The History Behind The Hymns (Part Two)

Rock Of Ages

Augustus Toplady was a young English minister and writer in the 1700s. While traveling through the rugged countryside near Cheddar Gorge, he was surprised by a torrent of hard rain and strong winds. In his weary state, Toplady found shelter under a rocky overhang. There, in the storm he wrote this hymn. He saw his situation as God providing just as He did for the world with the Savior. 

The work was first introduced into the world in 1776, when Toplady included it in an article he edited for The Gospel Magazine. He also compared England's national debt to our own merits satisfying the justice of God in the same article.

Toplady died of tuberculosis at the age of 38, proclaiming "My prayers are now all converted into praise."

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Unlike many other great hymns of the faith, this hymn was not written out of any tragic or dramatic experience, but out of everyday routine. Kentucky-born Thomas Chisholm became a school teacher in 1882, but this was just the start of his several career paths. He later entered the newspaper business before being ordained as a pastor. Health reasons forced him to leave the ministry and after recuperation, he became an insurance agent. 

Throughout his life, however, two things remained consistent: his faith and his love of poetry. In 1923, he sent a collection of his poems to a musician and good friend named William Runyan. Runyan also worked for a hymnal publishing company. William was especially struck by Chisholm's poem, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”. About this experience, he said  "This particular poem held such an appeal that I prayed most earnestly that my tune might carry over its message in a worthy way." 

The hymn took a while to catch on with churches until Billy Graham included it in his crusades in England, but is now one of England's most popular. Based on Lamentations 3:22-23, the poem reflects Chisholm's own need for God's support, love, and faithfulness, both financially and spiritually.

There Is A Fountain

William Cowper suffered from depression and anxiety his entire life, but still found hope in Jesus's sin-cleansing blood. As a young man, he was pressured to go into law, but suffered a mental breakdown before his final exams and was admitted into an asylum. 

In 1764, he realized his need for a savior and wrote this hymn based on Zechariah 13:1. Later in life, he became friends with the great hymn writer, John Newton and together, composed a collection of 349 hymns known as the Olney Hymns. 

The Hymn Project

On July 23, 2020, my dad and I recorded the six hymns I have now highlighted in these two blogs. It features my vocals and guitar and my dad on cajon and is available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music, and YouTube.

Bibliography 

Christianity.com. 2010. Toplady's Song In The Storm. [online] Available at: <https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1701-1800/topladys-song-in-the-storm-11630289.html> [Accessed 29 August 2020].

Wyse, E., 2014. The History Of "Great Is Thy Faithfulness". [online] Lifeway.com. Available at: <https://www.lifeway.com/en/articles/the-history-of-great-is-thy-faithfulness> [Accessed 29 August 2020].

College of The Open Bible. n.d. Hymn History There Is A Fountain. [online] Available at: <https://www.collegeoftheopenbible.com/hymn-history-there-is-a-fountain.html> [Accessed 29 August 2020].

The History Behind The Hymns (Part One)

It Is Well With My Soul

Horatio Spafford Jr. endured great suffering in his life before writing this much loved hymn, sung to Philip Paul Bliss's music. Spafford married Anna Lawson in 1861 before moving near Chicago for his law practices. Both he and his wife were heavily involved in the church and volunteer ministry. They had four daughters.

In 1871, the first tragedy shook Spafford's family and the whole Chicago area with the Great Fire. Horatio himself and his legal partners suffered financially from their real estate investment losses. In November of 1873, the family physician recommended that Anna travel to Europe for her health. Horatio decided to stay behind for an important real estate sale. Five ministers, returning to England, agreed to watch over Spafford's family during the voyage. 

The fateful journey began a little after 2:00 pm on November 15. Aboard the Ville Du Havre, the journey was rough and a heavy fog set in. On the 7th day of their journey, at 2:00 am in the morning, a collision occurred with an iron Scottish Vessel, ripping a hole into the belly of the Ville Du Havre. Lifeboats were jettisoned but later found to be mostly containing the crew, not the passengers. The ship plunged into the water killing 226, including the four young Spafford daughters. Anna, their mother survived, and was there to hear minister Emile Cook say "All is well" before he died, perhaps the inspiration for the first words of Horatio Spafford's hymn. 

Despite suffering much more financially, the Spaffords continued to minister in America and later, Jerusalem. Horatio Spafford wrote the hymn in 1876 and it was first performed at a gospel meeting in Farewell Hall. 

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

Written in the 1500's by Martin Luther, it was often referred to as the 'Battle Hymn of the Reformation.' It has been translated into almost every known language and into English in eighty different ways. Luther wrote approximately 35 other hymns when he lived and singing was always an important part of his life as well as playing the lute. He believed that "Next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise."

A Mighty Fortress was drawn from the 46th Psalm and was a way for Luther himself, along with other followers of the Reformation, to find hope and comfort in God's strength and will. Sung by exiles leaving their home, martyrs to their death, and Luther, losing the battle for the soul of the church, this hymn had and still has a powerful message. 

The Old Rugged Cross

George Bernard, born in Ohio, became a traveling evangelistic after his conversion at 22 through the ministry of the Salvation Army. After being incessantly heckled by the youth at a Michigan revival meeting in 1912, he was left dejected and hopeless. Bernard remembers recalling in that moment, Christ's own suffering, bearing the cross for the revival of the world. 

The first verse of this much loved hymn came easy to him, and several months later he finished the remaining three verses while leading church meetings, back again in Michigan. In the summer of 1913, he performed the song for the pastor of the church, who, moved to tears, decided to incorporate it into the revival service. 

George himself led the hymn with his voice and guitar and then was joined by a five-voice choir, an organ, and a violin. The church where it was first performed is still standing today, owned by The Old Rugged Cross Foundation, a non-profit that welcomes thousands to this historic spot annually. 

Bibliography

Christianity.com. 2010. Horatio Spafford: It Is Well With My Soul. [online] Available at: <https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1801-1900/horatio-spafford-it-is-well-with-my-soul-11633070.html> [Accessed 29 August 2020].

Christianity.com. 2010. A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. [online] Available at: <https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1501-1600/a-mighty-fortress-is-our-god-11629923.html> [Accessed 29 August 2020].

Wyse, E., 2015. The History Behind "The Old Rugged Cross". [online] Lifeway.com. Available at: <https://www.lifeway.com/en/articles/the-history-behind-the-old-rugged-cross-hymn-george-bennard-revival> [Accessed 29 August 2020].

I'm Extremely Sorry!

If you're like most people, you have played, or at least have heard of, Crazy Uno, a twist on Mattel's classic card game that assigns special powers to some of the cards to make the game more interesting. Again, if you're like most people, you have played, or at least have heard of, Parker Brothers' Sorry!, a 2-4 player game in which players attempt to move the pawns from their start around the board to their home, trying to avoid getting sent back to start by an opponent. But what if the classic simplicity of this childhood favorite was replaced with an extreme competition of ultimate revenge inspired by the insane elements of Crazy Uno. This is Extremely Sorry!

After I read the original Sorry! instructions as a formality and brainstormed a list of extra rules to add, I was ready to start preliminary testing with my family. The basic concept I followed was to only add "extreme" rules to cards that already had special powers, meaning a 12 still simply meant you move a pawn forward twelve. But a backwards four, for example, could now be used on an opponent's pawn as well as your own. I also altered some of the fundamental rules of the original game, such as the safety zone... safe no more. After playing a three-player game with the first draft of rules, we made some changes and offered up various alternatives to try. In two other games (with two players and four players respectively), we decided on the best alternatives and final rules.

Overall, the integrity of the original game was preserved. No matter how close someone got to winning, everyone still had some chance until the very end. It did however increase the length because players were given more ways to send an opponent's pawn back to start. In our tests, a two-player game took 25 minutes, a three-player game took 45 minutes, and a four-player game took a little over an hour. 

I encourage you all to dig out your Sorry! boards and try out the official Extremely Sorry! rules, linked here with your families and friends. Special thanks to my family for testing the game with me and my dad for coming up with this idea. Read carefully and good luck.

Zooming through the Quarantine

As one of the most popular forms of video communication, you have most likely heard of, if not used, Zoom Video Conferencing at some point during this quarantine. I, for one, highly encourage it as a way to connect with groups of friends or family to talk to and see one another. As I have had time to hang out with people over Zoom, I have found fun and interesting activities in an attempt to imitate normal interactions.

Games:

I greatly enjoy playing games with friends or family and in big groups or small, so I was pleased to find that doing them over Zoom is not all that difficult. There are, however, some games that work better than others and even some that are more unique to Zoom. Trivia games are possibly the easiest games to play over video as they are speaking based. For games that are based on cards or a board, it tends to require all players to own the game and often difficult or awkward camera angles. Taking this into account, games that require just a normal deck of cards are relatively simple, as most people own a standard deck. Apart from plenty of free online game options, there are some games that can be played without anything but your device. One of my favorites simply uses the chat feature in Zoom and works well with large groups: Without planning who is going to go when or establishing any pattern, attempt to count in order in the chat, one number at a time without repeating. Overall, be creative! Find games that are relatively hands-free and try them in a call, or come up with new games using the features in Zoom.

Practical Jokes:
[Disclaimer: These jokes are not intended to be used to hurt or offend and should not be used in such a way]

Most weeks, on Friday afternoon, I have been meeting with a group of my friends from school over Zoom to chat, check up on each other, and just hang out. Within a tight group of friends, there is nothing quite like a harmless practical joke to get a good laugh going. If you are the host of a meeting, you have certain powers in a Zoom call. One of those powers is muting other people. Say your friend is telling a funny, but lengthy story about his/her past week. He/she has stopped looking directly at the screen and is sitting back in a chair while telling the story. Surely they won't notice that the microphone in the corner of their image now is red with a line through it and that they are in fact muted. Laugh with your other friends at the silent expressions and speech of the muted one until he/she finally realizes that they've been muted. You don't have to be the host to have some fun, though. Anyone can rename themselves under the participants tab. This can lead to everyone doubling over laughing. Try renaming yourself "connecting to audio..." so it looks as if you can't hear your friends and then talk about specific things someone said after renaming yourself to your real name. Freaky. You can also name yourself the same as someone else. Soon everyone will catch on and no one will know who is saying what in the chat. Either that or one person seems to be very indecisive:

Ben to Everyone
Did you know Cold Stone is doing delivery now? I got it the other day.

Ben to Everyone
Oh that's cool! I haven't had Cold Stone in forever...

Ben to Everyone
Me neither, but ya know... I don't really like ice cream.

Ben to Everyone
Oh yeah! I remember you saying that. I LOVE ice cream. lol. 

Group Projects:

Being a "people person," some of my favorite things at school are group activities and projects. Additionally, I just appreciate having a project to work on in general. Unfortunately, doing a music project with friends over Zoom is impossible due to the inconsistent delay. There are, however, features in Zoom that make other projects possible. Specifically, I would like to highlight the ability for the host to record the meeting (both video and audio). So, you can get a group of friends together and do a little skit, changing your virtual backgrounds to fit the setting of the story. I took advantage of the ability to record the audio by writing and producing an audiodrama over Zoom. You can find the finished product here. There is also a whiteboard under the share screen tab, so artists can show their friends their ability to draw with a mouse (impressive!). 

What Else Can You Do Over Zoom:

I am very grateful for the ability to connect with friends and family in this way, despite certain quarantine restrictions. I'd be interested to know some ways that you have been using Zoom to hang out with friends, work from home, or anything in between. Let me know if you have any ideas or how some of the ideas above worked for you. You can email me at cgottry22@gmail.com and maybe I can add you to my Zoom story!

You're Welcome!

Imagine this typical interaction at a birthday party: A kid, who I will call Billy, opens a present from Uncle Randy. Billy thinks this new toy is amazing, but as he goes to unbox and play with it, his mother stops him and says "Billy, what do you say to Uncle Randy?" Then Billy stops and says "Thank you, Uncle Randy" and then goes off to play. What did Uncle Randy say? Nothing. Who is there to say, "Uncle Randy, what do you say to Billy?" Nobody. Why not? 

Think about it. We all know why it is important to say thank you: an expression of gratitude. I believe it is just as important to say you're welcome: an acknowledgement of the other's gratitude and an expression of your heartfelt willingness to give. It is almost as if you are saying "you are welcome to ask for and receive what you want or need." 

Now let's talk about one common alternative: no problem. Though often a more common response when thanked, it does not satisfactorily acknowledge the other's gratitude. In fact, it either dismisses it entirely or invokes a selfish expectation of it. It is almost as if you are saying "Why are you even thanking me? I didn't do anything that would inconvenience me." or "It didn't bother me to help you, but yeah, if it did, you should be thankful." 

What should we do now then? For me personally, I have made it a habit to say you're welcome and I hope to encourage and kindly remind my family and close friends to do the same. Remember: politeness is not overrated and there is a response to thank you.

National Limerick Day!

For many years, poets and others have recognized May 12th as National Limerick Day, created in remembrance of the humorous works of poet, Edward Lear. A limerick is often a laughable over-the-top dramatization of current events or public disagreements. So, today, I decided to try my hand at this jovial art form...corona edition.

There Was Once a Day Without Gloom

By: Caleb Gottry

There was once a day without gloom.

Then COVID forced me to my room.

Just inject me with bleach, 

Then decide to impeach.

I'll talk to you later on Zoom.

Poetry Part II

Between homework, going outside, and playing games with my family, I enjoy relaxing quiet time alone with my guitars. I took it upon myself to learn some acoustic guitar "Classics" from the likes of the Beatles, Eric Clapton, and others. My one minute covers of these classics can be found here under the playlists tab. When I received my prompt for the next week of poetry, being "Consider something that happens over and over again that you enjoy," I planned to write my Terza Rima on my guitar time.

A Terza Rima has an endless form and was used by great writers, such as Dante, to write much longer works of literature than what I will present, such as The Divine Comedy. The tercets follow a rhyme scheme of aba/bcb/cdc/ded/efe... so on and so forth, until the poet decides to end it with a rhyming couplet (two line stanza), rhyming with the second line of the final tercet. In this case we were instructed to write four tercets before our closing couplet. I have chosen to compose my final tercet so that I can repeat my first line in my couplet. As with the Villanelle, it is written in iambic pentameter. 

Time Spent Picking
By Caleb Gottry

Again I find myself on carpet floor. 
I’m holding finished wood; I strike the steel.
I play a song I know I’ve played before.

I am no longer here alone, I feel,
For Eric, Johnny, Paul, and James have come,
Providing songs that make this day ideal.

Unhappy minors that match my glum
Turn into merry melodies anew,
But can one’s mood be changed by simple strums?

Or is it the guitar that shakes the blues,
Providing joy in isolation, or 
A choice instead of boredom that I do.

For being so alone is such a chore,
Again I find myself on carpet floor.

Poetry Part III

As I mentioned in Part II, I have been spending a lot of time outside to take breaks from homework. I greatly enjoy biking and find myself free from a lot of the worries that this time has brought. My poetry teacher challenged us to write about a personal triumph and given my recent successes on my two wheeler, I embraced the five senses and wrote my sestina.

A sestina is by far the most challenging of the three traditional forms I was tasked to write. First, the poet must choose six end words, all concrete nouns (nouns that you can touch, taste, smell, feel, or see). Each line in the sextet (six line stanza) is seven to ten syllables in length and must follow the order of the end words, which is offset by one each stanza. The poem ends with a tercet where all the six end words are used, two per line. The sestina is typically left untitled. 

Sestina
By Caleb Gottry

Out from the garage he takes his bike.
Then, he starts down the concrete path,
Seeing clouds that might soon drop water.
Apart from his own, there are no faces
As he pedals alone, like a lost child,
Hoping to return to a lemonade.

He rewards himself with that lemonade,
For the work he did on his bike,
Pedaling next to the cars on his path.
For now, he quenches his thirst with water,
Waiting at the light with other faces, 
Maybe next to another lost child.

He hears a “Good morning” from the child
And he wonders if they want lemonade.
He returns the greeting from his bike
And then focuses again on the path,
Along the canal filled with water,
Joined by unfamiliar faces.

The wind blows against these faces.
Among men, he feels like a child,
But he soon forgets the lemonade
And moves past one unfamiliar bike.
A group in line; all focused on the path
Is what he sees, sweating drops of water.

Now he rides through dirt and water,
Conquering this challenge he faces.
Passed by a man, he, just a child
Sees their shirt: yellow, like the lemonade.
Them on faster wheels, but he on his bike,
Together, they forge a new path.

Stop before crossing the asphalt path;
Cars fueled by oil– him, just by water.
The tinted windows hide their faces
And their machines could crush a child.
He’ll have to wait for his lemonade
Until he can cross on his meager bike.

Carried home by bike before sky water.
A phone lights up faces, showing his path,
And the child drinks his lemonade.

Poetry Part I

During this quarantine, I have been learning online from my teachers through Google Classroom. One of my classes has brought forth some creative opportunity during this time: Poetry. For these past three weeks, I have been assigned to write three different poems in three traditional forms. The first of which is a Villanelle.

A Villanelle uses repeating lines in each stanza. In the first stanza, the two repeating lines are introduced separated by a third line that does not repeat, making the rhyme scheme AbA. The rhyme scheme for the following four tercets (three line stanzas) is abA, with the repeating lines (A) alternating each stanza.

The poem ends with a quatrain (four line stanza) with a rhyme scheme of abAA. The poem is written in iambic pentameter, with ten syllables per line alternating unstressed and stressed. The prompt I considered to write my Villanelle was this: "Consider something that happens over and over again that you dislike."

Alarming
By Caleb Gottry

So shut my ears to that unwelcome sound– 
No longer in the crazy world of dreams.
“Why must my eyes be open?” I now frown.

Dark figures sometimes cloud my nights around.
They haunt and scare and cause no sleep for me,
So shut my ears to that unwelcome sound.

Or, in a world where glories do abound,
I find myself in charge of great regimes.
“Why must my eyes be open?” I now frown.

Awake, but I’m not moving from my down.
My dark blue blanket shields the cold extremes, 
So shut my ears to that unwelcome sound.

Asleep in perfect comfort– how profound!
Forgetting abnormality that teems,
“Why must my eyes be open?” I now frown.

Returning to my bed each night, unwound,
I hope to sleep ‘til safety is a theme, 
So shut my ears to that unwelcome sound.
“Why must my eyes be open?” I now frown.

Speak Your Mind!

A fictional short exploring the importance of communication.

Not very long ago, in a small town called σιωπή*, there lived two men. They were known as περήφανος and συνεσταλμένος, but I will refer to them as Phillip and Thomas. The town was utterly quiet and each man was governed only by his own thoughts. Phillip was an unhappy man who was successfully retired, but always assumed everyone had it better than he did. Despite this feeling, however, he never would ask for help with anything, but would sit silently and fill his mind with complaints and self pity. Thomas was a contented man who owned a landscaping service. He was a hard worker and a skilled one, as well. In a short amount of time he could grow and maintain the greenest grass or make a tree yield the ripest fruit. He was always glad to give back to his community in any way he could, but was too afraid to advertise his company to anyone who did not ask.

One hot summer's day, Phillip decided to go for a walk. He could see all the people driving to work in their cars that were nicer than his. He could see mansions rising above the small houses in grand splendor, but Phillip did not appreciate their beauty. He envied it. As he concluded his walk on his own street, he could see the thing that bugged him the most. The greenest grass grew in every yard except his own. Every tree that he could see held the ripest fruit except his own. Phillip tried his best to care for his yard himself, but his feeble body often did not allow such tasks. He knew who the landscaper was, but his pride kept him from knocking on his neighbor's door. Instead, as he did every day, Phillip sat down on his old wooden porch chair and waited for Thomas's offer. 

On this same hot summer's day, Thomas was hard at work. He was in top form that day. The grass had never looked so green and the fruits had never been so ripe. He did his job quickly and while his clients were away at work, lest he receive extensive praise or thanks. As he returned to his own home, he passed the one yard that he had never been asked to work on. His neighbor sat on his porch in an old wooden chair overlooking his unkempt yard. Thomas would have been happy to work on another yard, but his timidness kept him from offering. Instead, as he did every day, he ducked past the home into his own, where he sat down for a meal and waited for Phillip to knock on his door.

-The End-

In the modern world, communication is easy. Sharing one's own thoughts can be done in person or using social media.It can be done publicly or anonymously. It is easy to write one's thoughts down and share them with whoever will read them, even as I am doing right now. It has not always been that way.

My great-uncle likes to tell the story of my great-great-grandfather and one of his sons. They owned a weekly newspaper in Minnesota, with printing presses belt-driven by a single steam engine and hard copies delivered every week. Even though the story above is fictional, it is not that far-fetched. And even though I do not have to publish my thoughts in a factory, I think it is important and enjoyable to write and to speak out one's thoughts openly and honestly for anyone to read or hear, lest the world fall silent. "πάντοτε ζητεῖν τὴν ἀλήθειαν"-Diogenes Laërtius ("Ever seeking truth")

*Click links for translations

COVID-19: In Comparison to the Past

Lately, the corona virus has been causing quite a stir in our society. Our everyday activities are being cancelled one by one "out of an abundance of caution" in an attempt to stop this outbreak. The other day, I went to the grocery store with my dad and there were more people there than on Super Bowl Sunday.

Some people, like us, were there to get necessary groceries. Others were in such a state of inner panic about this pandemic that they were stocking up on the essentials like they would never leave the house again in fear of social contact. One man had at least ten California Pizza Kitchen frozen pizzas piled up in his cart. Why? Why do people panic as much as they do about this virus? Should these reactions be expected? In this blog, I will be exploring past reactions to world pandemics, how they compare to the reaction to the corona virus, and raising a thought-provoking question about what the future holds.

One of the most famous and most deadly pandemics in history was the Bubonic Plague, commonly referred to as the Black Death. The disease was believed to have erupted in central Asia and then spread by fleas and other vectors aboard European trade ships. 
Although medical solutions at the time were often inadequate or non-existent, the European doctors and governmental officials of the 1300s offered sage advice and instruction not unlike modern solutions to COVID-19. Historical medicinal figures, Hippocrates and Galen, offered this advice in Latin: "Cito, longe, tarde," meaning "Leave quickly, go far away, and come back slowly." Recently, we render this advice as social distancing, the reason for many closures of large gatherings across the world. 

In 1347, during the plague's spread to Italy, many ports began to close, and the following year Venice took decisive action in not allowing ships safe harbor if they might carry the disease. As the United States finalizes its closure of international travel, we mirror the past. An eventual food shortage, famine, and economic collapse in Europe in the 1300s may bring light to the instinctual panic in us today in that regard. The quarantine process is not new either. Houses, towns, and communities were set apart for those infected with the plague. How long until our world gets to that point? Our medical advancements and better forms of communication are some of the only advantages the modern world has above the medieval one in stopping a pandemic. 

Finally, the church in Europe took a stand against the Bubonic Plague by proclaiming a faith in the will of God, showing their trust by helping the sick, risking their own lives by staying in infected communities, and praying for forgiveness and for this punishment to end. While the modern churches do not walk up and down the streets whipping themselves as a form of repentance in hope that God will end the suffering of all, the response of unwavering faith in God is still present. Even though churches close their doors to public gatherings, the church body still seeks to help the community at large. In a recent article in the New York Times, Dr. Esau McCaulley writes, "It is possible that, strangely enough, the absence of the church will be a great testimony to the presence of God in our care for our neighbors." 

The Black Death brought about a new era in history and for some new faith and comfort in God. What will the corona virus bring?

Bibliography:

“5e5d05a6fee23d71f4502714.” Steve Saretsky, 11 Jan. 2016, stevesaretsky.com/human-sentiment/5e5d05a6fee23d71f4502714/.

Mccaulley, Esau. “The Christian Response to the Coronavirus: Stay Home.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 14 Mar. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/opinion/coronavirus-church-close.html.

“Science Museum. Brought to Life: Exploring the History of Medicine.” The Black Death and Early Public Health Measures, broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/themes/publichealth/blackdeath.

“The Black Death.” Historic UK, www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/The-Black-Death/.