How can you make a joyful noise when your heart is breaking?

In the fall of 2001, my mother came to visit us in Iowa. On April 4 of that year, my dad had tragically collapsed and died in her arms. She was inconsolable. This visit was the first time she had left home since his death. I cast around for something she would enjoy doing. She was a devout Christian and I remembered she had once asked if I knew where ‘The Little Brown Church in the Vale” was located in Iowa. It was the beloved song that prompted her:

“Oh, come to the church in the wildwood

Oh, come to the church in the vale

No spot is so near to my childhood

As the little brown church in the vale.”

The Little Brown Church in the Vale is located in Nashua, IA, about two hours from our home at the time in Cedar Rapids. It has a fascinating history, as it came about by a coincidence--- or a miracle. In 1856, a young music teacher named William Pitts happened to travel through the community. He walked down Cedar Street and noticed a beautiful wooded empty lot. The thought came to him that it would be the perfect setting for a church. Inspired, he wrote a poem titled “Church in the Wildwood.” Later, he set it to music. Pitts moved on, married and settled in Wisconsin. In the years following, the community actually built a church on the site with donated products and labor. When they were ready to paint the church, the least expensive paint available was brown. And so, it became a “little brown church in a vale.” In 1864 William Pitt moved back to the area to teach in a local academy and discovered the church on the site. He rushed home to his desk drawer and pulled out his song. Pitts had written a song for a church that didn’t exist until nearly a decade later. In the early years of the 1900s, the song was popularized by a traveling singing group and put the little brown church on the map. With the help of the song, which became famous, the little brown church has achieved the status of a perfect setting for a wedding. In the years since its beginning, over 76,000 weddings have taken place there.

That Fall day, when we arrived, the church site was sunny and peaceful. The church was open, and we went inside and sat in silence. My mom was very quiet, but tears rolled down her face. We walked back outside and ate a picnic lunch on the grounds. And then we sang the song together, “Oh come to the church in the wildwood, Oh come to the church in the vale. No spot is so dear to my childhood as the little brown church in the vale.” We made a joyful noise, and my mom was serene all the way back home. I will always be grateful to the little brown church in the vale.

Pray with me: Dear God, your presence can bring us joy in the most sorrowful times. You remind us that you are our parent and, whenever we enter into the gates of your courtyard, no matter the circumstances in our lives, we are thankful and blessed. Amen.

This devotion was written by Laura Derr and read by Judy Wilson.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

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First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.