I was thrilled to discover recently that the writer of the world renowned hymn ‘How Great Thou Art’ lived nearby here in Walton. The story of how it came to be written has the touch of God all over it!

Stuart Hine who died 25 years ago was inspired to write his hymn in the late 1920’s and early ’30’s, when he was traveling through Ukraine with his wife Mercy doing missionary work. He heard a hymn based on a Swedish poem ‘O Store Gud’ being sung in Russian, learned it and started re-writing some of the verses and writing new ones as events inspired him. Continue reading →