The "American" Christmas carols

In 1732, Rev. John Wesley sailed with General Edward Oglethorpe from Plymouth in Cornwall bound for a new colony in New Britannia. Landing on Yamacraw Bluff, 18 miles up the Savannah River from the sea, General Oglethorpe, to whom King George II owed a great debt, named the new city Savannah, and the new colony "Georgia" in honor of his sovereign. Rev. Wesley was the Anglican minister to the church in Georgia.

Two years later, Rev. John Wesley left Savannah for Fort Frederica, a fort on St. Simon's island, the southern outpost of Britain's territorial claim in North America. South of St. Simon's Island ran the St. Mary's River and on the other side, Spanish Florida. A town and with it, a church, quickly grew up around Ft. Frederica. John Wesley became the minister of Christ Church at Frederica on St. Simon's Island, Georgia.

The next spring John invited his brother Charles, the choir director at King's College in Cambridge. Charles joined his brother John as choir director at Christ Church while his brother served as parish minister. Over 1735-1736, he completed more than a dozen hymns, including the popular Christmas carols Hark, the Herald Angels Sing and Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus. Every time I sing either of these, I smile at knowing that they were written in the Georgia colony.

My dad, now the seminarian, pointed out something else interesting to me recently. As you sing Christmas carols through this week and on Christmas, pay careful attention to the verb tenses. You'll notice that all of the verb tenses are in present tense. Each Christmas we celebrate not just that Christ WAS born, but that He IS born, year after year. These pictures are from our August 2006 visit to Christ Episcopal Church, still holding weekly services near the ruins of Fort Frederica on St. Simon's Island, Georgia: