The first lines of the third stanza give us the reason why this hymn was Theeded: “Where generation, class, or race divides us to our shame.” Brian Wren (1936-; see Biographies) was pastor of the Congregational church in Hockley, Essex, England, in 1970 when a controversy arose involving the generation gap. He wrote seven stanzas in the original poem but cut it to the present four before using it. Actually, the message of the hymn was so pointed that he feared to use it at the time, waiting instead until the furor died down and the people could be united again in their praise.

ST. BOTOLPH is the name of the Anglican church in Boston, England, the tower of which is known as the “Boston Stump” and whose musical excellence and Christian community were a source of inspiration to Brian Wren. The tune was composed by Gordon Slater in 1929 and first published in Songs of Praise for Boys and Girls with the text “Dear Father, Keep Me Through This Day.” It was also sometimes used with “Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee” (see SDAH 241).

Gordon Archibold Slater was born March 1, 1896, at Harrogate, Yorkshire. He studied music at York Minster under E. C. Bairstow. After a three-year term of service in France in the armed forces in World War I (1916-1919), he held various minor posts until 1927, when he was appointed organist at Leicester Cathedral, where he founded and conducted the Leicester Bach Choir. In 1930 he became organist and master of the choristers at Lincoln Cathedral, retaining this position until 1966. He was appointed vice president of the Friends of Lincoln Cathedral in 1970 and president of the Boston Choral Society in 1973. His compositions include piano and organ music, hymns, anthems, and songs. He was awarded the OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 1974 and died in Lincoln on January 26, 1979.

📖 Reference: Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal by Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988.