupied the same space as this minister. Reportedly, some 40 different species of birds occupy this area, something that no doubt caught Maltbie’s eyes and ears, as he recorded in one stanza that ‘…the birds their carols raise’ (v. 2). Though he was a musician, skilled in the organ, piano, and violin, Maltbie found that the nature which fascinated him so produced a music of its own --  ‘…nature sings…music of the spheres’ (v.1). While he adored the sights and sounds he beheld, Maltbie also mentions God’s most significant creative act – providing Jesus Christ (vv. 3-5) – to underscore the goodness that is in His nature. It’s as if Maltbie, out on one of his strolls on a sunshine-splashed June day, surrounded by greenery, a bubbling brook, chirping birds and various other wildlife, stopped for a moment to reflect that he would encounter still more stunning scenery someday – meeting the One who created all that he sensed. ‘I ope my eyes…the Lord is in this place’ (v. 4), and ‘God reigns – let the earth be glad’ (v.5). Perhaps he thought to himself ‘this is all a foretaste’.

Perhaps we all need to take a walk outside more often, huh? If Maltbie Babcock saw more than met the eye, that would be faith (Hebrews 11:1), according to God’s definition. Year after year, Maltbie must have realized that the nature around himself lay dormant for a time, and then would spring back to life, right on schedule. To a botanist, perhaps that’s not extraordinary, since it happens as we expect it to so regularly. But, seeing that there must be someone behind the scenes, as Mr. Babcock recognized, allows one to magnify the appreciation of what you can experience in smelling flowers, listening to birds make music, watching animals frolic in the woods, touching velvet-like tree blossoms, and tasting a fresh-picked blackberry. Are all your senses engaged now? Can you see now who Maltbie saw on his walks?            

See more information on the song story in these sources: The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006; Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990; 101 Hymn Stories, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1982; and Then Sings My Soul – 150 of the World’s Greatest Hymn Stories, Robert J. Morgan, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003. 

Also see this link, showing all six original verses and a brief recitation of the song’s story: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/t/i/s/m/tismyfw.htm

 

Also see this link for information on the composer/author: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/b/a/b/babcock_md.htm

Rock of Ages -- Augustus Montague Toplady

If he were here today to interview, he could tell us which story is correctly attributed to the hymn he wrote in 1776. Augustus Montague Toplady composed “Rock of Ages” as he was in a storm, either an emotional-theological debate or an actual cloudburst that drenched his clothes to the skin before he found shelter. Which one is true? One was subject to public knowledge, while the other was more obscure, perhaps an event that metaphorically underscored for Toplady the discussion, often passionately, that he was having with other believers.

The 36-year old Englishman Toplady recorded perhaps the most well-known words of his life in “Rock of Ages” that were published in 1776, a mere two years before his untimely death.  Reportedly, Augustus Toplady wrote the words in 1763 as a 23-year old, in the early years of what would later become a rather public debate with the Wesley brothers, John and Charles. These founders of Methodism espoused a doctrine of man’s free will in a belief system known as Arminianism, while Toplady believed fervently in the Calvinistic election of man by God. Was Toplady carrying on this debate when he wrote his original verse two, a retort to his adversaries with the words ‘thou must save, and thou alone’? How acrimonious was the exchange then, as compared to 13 years later when published? 1763 was the year after Toplady’s education had concluded at Trinity College in Ireland, the birthplace of his faith as a teenager, and his ordination as a deacon in the Anglican Church. At the time, Toplady served at the Somerset church in southwest England. That’s where another story surfaced about the song’s genesis, one quite different from the theological dispute. In this one, Toplady was caught in a thunderstorm while walking in a deep gorge, Burrington Combe. He found a large rock (see its picture here)

with a crevice big enough to hide him from the storm. It was there he supposedly had a few moments of reflection, about life and perhaps about his beliefs in contrast to the Wesleys’ views. He discovered a stray playing card at his feet, and is said to have recorded at least some of “Rock of Ages” on the spot on this piece of litter. A thunderstorm-inspired message or a poem offered as a bit of satire for an opposition’s consumption…which would God choose to use?

Does it make a difference how it came about? The fact that “Rock of Ages” is still known to us some 250 years hence is a clue that He approves of its message. Both the Wesleys and Augustus Toplady would agree that God is the Rock for believers, that our faith’s foundation is nowhere else. His son’s blood on the cross is a fact. These thoughts are in Toplady’s poetry, be they couched in sincerity borne of an unnerving weather experience or other motives. God can use anything He wants to spur his message.

     

Information on the song’s composer and the hymn was obtained from the books “Amazing Grace – 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions”, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990; “101 Hymn Stories”, by Kenneth Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1982; and “Hymns of Faith”, by Ken Tate, edited by Ken and Janice Tate, published by House of White Birches, Berne, Indiana, 2000.