There is an old Christian hymn with the title, “In Christ There Is No East or West”. It was written in 1908 by John Oxenham. It was to be a prominent song for the London Missionary Society’s exhibition in London in the early twentieth century. Both the hymn and the exhibition were very popular. The hymn appears to be based on Galatians 3:28, namely, “ There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you were all one in Christ Jesus.” The lyrics allow each of us to better comprehend the grace of God working in and through each person. Thus, the tune is a favourite of mine too.
Perhaps, it was this hymn that inspired the coming book study at our church. In the past, we have worked with works of English literature to glean nuggets of knowledge and faith within them placed by their authors. Our studies of Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte were very popular. Both of these authors were daughters of clergymen. However, this time I was inspired by the novel “North and South” by Elizabeth Gaskell. She was a contemporary of Charlotte Bronte, and she even wrote the first biography of this famous author. She too had a religious background, as she was married to a clergyman, and her father was a clergyman. Yet, Elizabeth Gaskell deserves our attention for the merit of her own work. Her novel, “North and South”, which was written in 1854, paints a picture of the conflicts between the rural south of England and the newly industrialized north. Indeed, the main characters move from the south to the north of England only to suffer from immense cultural shock! There are social, ethical, economic, and religious differences awaiting them in their new home in “Milton”, which is actually the industrial city of Manchester. Elizabeth Gaskell actually lived in this city, so many of the scenes in the book are autobiographical. Of course, there is a romance included in the novel that must bind those differences together in order to succeed in the unification of the various elements in the story. Interestingly, many of the issues of the past century are still haunting us today. The present economic recession even makes this fact more apparent. The best part of the book is the proposed solutions to these problems that Mrs. Gaskell brings forth in her pages. She has great wisdom, and her Christian background behind those solutions will make us all rethink our own biases.
The Study of “North and South” begins on Wednesday January 13th at 10 a.m. at Arthur United Church. Copies of the book are available from the local library, and I have a couple of copies on hand too. Come join us, and maybe we will be able to write a new version of that famous hymn and substitute “North and South” for “East or West”. The journey will be well worth it.
A final footnote to this popular hymn is necessary. There is an account of two ships anchored side by side right at the end of World War Two. One ship held American soldiers, while the other contained some Japanese people waiting to be repatriated. Amid the seeming tension of the scene, someone started to sing, “In Christ There Is No East Or West”. By the time arrived for the chorus of the hymn, voices from both ships sang out. May we too find such unity as Christmas approaches.
