The Church In The Wildwood

© Copyright 2013 PJ Stassen

All Rights Reserved

But thy eternal summer shall not fade.

-       William Shakespeare, 1564-1616.

   This song was written by Dr. William S. Pitts, physician and composer, in 1857, and the little brown church of the song is still standing as I write. I can fully understand the sentiment of people over the ‘Little Brown Church’ as it is commonly known today among tourists and newly weds … I can still fondly recall my own little Cape-Dutch gabled church with its whitewashed walls and wooden floors in Randgate, South Africa, my spiritual home as a young, fifteen-year old convert in 1963. It has since been torn down to make way for a larger, more functional building.  
   C.S. Lewis, author of (among others) The Chronicles Of Narnia, has said, "The Church of Jesus Christ will yet outlive the Universe."  Yes, its eternal summer will not fade!   

YouTube

The Church In The Wildwood

(Dr. William S. Pitts, 1830-1918)

There’s a church in the valley by the wildwood,

No lovelier place in the dale.

No spot is so dear to my childhood,

As the little brown church in the vale.

CHORUS
Oh, come to the church by the wildwood

Come to the church in the dale.

No place is so dear to my childhood,

As the little brown church in the vale.

How sweet on a clear Sabbath morning

To list to the clear ringing bell

It’s tones so sweetly are calling

Oh, come to the church in the vale.

There, close by the church in the valley

Lies one that I love so well

She sleeps, sweetly sleeps, neath the willow

Disturb not her rest in the vale.

There, close by the side of that loved one

Neath the tree where the wild flowers bloom

When the farewell hymn shall be chanted

I shall rest by her side in the tomb.

Piet Stassen

eLiterature/eLiteratuur:

1. Scribd Publishing Site:  www.scribd.com/PietStassen (ENGLISH & AFRIKAANS)
2. eBook: 'Evolution: The Science That Evolved Into A Fairy Tale' (ENGLISH)  
3. eBook:  'Bertrand Russell Revisited: Rebuttal Of Bertrand Russell's 'Why I Am Not A Christian''(ENGLISH)
4. eBook: 'Meditations & Contemplations: A Reader For Both Atheists And Creationists' (ENGLISH)
5. eBook: 'Conservation, Rhino Poaching And Hypocrisy' (ENGLISH)
6. eBook: 'Why Darwinism ('Evolution') Does Not Make Sense' (ENGLISH)
7. eBook: 'Names And Titles Of Jesus Of Nazareth (ENGLISH)'
8. eBoek:  'Darwin Of Christus: Suid-Afrikaners By 'n Kruispad!' [AFRIKAANS].
9. eBoek:  'Bevryding Van Die Anti-Evangelie Van Ateisme-Evolusionisme' [AFRIKAANS].
10. eBoek:  'Name & Titels Van Jesus Christus' [AFRIKAANS].
11. eTracts, Christian (Free, Downloadable):  Free, downloadable Christian eTracts for free distribution (ENGLISH)
12. eTraktate, Christelik (Gratis, Aflaaibaar): Gratis, aflaaibabre Christelike Traktate vir gratis verspreiding (AFRIKAANS)

Bibliography

Andrews, Allen (1969) Quotations For Speakers And Writers. Newnes Books. Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd. London.

EZFolk. ‘The Church In The Wildwood’. Accessed At <http://www.ezfolk.com/lyrics/abcd/c/church-in-the-wildwood/church-in-the-wildwood.html> [online] 2013.

Wikipedia. ‘Little Brown Church’. Accessed At <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_in_the_Wildwood> [online] 2013.

Wikipedia. ‘William S. Pitts’. Accessed At <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._Pitts> [online] 2013.