On Christmas Eve, 1865, Philip Brooks, an Episcopal minister, was on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He stopped in an open field overlooking Bethlehem and watched as dusk enveloped the town.
Later he attended a five hour service at the Church of the Nativity. He was profoundly moved by this experience and wrote a poem which he gave to the church organist, Lewis Redner, to
set to music. The hymn was first played December 27, 1868 and has gone on to become one of our most beloved Christmas Carols.
