A big thank-you to Mrs Margaret Waddell for her great work on this newsletter . Margaret has kept us informed of important events , church life , given us lovely poetry , stories and much more over the last 15 years . Enjoy your retirement ! A JOB WELL DONE- THANK YOU !
The internet is a great thing . I was looking for ‘ divine inspiration ’ to find something different to put into the newsletter and came across a web page that gave the stories behind some great hymns . I ’ d like to share this one with you …… more to follow
GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS
Thomas Obadiah Chisolm ( 1866-1960 ) had a difficult early adult life . His health was so fragile that there were periods of time when he was confined to bed , unable to work . Between bouts of illness he would have to push himself to put in extra hours at various jobs in order to make ends meet . After coming to Christ at age 27 , Thomas found great comfort in the Scriptures , and in the fact that God was faithful to be his strength in time of illness and weakness , and to provide his needs . Lamentations 3:22-23 was one of his favourite scriptures : “ It is of the Lord ' s mercies that we are not consumed , because His compassions fail not . They are new every morning : great is thy faithfulness .” While away from home on a missions trip , Thomas often wrote to one of his good friends , William Runyan , a relatively unknown musician . Several poems were exchanged in these letters . Runyan found one of Williams ' poems so moving that he decided to compose a musical score to accompany the lyrics . Great is Thy Faithfulness was published in 1923 . It was not until 1945 when George Beverly Shea began to sing “ Great is Thy Faithfulness ” at the Billy Graham evangelistic crusades , that the hymn was heard around the world