by Joan Singley Schrysen
Alice in Wonderland, Tales of Narnia, Huckleberry Finn—many books originally written for children are treasured by adults. The same is true of hymns: “Away in the Manger”; “Jesus Loves Me”; “Onward Christian Soldiers.” “Onward Christian Soldiers???” Yes! The year was 1864. In the little town of Horbury Bridge in Yorkshire, a newly ordained minister, Sabine Baring-Gould wanted special music for the children of his first parish to sing during the approaching festival of Whitmonday. On that day the children of each parish marched to neighboring towns carrying a cross and banners, singing as they went. Finding nothing suitable, Baring-Gould worked late into the night composing “Onward Christian Soldiers” for the children to sing. Arthur Sullivan, of Gilbert and Sullivan fame wrote the music. Baring-Gould went on to become a prolific author writing on a wide variety of subjects: history, biography, travel, theology, fiction, and poetry. But he is best known for his simple children’s hymn. Over the years “Onward Christian Soldiers” has been translated into many languages. On Sunday, May 22, 1910, during a world Sunday School convention, it was sung in more than one hundred languages and dialects in Sunday Schools throughout the world. Why do adults treasure children’s stories and hymns? Perhaps our Lord hinted at the answer when he admonished his followers to have a child’s kind of faith. (Luke 18:16-17) So the next time you sing “Onward Christian Soldiers,” remember the little children of Victorian England, marching from town to town during the great festival of Whitmonday carrying their cross and banners singing lustily, “Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus going on before! Christ the royal Master, leads against the foe; Forward into battle, see His banner go!” Reprinted from Waves May 2000