In The Cross Of Christ, I Glory
In the cross of Christ I glory, towering o'er the wrecks of time; all the light of sacred story gathers round its head sublime.
In The Cross Of Christ, I Glory
If I mentioned the word “Rathbun”, almost none of you would have any idea what I might be talking about. What is a Rathbun?
When a hymn is written, the tune and the lyrics are often given separate names. For instance, Amazing Grace has been set to 20 different melodies but is now almost exclusively sung to a tune called “New Britain.” “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” is sung to the tune, “Coronation.”
Nearly 200 years ago, Ithamar Conkey was serving as choir director at Central Baptist Church in Norwich, Connecticut. The pastor had prepared a series of messages on the last words of Jesus on the cross. He wanted a choir for his messages.
As happens with all church leaders, Conkey would discover the pain of an uncommitted majority. He had only a single member of the choir answer the call. He was so dejected that he left the service early and went to his home.
While at home, he sat at his piano and began to play. A tune began to form and he started putting together a whole new melody. Knowing that they would soon be singing a fairly recent hymn called, “In The Cross Of Christ, I Glory,” He composed his music for that particular song, letting his heart create the melody. When he was done, he had a work of art. That hymn, written by John Bowring, is now sung exclusively to Conkeys’ new tune which he entitled “Rathbun.”
Why that name? The only choir member that showed up that Sunday was a young soprano by the name of Mrs. Rathbun. You probably don’t know much about the writer of the tune, or even the writer of the lyrics, but the name given to the melody is dedicated to a faithful soloist who showed up when no one else would.
