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St Mary's Pro-Cathedral of the Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney

St Mary's Pro-Cathedral, Carden Place, Aberdeen

Pro-Cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney

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Our Favourite Hymns

13/07/2021 by Nicola Mills

The Church’s one foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord
She is his new creation
By water and the word
From Heav’n he came and 
    sought her
To be his holy bride
With his dear love he bought her
And for her life he died.

Here’s one of the first hymns we sang in St. Mary’s as soon as singing was allowed again in June! It’s surprising that this seems to be the only hymn by Samuel John Stone in our hymnbooks, as he was a prolific and, in his time, popular, hymn writer. Born in 1839, he was the son of a clergyman (who was also a hymnwriter and botanist) and followed him into the church. Like his father he served in several churches: he was curate first in New Windsor from 1862, and while he was there he wrote a collection of hymns for the congregation based on the twelve articles of the Apostles’ Creed, Lyra Fidelium – this hymn was one of them. Later he served as his father’s curate at Haggerston in Middlesex, at that time a new parish. He succeeded his father to the living in 1874, and died there in 1900.

The tune to which we usually sing it, Aurelia, was written by Charles Wesley’s grandson, Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810 – 1876), as a setting for Jerusalem the Golden. Wesley was a professional organist and composer, holding posts at the cathedrals of Hereford, Exeter, Winchester and Gloucester, and worked hard to raise the profile of church musicians. He composed many hymn tunes and also wrote the words to several, including Lead me, O Lord.


Filed Under: Magazine, Our Favourite Hymns, Trinity 2021

St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, Carden Place, Aberdeen AB10 1UN
Rector: Rev Canon Terry Taggart   |   Email: office@stmaryscardenplace.org.uk   |   Tel: 01224 561383

St Mary's Episcopal Church is a registered Charity in Scotland: Charity No SC014062   |   Copyright © 2022

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