Katherine and Irene Moore were octogenarian members of the Grahamsville Reformed Church who were working on becoming the area's own set of Delaney sisters.  Educated, well-respected for their longtime service to the church and community, and beloved by everyone who knew them, I had the privilege of visiting them while I was pastor at the church.  Having gotten to know them, I thought it might be fitting to present them with a tune to show appreciation for their life and work.

To our surprise and dismay, this tune and its accompanying text became something of a bone of contention.  A rumor spread that James and I were charging the church money to use our hymns.  The truth of the matter was that we had signed the church into a CCLI license to legally use works not in the 1954 Hymnbook that was still in the pews, and that is what they were paying for.  (The church used our works for free.)  Another accusation was that the tune was named after the sisters so that the congregation would be forced to use it; and there was more such nonsense flying about surrounding the song.  Silliness, all of it, and particularly shameful for a community of Christians.

Sometime after the tempest in the Grahamsville teapot blew over, the hymn appeared in Reformed Worship, having been selected as one of the winners of their search for hymns on the Kingdom of God.  Go figure.

This page was last edited on November 08, 2010
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