Earth and All Stars

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October 18, 2026

1 Minute Read

Important answer for a future trivia night – this is our organist’s favorite hymn. It was written for the 90th anniversary of St. Olaf College. The words are by Herbert Brokering, a P.K. (Pastor’s Kid) born in Nebraska and went on to become a pastor himself. He passed away in 2009. The tune is by David Johnson, a prolific composer, organist, and professor of music at Arizona State. The hymn first appeared in Twelve Folksongs and Spirituals in 1968.







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October 18, 2026 • 1 Minute Read
Earth and All Stars
Important answer for a future trivia night – this is our organist’s favorite hymn. It was written for the 90th anniversary of St. Olaf College. The words are by Herbert Brokering, a P.K. (Pastor’s Kid) born in Nebraska and went on to become a pastor himself. He passed away in 2009. The tune is by David Johnson, a prolific composer, organist, and professor of music at Arizona State. The hymn first appeared in Twelve Folksongs and Spirituals in 1968.
October 18, 2026 • 1 Minute Read
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty!
This text first appeared in A Selection of Psalms and Hymns for the Parish Church of Banbury in 1826. Hymnist Reginald Heber was a well-known poet and ordained vicar. In 1823 he became bishop of Calcutta. The tune, NICAEA (appropriately named for its oft-pairing with this trinitarian text) dates its first appearance to 1861’s Hymns Ancient and Modern. Composer John Bacchus Dykes began playing organ at 10 and himself went on to become an ordained vicar in Durham.
October 18, 2026 • 1 Minute Read
Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
The inspiration for this hymn comes from 1 Timothy 1:17: “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Its author, Walter Chalmers Smith, was an ordained minister of the Free Church of Scotland. This text first appeared in his Hymns of Christ and the Christian Life in 1867. The tune, ST DENIO, is a traditional Welsh melody. It comes from the long tradition of using secular melodies for sacred hymns. The first known published version comes from the hymnal Caniadau y Cyssegr in 1839.
October 11, 2026 • 1 Minute Read
Rejoice, for Christ is King!
The tune first appeared in 1899 in a Lutheran hymnal published in Philadelphia. William Fischer was born in Germany and moved to Pennsylvania where he graduated from the seminary at Gettysburg. The text is by prolific hymnist Charles Wesley and was originally published in 1744.
October 11, 2026 • 1 Minute Read
Precious Lord, Take My Hand
Thomas Andrew Dorsey (no relation to the trombonist/bandleader) was born near Atlanta, GA but moved to Chicago during the Roaring 20s. This hymn is based on the tune MAITLAND and was a reaction to the death of his wife in delivery and his newborn child the following day.
October 11, 2026 • 1 Minute Read
Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us
While the words are attributed to Londoner Dorothy Ann Thrupp, in her Hymns for the Young in 1836, it was listed as anonymous. The tune is by New Englander William Bradbury and first appeared in 1859.
October 4, 2026 • 1 Minute Read
God of Our Fathers
This hymn was first heard at a July 4th celebration in 1876. It was originally performed to the tune Russian Hymn. It was later linked with the more appropriately named National Hymn. The lyrics are by Daniel Crane Roberts, a Civil War vet who went on to become an Anglican deacon. The music is by George William Warren, organist at St Thomas’ Church in NYC.
October 4, 2026 • 1 Minute Read
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
Another hymn from Issac Watts which first appeared in 1707. The tune, Hamburg, is by the “father of American church music,” Lowell Mason. He was also a central figure in the music education movement in the US.
October 4, 2026 • 1 Minute Read
Jesus Shall Reign
The words are a paraphrase of Psalm 72 and written by prolific English hymn writer and congregational minister Issac Watts (1674-1748). The tune is attributed to John Hatton of whom not much is known save the date of his funeral in 1793.
September 27, 2026 • 1 Minute Read
I Love to Tell the Story
This poem first appeared as a leaflet in London in 1867 from the pen of Anabella Katherin Hankey. William Gustavas Fischer started off as a bookbinder in Philadelphia and went on to open a piano retailer. His tune was added to Hankey’s text somewhere around 1869.
September 27, 2026 • 1 Minute Read
At the Name of Jesus
Caroline Maria Noel began writing hymns and poems when ill-health struck her in the last several years of her life. She published them in the hopes of hoping other invalids in coping with life’s struggles. This hymn first appeared in 1861. The tune is from one of England’s most famous composers, Ralph Vaughan Williams. It was included in 1925’s “Songs of Praise.”
September 27, 2026 • 1 Minute Read
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
This text first appeared in an English hymnal in 1759 and its authorship is contested, having been written either by Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, or Robert Robinson. The composer of the tune, Nettleton, is unknown, but most likely comes from the Southern United States where it first appeared in 1813.