Thursday, August 1, 2024

Unexpected Legacy Series: E. M. Reynolds

By Matthew J. Elliott

imagine the choir?

Take a moment, close your eyes, and imagine a church. It is old-fashioned and powerful, with wooden peaks and concrete floors. In the church, a pastor is preaching at the pulpit about sin. Now, look around and observe the congregation listening intently to what is being taught. Some old man in the back falling asleep and two young children aggressively pulling their older sister or brother begging to be let go. Soon you see the father, hush the little children, and the mother seemingly upset about the whole idea. 

Finally, turn your gaze upon the choir, sitting in their robes waiting for the pastor to be done. As you continue to observe, you see a woman seemingly distracted by the reading through the hymnal, but moving in closer, you see she is actually writing something down on the book's front pages. At first, you feel practically offended, but when you look upon her distinct chin, you see a tear slipping down her face. Ahh, something beautiful just happened, but what could it be?

Moments later, the pastor finishes his sermon, and the choir stands up and sings the closing hymn. Then, a person utters a prayer, and the service is complete, but what about the woman in the choir loft? Let’s look and see. She sits there for a moment and then looks up. Who does she see looking up at her face from a distance? The woman’s distinction turns into something more, a look of wonder and excitement. She steps up from her seat and runs to the pastor. What does she show him? He looks upon her curiously, trying to figure out why she wrote in the church hymnal. As he reads the words, everything changes. His curious look becomes compassionate as if a father would look toward his daughter. 

Cabin Organ (not John Grapes)

Suddenly, something sparked in his mind’s eye. Then he remembers something quite unusual. His organist has given him something earlier in the week, a tune that has no words. What a coincidence, he likely thought to himself. No, this must be a divine appointment. He knows exactly what to do. Brought together by the pastor, the woman and the organist dedicate the next several days or weeks to working on this promising new idea. The woman is strong and courageous; The Organist is a man with a strong sense of merit. Both of them worked diligently to merge the words she had written to the music he had composed. 

Finally, it was time! Together, they take their finished work to the pastor who has brought them together. What would he think? They must have thought! As they present the finished work of art, the pastor reads it with tears in his eyes. He urges them to send it to a publishing company for review and after some thought, the Woman and the Organist agree, then they send it in and after a much-anticipated wait, they learn it has been published. Together, the Pastor, The Woman, and The Organist have created something beautiful. 

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This story tells us how the song Jesus Paid It All was written. E.M. Reynolds, better known as Elvina M. Hall, lost her first husband when she was around the age of 45. Together though, they had three children. Now, she does eventually remarry another pastor, but the man who encouraged her to share her work was Rev George Schreck and the Organist who wrote the music was a humble coal merchant named John Grape. The song the three of them collaborated on has been known by a few names, but Jesus Paid It All, has stuck with the song since its conception. 

Jesus Crucified

In all honesty, we don’t have a lot of data on Elvina M. Hall that we can include in a blog post like this, but her story exists, and it is meaningful at that. In truth, I could not even find an image of her or her first husband. While Fanny Crosby has thousands of Hymns attributed to her, Elvina M. Hall is only known to have this one attributed to her. While she does not have a lot of history to tell, her words certainly do. They have spoken to the hearts of many over the years and are a huge testament to her faith in the midst of trial. 

As I have already mentioned, when she wrote the words of Jesus Paid it All, she had lost her first husband, but more than that, she had also lost two children. I can only imagine the impact those experiences had on the words she wrote that day, listening to her pastor from the choir loft. To this day, her words still find their way into the hearts of congregations everywhere. Thousands of people have found their faith by singing or listening to this one song. 

This just goes to show that we can leave our legacy in more ways than one. It also reiterates that it does not take someone as well-known as Fanny Crosby to affect the world around them. While Mrs. Crosby was a gifted hymnist/missionary and well deserved to be part of this series, I believe Elvina has a place right there with her. Amid struggle and pain, she overcame much, and being a team effort, so do Reverend Schreck and Mr. Grape. Who are some lesser-known hymnists, or composers you believe, left a legacy such as theirs?

~ Biography ~

Matthew James Elliott (M.J. Elliott) is a passionate writer who loves to encourage and inspire others. He has served in various ministry roles for over 15 years, which has given him a unique perspective on people and Biblical History. Matthew holds a degree in Biblical Studies from Oklahoma Wesleyan University, with a focus on Pastoral Care, Christian Education, and Worship.

Matthew is happily married to Traci, and they have three children named Leyla, Caleb, and Hannah, who bring them immense joy and inspiration. As a writer, Matthew's goal is to share love, equip others, and edify them for the greater good. He loves connecting any amount of scripture to his stories and uses his knowledge of Biblical History to do so often.

You can find Matthew's works on Amazon, Goodreads, Facebook, and His Website. He has written Devotionals, Episodic Content, Novellas, and even Commentaries for The Gospel Daily.

~ Highlighted Release ~

The Cyprus Journal is free 8/1 Only! Grab it while you can! 

One Young Man. His Significant Story. A Witness of the Early Church.

Many knew him as the young cousin to Barnabas the Encourager, the son of Mary who offered her home to honor the Savior and those who followed Him, or even the man who abandoned Paul on his First Missionary Journey, but there is more to his story. His story is one of new beginnings, a promise fulfilled, and a man who overcame fear of the unknown.



2 comments:

  1. Thank you for this beautiful and eloquent post.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank You for your comment. It was fun to put together.

    ReplyDelete