On Sunday, I
was in the congregation of the Fairfield’s First United Methodist Church as we
sang “The Battle Hymn of The Republic,” to conclude the morning service. It
reminded me….of a time when I lost my temper.
It was many
years ago, in my home church, across the state from here. A former Marine a
generation older than myself, died in our community. It had been a long
lingering death and he had planned his funeral ceremony to be held in our
church. One of his last wishes was the selection of the music to be played. He
chose one of his favorite songs, The Battle Hymn of The Republic.
I knew it
ahead of time. But the day arrived and John was laid to rest without the hymn
being played. Later, I found out a member of the church hierarchy denied the
request saying there would be “no war songs played in the church.”
I fumed. And
I didn’t let it go.
The Battle
Hymn of the Republic is in the United Methodist Hymnal. It was written by Julia
Ward Howe at the bequest of President Lincoln as a poem. She was an
abolitionist.
“Mine eyes have seen
the glory of the coming of the Lord; He is trampling out the vintage where the
grapes of wrath are stored; He hath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible
swift sword; His truth is marching on.”
So powerful.
Lincoln wept when he read it. Martin Luther King quoted it in his last speech.
That a
single person would deny a fallen soldier’s request to play a powerful hymn
…enraged me. I made sure my feelings were registered and I promptly told my
sons that I wanted one song within my funeral service. Carol has been apprised.
Spirit in
the Sky. Norman Greenbaum.
If the
church or funeral home refuses to play it. Find another place. It is my
party and I want it to rock.
I'm unable to vote on the separation at the appropriate voting area due to being banned for pointing out that the president is a sexual predator, so I'll vote here. It is my opinion that the same folks who think it's a good idea to separate from the northern part of the state believe that no evidence exists that Donald Trump is an overt criminal. Overwhelming evidence exists, of course. Oh well, you can't expect everyone to run at the same speed.
ReplyDeleteOk Carroll, list some or all or just a smidgen of the criminal evidence that exists that proves our president is a criminal. Maybe you should stop posting your crazy comments, late at night, get some sleep because you are very grumpy.
ReplyDeleteThe emoluments violations are daily. He stole from a kids cancer charity. He broke campaign finance laws. He obstructed justice. He ignored and instructed others to ignore Congressional subpoenas. He has 50 separate sex crime accusers. I believe Clinton had 3 at the time of his impeachment.
Deletehttps://youtu.be/rbFJWo3gdRI
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