The other Sunday I was sitting in church waiting to sing the final hymn of the service. But Father John was holding up the show. I love Fr. John, but he has this practice of reading the weekly church bulletin before letting us loose. He has learned from bitter experience that most of us won't read the important notices in the bulletin, so he reads them for us.
I don't hear well, so I just daydream during this five to ten minute interlude. As I sat hunched over in my seat, I cast my eyes over the upcoming hymn. "It Is Well With My Soul," was the title. "Ah, one of my favs," I thought. It tells of stormy seas which I like, but it's the refrain that kills me: "It is well, (it is well), With my soul, (with my soul), It is well, it is well, with my soul." I love the echoing of the words, like ships' bells calling to one aother.
In tiny print at the bottom, I learned that Horatio Gates Spafford wrote the hymn (but not the music) in 1873. I've often wondered who writes all these hymns. I knew of John Newton and "Amazing Grace." Newton was a sailor on a British slave trading ship. A storm off the coast of Ireland in 1848 convinced him to change his way of living. He became a preacher and wrote the verses to "Amazing Grace" in 1773. It must not have had a catchy tune because the hymn fell into obscurity until William Walker wrote the tune we know today in 1835, making it the most popular hymn of all time. Even Willie Nelson has covered it.
I guessed most hymn were written by preachers or others who took church seriously. Once I got out of church that morning, I looked up Horatio Spafford. I was in for a surprise. Spafford was a wealthy Chicago lawyer and Presbyterian elder. He invested heavily in real estate, but was almost wiped out financially by the Great Chicago fire of 1871.
When the Spafford's' four-year-old son died of scarlet fever soon after, he decided to take the family on a trip to Europe. Last minute business dealings delayed Spafford so he sent the family on ahead. Half way across the Atlantic, the ship was struck by another ship and sank. Spafford's wife Anna was one of the few survivors. Their four young daughters were lost. When Anna arrived in Wales she telegraphed Horatio, "Saved alone. What shall I do?" Spafford took the next ship to England. The captain informed him when they passed the spot of the wreck. Before he reached England he had written the four verses of the hymn.
The Spaffords had three more children, a son and two daughters. Everything was different for them now. Presbyterianism didn't work anymore and they began holding prayer meeting in their home, forming a small Messianic sect. Spafford wrapped up his affairs in Chicago and the family settled in Jerusalem with a dozen like-minded friends. They established The American Colony, a Christian philanthropic society which worked among the people of the city, regardless of religious affiliation, thus gaining the trust of Christians, Muslims, and Jews.
Horatio died of malaria in 1888 at the age of 59. Anna continued at the colony until her death in 1923. The community held together until the 1950s. The building exists today as the American Colony Hotel.
Horatio died of malaria in 1888 at the age of 59. Anna continued at the colony until her death in 1923. The community held together until the 1950s. The building exists today as the American Colony Hotel.
When peace like a river attendeth my way.
When sorrows like sea billows roll,
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
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