The Church Among the Pines

As I muse to-night by the firelight,
While the embers softly glow,
A tear drop falls as my mind recalls
The days of long ago;
On that backward track that was oft so black
One radiant memory shines,
’Tis the spire bright and the gleaming white
Of the “Church Among the Pines”

And far and wide through the countryside,
On the morning air so still,
The joyful knell of that ancient bell
Floats from that little hill
There good and bad, with heart grown sad,
A gentle solace finds,
And a load of care is lifted there
At the “Church Among the Pines”

Its message clear with a note of cheer
Shall ring forever more,
Its call resound the world around
To earth’s remotest shore;
A countless throng that has waited long
Through God’s all-wise designs,
Shall find the door to Life evermore
Through the “Church Among the Pines”

’Neath the lowly mounds in those quiet grounds
Sleep faithful friends and true,
Whose happy smiles cheered the weary miles
As we plodded Life’s journey through;

On that golden shore where we part no more
And the Savior’s glory shines,
When Life’s journey ends, may I greet the friends
From the “Church Among the Pines”

— Joseph Alexander Pilgrim     
   April 1935