DEC - Grand Encampment, Knights Templar

Prelate’s
Chapel
As the Civil War raged, a young
Episcopal minister in Philadelphia
ministered tirelessly, not
only to the members of his congregation,
but to the multitudes of soldiers
coming in and out of Philadelphia, who
were often wounded and near death.
by
Rev. William D. Hartman
Right Eminent Grand Prelate
of the
Grand Encampment
When the war ended in April of 1865,
a grateful congregation sent their beloved
minister on a trip to the Holy
Land. It was on Christmas Eve of that year, having journeyed by horseback
from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, that Reverend Phillips Brooks stood in the
Church of the Nativity to worship “close to the spot where Jesus was born.”
Reverend Brooks was deeply moved by this experience and later noted:
“...how again and again it seemed as if I could hear voices I knew well, telling
each other of the wonderful night of the Savior’s birth.”
Three years later, Reverend Brooks decided to write a new hymn for the children
of Holy Trinity Church, Philadelphia, to sing for the Christmas morning
worship service. And so, recalling the moving experience of being in Bethlehem
several years earlier for Christmas, he wrote one of our most beloved
hymns of this season, O Little Town of Bethlehem.
Those who have traveled to the Holy Lands know what a moving and insightful
experience it can be. That is why I am so grateful to our Grand Encampment
for yearly sponsoring the Holy Land Pilgrimage for ministers. Each can
tell you how moving it is for their own personal devotion and insightful for
their preaching. Our faithful support of the Holy Land Pilgrimage continues
to impact lives and enhance our witness to the One who was born Savior of
the world. Let us rejoice in His birth as we re-dedicate ourselves to telling
others this great good news.
6 december 2010