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| A photo of me at about the age when we had services in the jail. |
Brother Hart's love for people, coupled with his dedication to preach the good news, along with his desire that people experience forgiveness spurred him to take the church's ministry into the county jail. Obviously, no forms, no background checks, or no clearances had to be obtained. Probably someone in the sheriff's department recognized that wayward lives were best changed by transformation from within by the love of Jesus.*
Why would a three-year-old remember reaching out to those incarcerated? It had everything to do with music! Truthfully, the source of my memory is tied to the song, "Tell It To Jesus." As my mother would say, "It moved out." She meant that the song had an upbeat, toe-tapping tempo. (Every song I liked as a child had a marked rhythm sung at a fast pace.) Evidently, "Tell It To Jesus" was not in the red hymnal at our church in Masham, but it seemed we always sang it during jail services. So I equated getting to sing a song I loved with a trip to the Pawnee County Jail! (A psychiatrist might have a productive session based on that statement.)
In the dark recesses of one of the cells, my wide eyes glimpsed a woman who had stabbed another woman to death. (I have always had attentive ears, even as a young child. I doubt my parents or grandparents intended for me to have so many details), yet I do not remember being afraid. Of course, I was with my parents and maternal grandparents, but I do remember understanding the joy the adults had since the woman had asked Jesus to forgive her sins. In my childlike mind, I knew that was a good choice for her to make.
As I thought on this long-ago experience, the words of Jesus came to my mind. In Matthew 25, he predicted the judgement of the nations. Then Jesus listed good deeds they had done (with the right motive) for him, and they questioned unknowingly,"When did we...?" Jesus told them if they did it for one of the least, they did it for Him. Ironically, one of the items on Jesus' list was visiting those in prison.
I could not help but recall when we were caring for Dad. If he drifted off to sleep and I was all caught up on my tasks, I ventured to my spinet piano. One piano solo book had calming arrangements of hymns with rich harmonic combinations. The type of lush harmony about which one would say, "Oooooh that's good." The hymns had been arranged by renowned arranger, W. Elmo Mercer. I noticed on the back cover other volumes arranged by Mr. Mercer were listed. My journey to locate those volumes led me straight to the inbox of the arranger himself.
The first interaction between Mr. Mercer and me seemed unbelievable in the 21st century. He let me know the two volumes of his piano arrangements that I was seeking were no longer in print. Yet in the very next sentence, he willingly offered to go to his local copy shop and copy the volumes he had. He only asked that I reimburse him for the copying expense and the shipping. This was the composer who had written the lyrics and the music for "Each Step I Take" in the 1950s! (Mother requested this song many evenings when we sang with Dad.) A few years later he wrote "The Way That He Loves," one of my favorite songs from my teenage years. (He said it was written while waiting in a doctor's office!)
Since becoming an octogenarian, Mr. Mercer has written 123 songs, created innumerable arrangements, and recorded two CDs! Oh, that we all can be that productive in what God has called us to do when we are in our 80s!
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| W. Elmo Mercer - permission granted for use in this posting by Mr. Mercer in 2016. |
*After writing this posting, we sang in church these powerfully appropriate words written by Charles Wesley in 1739. What a precious promise for all of us who trust Him!
He breaks the power of canceled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me.
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