Our Hymn

“Come to us, O Christ of glory”

In 2013, Church of the Advent commissioned a hymn in honor of the Rev. Richard and Marjorie Morris. We sing it on the First or Second Sunday of Advent when we celebrate our Feast of Title. In their retirement, Rev. Morris and Marjorie joined the Church of the Advent and found it to be a loving, welcoming, and faithful congregation. Rev. Morris assisted with the preaching and pastoral care of the parish during their four years as members of the church. For health reasons the Morrises moved to Rhode Island to live with their daughter, Carol.

The hymn writer chosen to write this hymn was Rev. Carl P. Daw, Jr., an Episcopal priest and author of many hymns. Rev. Daw served as Executive Director of the Hymn Society of the United States and Canada from 1996 to 2009, and was on the committee that created the 1982 Episcopal Hymnal. A committee was formed at Church of the Advent to choose a hymn tune to go with Rev. Daw’s text. “Beach Spring,” a tune from the 1844 tune book The Sacred Harp, was selected.

According to Becky Taylor, daughter of Richard and Marjorie, “My parents loved, loved, loved the hymn that was commissioned for them! They had it framed and put it in a prominent place in their home in Rhode Island. We sang it at my father’s funeral in 2018.” Mrs. Morris died in 2020 during the pandemic.

Marjorie Morris is also the granddaughter of the Rev. Guy Miner, the founding Rector of Church of the Advent in 1902. Honoring Rev. Miner’s legacy was important to the Morrises so they pitched to the vestry the idea of creating a columbarium at the church to honor him. After a lot of discussion, the plan moved forward. Rev. and Mrs. Morris commissioned the stained glass window that is now in sacred space with the columbarium. It depicts Mt. Greylock where Rev. Miner hiked numerous times over the course of his life, to refresh his ministry, to commune with God, and to enjoy the view of all that God had created and was constantly re-creating in western Massachusetts. Rev. and Mrs. Morris are interred in the columbarium along with many beloved members of Church of the Advent. We give thanks for these saints of God.

Stained glass window

Come to us, O Christ, draw nearer; dwell within our hearts anew.

— Come to us, O Christ of Glory by Carl P. Daw, Jr.