Hymnists: Not of my family - but probably influenced one or two of them

Last week I addressed a group of people at an aged care facility for the regular Sunday afternoon service. This is a difficult gig, because there are a range of people, but I decided to talk about a (another?!) group of women that fascinate me. I've put my talk below (and it s written as a talk). I did not mention any of my own family, but I suspect that many of my family would have "known" the women I spoke about. The below doesn't give a lot of detail, but if you happen to be humming along to one of the nineteenth century hymns, look down and see if it was by a woman!

During most of Australia’s history few women were invited to preach or be a part of the management of churches. But women were essential to the operations of the church. Women were expected to run Sunday Schools, raise much needed funds and be part of the Choir. And most women were happy with that contribution.

As I have researched the role of women, I’ve been quite sad at times, that input from the many wonderful women I have uncovered is not adequately recognised within the church.

But there is one group of people - including a number of women - that have inadvertently been a strong influence and support to many church members, and that is the people who write hymns. There weren’t many Australian women hymn writers, most were from England or the United States. As I was preparing for the service today I realised that the first two hymns I’d chosen were written by women, so I decided to make sure that the next two hymns were as well. The BaptistCare hymnbook has many fine examples of hymns written by women. It is very amusing to me that so many of our wonderful hymns throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries were written by women who would not have been able to speak to a congregation, but have been able to speak to churches through their beautiful lyrics. In fact, one Church of England Minister (Rev. Elliott) wrote in the 1850s that: “In the course of a long ministry, I hope to have been permitted to see some fruit of my labors; but I feel far more has been done by a single hymn of my sister’s.” His sister was Charlotte Elliot who wrote over 100 hymns, the most famous of which was “Just as I am.”

The words the women hymn writers have written touch, inspire and move those who sing the hymns. These words have come directly from the experiences of the women – and men – who have written the hymns. I want to briefly talk about the women whose words we have sung today and what their hymns can still say to us today.

Firstly Adelaide Pollard. She was very keen to be a missionary in India, but needed to raise the funds herself. She was so distressed about not being able to do something that she thought was God’s will for her. And then one evening she attended a prayer meeting and she said that an older woman prayed: "Lord, it doesn't matter what you bring into our lives--just have your way with us." This prayer stayed with Adelaide, and she then read Jeremiah 18:3 and 4 in which Isaiah which referred to God as a potter. As a result, she wrote a hymn which millions have sung, and which we sung today:

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Thou art the potter; I am the clay. Mold me and make me after Thy will, While I am waiting, yielded and still.

Adelaide did become a missionary in Africa, shortly before World War I. However, the war forced her to retreat, and after the war she had to return to the United States. But she was considered highly by her church in New England, and she was able to often preach. Adelaide wrote over 100 other songs, but some of those were anonymous as she seldom signed them, not desiring the credit.

Another two women I’d like to briefly mention are Frances Ridley Havegal and Frances Crosby. They are possibly the most well known of the women hymnists – and the women were regular writers to each other: one was English and the other was from the United States. We sung Frances Crosby’s hymn Blessed Assurance earlier in the service. Frances Ridley Havegal was a very intelligent child. She started writing verse at age seven. She learned Latin, Greek and Hebrew, and memorized the Psalms, the book of Isaiah, and most of the New Testament. Her works include Take My Life and Let It Be, I Am Trusting Thee Lord Jesus, and Master Speak, Thy Servant Hearth.

Both Frances Ridley Havegal and Fanny Crosby wrote their hymns on a sickbed. Frances Ridley Havergal suffered from nervous inflammation of the face – a disease called ery-sipel-as: she died at the age of 42. Fanny Crosby was blinded at six weeks through careless medical treatment. These women knew what it was to suffer and to be in pain, to own nothing of their own, to feel that they had nothing to contribute – these were attributes shared by many of the women hymn writers in the Victorian period. Their hymns reflect this pain and willingness to devote their lives to God. 

I have a friend who told me that when she thinks about women writing hymns, she can only picture a sickly looking woman sitting in bed writing hymns because she has nothing else to do - and this view is possibly based on the knowledge that these two women were quite "sickly." But of course, that was not the case for all women hymnists. Many of the women hymn writers were active in the community; many were the wives of ministers; or devoted their lives to church (and some, of course, were invalids).

We have learnt from these women and we continue to learn.

For myself, I have been most influenced by women in my life – although my father was very important as well. My faith has developed from strong women around me, including my mother, my grandmother, and other women in the church. I don’t know if I would have my faith, if it weren’t for the example and guidance from these women.

We sung Frances Ridley Havegal’s hymn Take my life and let it be, to conclude the service. The hymn includes the line: "Take my silver and my Gold, not a mite would I withhold," and was written because Frances and her sisters had decided to sell all of their mother’s jewelry and give the money to the poor.  She lived the words that she wrote in her hymns.