Music Notes by Karla Porter
Nativity Music Director
(From December 2000 Nativity Tidings)
O Little Town
of Bethlehem
"Christmas comes but once a year" — we have all heard this saying. This
is really not quite true because we hope and pray that Christ is born anew in us as many
times as need be! Be that as it may, the Christmas season holds a special place in our
hearts often because the memories of our childhood return to us. And another popular
saying is, "Christmas is for the children."
One of our most beloved Christmas songs is "O Little Town of Bethlehem," the
text of which was written by Phillips Brooks. What I didn't know was that this carol came
about because Brooks was looking for a new carol for the Sunday School children to sing on
Christmas Eve. Having recently made a trip to the Holy Land, Brooks was inspired to write
the text. He then passed the text to his parish organist and Sunday School superintendent,
Lewis Redner, and asked him to write a melody — one that children could sing easily.
Well, composing on demand is not the easiest thing to do and the story goes that on the
night before the presentation, Redner was awakened from sleep and quickly penned the tune.
He testified that this melody was a gift from heaven. It was quickly learned by the
children and you know the rest of the story. How faithful is God!
Please join us for Lessons and Carols on Sunday, December 17th at 4:00 p.m. to join in
singing the songs of Christmas.
