Joseph Scriven (1819-1886) wrote “What a friend we have in Jesus” in 1855 in Canada, apparently for the comfort of his sick mother in Dublin, though it may also be related to the death of his second fiancée. It has been a source of comfort for many who have sung it, though paradoxically it has also been part of a Protestantism that denies its own heritage by trying to turn prayer into a work to control God’s grace. The repeated line “Take it to the Lord in prayer” relates to the comfort, and forfeiting peace or suffering pains “all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer” suggests our capacity to save ourselves by the work of our prayer.
Scriven was born in Ireland. His father was a captain in the Royal Marines. He went to Trinity College for two years and then in 1837 to Addiscombe Military College, Surrey. Poor health prevented him from pursuing a military career, so he completed his studies at Trinity College. The day before his wedding his fiancée drowned. In 1844 he went to Canada where he taught at Woodstock and Brantford, Ontario, before he moved to Bewdley as a tutor. His second fiancée, a relative of the family of Lieutenant Pengelly, for whom he was a tutor, got sick and also died suddenly before they were to be married.
Scriven wrote a few hymns that were published as Hymns and Other Verses (1869). A member of the Plymouth Brethren, he sought to carry out literally what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount by giving away his property and doing menial work for those who were handicapped and poor. He was called “the man who sawed wood for widows and sick people who are unable to pay.” His own poor health, lack of money, and worry that he would become a burden helped fuel his depression. It is not clear whether his drowning in Rice Lake was accidental or suicidal.
Our communion anthem, “Jesus, Take Us to the Mountain” is a setting of a text by Jaroslav J. Vajda, set to music by Carl Schalk — a “dream team” in Lutheran music. It was written to celebrate the 50th anniversary of St. Luke Lutheran Church in Silver Spring, Maryland. Schalk (1929-2021) was a noted Lutheran composer, author, and lecturer. Between 1965 and 2004 he taught church music at Concordia University Chicago . He was a member of the Inter- Lutheran Commission on Worship, which produced the Lutheran Book of Worship in 1978. He was also the editor of the journal Church Music from 1966 to 1980. Additionally, he was a published composer for Choristers Guild, a member of the Music Advisory Committee of Concordia Publishing House and of the board of directors of Lutheran Music Program, the parent organization of the Lutheran Summer Music Academy and Festival. He was also a familiar face at the Institute of Liturgical Studies and was recipient of its 2014 Christus Rex award for significant contributions to Lutheran liturgical scholarship and renewal.
In Thine the Amen: Essays on Lutheran Church Music in Honor of Carl Schalk (2005), a list of his writings—books, articles, editorials, forewords, reviews—and compositions spans 40 pages. In the fifteen years since its publication, that list has grown to include such resources as a sixteenth-century Lutheran choral anthology (2010); numerous articles and compositions; small and large Catechisms on church music in the Lutheran Tradition (2017); and Singing the Faith: A Short Introduction to Christian Hymnody (2020).
Schalk is well known for his numerous choral compositions as well as his hymn tunes and carols, which number over one hundred. He had ongoing collaborations with poets Jaroslav Vajda and Herbert Brokering, producing tunes for several of their hymn texts. Schalk’s hymn tunes may be found in modern Christian hymnals of various denominations.
