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Thomas John Williams

1869 - 1944 Person Name: Thomas J. Williams, 1869-1944 Topics: Complacency Composer of "EBENEZER" in Gather (3rd ed.) Although his primary vocation was in the insurance business, Thomas John Williams (b. Ynysmeudwy, Glamorganshire, Wales, 1869; d. Llanelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales, 1944) studied with David Evans at Cardiff and later was organist and choirmaster at Zion Chapel (1903-1913) and Calfaria Chapel (1913-1931), both in Llanelly. He composed a number of hymn tunes and a few anthems. Bert Polman

Winfred Douglas

1867 - 1944 Person Name: C. Winfred Douglas, 1867-1944 Topics: Complacency Harmonizer of "MORNING SONG" in Gather (3rd ed.) Charles Winfred Douglas (b. Oswego, NY, 1867; d. Santa Rosa, CA, 1944), an influential leader in Episcopalian liturgical and musical life. Educated at Syracuse University and St. Andrews Divinity School, Syracuse, New York, he moved to Colorado for his health. There he studied at St. Matthew's Hall, Denver, and founded the Mission of the Transfiguration in Evergreen (1897). Ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church in 1899, he also studied in France, Germany and England, where he spent time with the Benedictines of Solesmes on the Island of Wight from 1903 to 1906. For much of his life, Douglas served as director of music at the Community of St. Mary in Peekskill, New York, and had associations with cathedrals in Denver, Colorado, and Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. He promoted chanting and plainsong in the Episcopal Church through workshops and publications such as The American Psalter (1929), the Plainsong Psalter (1932), and the Monastic Diurnal (1932). His writings include program notes for the Denver Symphony Orchestra, various hymn preludes; organ, as well as the book, Church Music in History and Practice (1937). He was editor of both the Hymnal 1916 and its significant successor, Hymnal 1940, of the Episcopal Church. Douglas's other achievements include a thorough knowledge of the life and culture of Hopi and Navajo natives, among whom he lived for a number of years. Bert Polman

Ludwig van Beethoven

1770 - 1827 Person Name: Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-1827 Topics: Complacency Composer of "HYMN TO JOY" in Gather Comprehensive A giant in the history of music, Ludwig van Beethoven (b. Bonn, Germany, 1770; d. Vienna, Austria, 1827) progressed from early musical promise to worldwide, lasting fame. By the age of fourteen he was an accomplished viola and organ player, but he became famous primarily because of his compositions, including nine symphonies, eleven overtures, thirty piano sonatas, sixteen string quartets, the Mass in C, and the Missa Solemnis. He wrote no music for congregational use, but various arrangers adapted some of his musical themes as hymn tunes; the most famous of these is ODE TO JOY from the Ninth Symphony. Although it would appear that the great calamity of Beethoven's life was his loss of hearing, which turned to total deafness during the last decade of his life, he composed his greatest works during this period. Bert Polman

Rory Cooney

b. 1952 Person Name: Rory Cooney, b. 1952 Topics: Complacency Author of "The Trumpet in the Morning" in Gather (3rd ed.)

John L. Bell

b. 1949 Person Name: John L. Bell, b. 1949 Topics: Complacency Author of "Shake Up the Morning" in Gather Comprehensive John Bell (b. 1949) was born in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock in Ayrshire, intending to be a music teacher when he felt the call to the ministry. But in frustration with his classes, he did volunteer work in a deprived neighborhood in London for a time and also served for two years as an associate pastor at the English Reformed Church in Amsterdam. After graduating he worked for five years as a youth pastor for the Church of Scotland, serving a large region that included about 500 churches. He then took a similar position with the Iona Community, and with his colleague Graham Maule, began to broaden the youth ministry to focus on renewal of the church’s worship. His approach soon turned to composing songs within the identifiable traditions of hymnody that began to address concerns missing from the current Scottish hymnal: "I discovered that seldom did our hymns represent the plight of poor people to God. There was nothing that dealt with unemployment, nothing that dealt with living in a multicultural society and feeling disenfranchised. There was nothing about child abuse…,that reflected concern for the developing world, nothing that helped see ourselves as brothers and sisters to those who are suffering from poverty or persecution." [from an interview in Reformed Worship (March 1993)] That concern not only led to writing many songs, but increasingly to introducing them internationally in many conferences, while also gathering songs from around the world. He was convener for the fourth edition of the Church of Scotland’s Church Hymnary (2005), a very different collection from the previous 1973 edition. His books, The Singing Thing and The Singing Thing Too, as well as the many collections of songs and worship resources produced by John Bell—some together with other members of the Iona Community’s “Wild Goose Resource Group,” —are available in North America from GIA Publications. Emily Brink

Herman G. Stuempfle

1923 - 2007 Person Name: Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr, 1923-2007 Topics: Complacency Author of "Deliver Us, O Lord of Truth" in Gather (3rd ed.) Rev. Dr. Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr., 83, died Tuesday, March 13, 2007, after a long illness. Born April 2, 1923, in Clarion, he was the son of the late Herman G. and Helen (Wolfe) Stuempfle, Sr. Stuempfle lived most of his life in Gettysburg, PA. He served as President of the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg. He attended Hughesville public schools, and was a graduate of Susquehanna University and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. He received additional advanced degrees from Union Theological Seminary in New York and a doctoral degree at Southern California School of Theology at Claremont. He retired in 1989. Rev. Dr. Stuempfle was the author of several books and numerous articles and lectures on preaching, history, and theology. He was also among the most honored and respected hymn writers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Rev. Dr. Stuempfle was known for his leadership in community and civic projects. Always taking an active stance on social issues, he participated in the creation of day care centers, served on the Gettysburg interchurch social action committee, helped create and support prison ministries and a homeless shelter, and tutored young people in the after school program of Christ Lutheran Church, where he was a long time member. --Excerpts from his obituary published in Evening Sun from Mar. 15 to Mar. 16, 2007

Marty Haugen

b. 1950 Person Name: Marty Haugen, b.1950 Topics: Complacency Author of "God of Day and God of Darkness" in Lead Me, Guide Me (2nd ed.) Marty Haugen (b. 1950), is a prolific liturgical composer with many songs included in hymnals across the liturgical spectrum of North American hymnals and beyond, with many songs translated into different languages. He was raised in the American Lutheran Church, received a BA in psychology from Luther College, yet found his first position as a church musician in a Roman Catholic parish at a time when the Roman Catholic Church was undergoing profound liturgical and musical changes after Vatican II. Finding a vocation in that parish to provide accessible songs for worship, he continued to compose and to study, receiving an MA in pastoral studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul Minnesota. A number of liturgical settings were prepared for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and more than 400 of his compositions are available from several publishers, especially GIA Publications, who also produced some 30 recordings of his songs. He is composer-in-residence at Mayflower Community Congregational Church in Minneapolis and continues to compose and travel to speak and teach at worship events around the world. Emily Brink