Lee - "I Need Thee Every Hour" (St. John's Methodist - Kansas City, MO)

COMMUNION ANTHEM " I Need Thee Every Hour"
(music by Hojun Lee, 2012)
Chancel Choir; Dale Morehouse, pianist and conductor
St. John's Methodist - Kansas City, MO
May 05, 2024
Annie Hawks wrote: One day as a young wife and mother of 37 years of age, I was busy with my regular household tasks. Suddenly, I became so filled with the sense of nearness to the Master that, wondering how one could live without Him, either in joy or pain, these words, “I Need Thee Every Hour,” were ushered into my mind, the thought at once taking full possession of me. After writing the lyrics, Hawks gave them to her pastor, Robert Lowry, who added the tune and refrain. The hymn was first published at the National Baptist Sunday School Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, in November 1872. Some years later, after the death of her husband, Hawks wrote: I did not understand at first why this hymn had touched the great throbbing heart of humanity. It was not until long after, when the shadow fell over my way, the shadow of a great loss, that I understood something of the comforting power in the words which I had been permitted to give out to others in my hour of sweet serenity and peace. Californian Hojun Lee created this beautiful arrangement in 2012.