One of the hymns we sang this Sunday was written by Isaac Watts. In preparation for the coming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Rei Battcher, Bristol historian and member of our church, took a few moments during worship to tell us a bit about Watts (1674-1748), an English Congregational minister, hymn writer, theologian, and logician. Watts was a prolific and popular hymn writer and is credited with some 750 hymns. His works include “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”, “Joy to the World”, and “O God, Our Help in Ages Past”. Most particularly, Rei retold the story which I (a New Jersey girl) had heard all my youth: the story of “Give ‘Em Watts” that took place at the Battle of Springfield, NJ on June 23, 1780. The picture, above, shows Rei in one of his Revolutionary uniforms with the Rev. Nancy H. Soukup at last year’s July 4th Interfaith service. And below is a photo of the First Presbyterian Church in Springfield, whose minister gathered up all of the church hymnals and gave them to the Revolutionary soldiers for them to use in their fight for American independence. You can see the video, below the church photo, of Rei’s story telling and find out how the soldiers used the hymnals. It’s a good one!
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