March Women’s History Spotlight: Fanny J. Cosby
by Tiffany McClain, Music and Worship Coordinator
“Oh, what a happy soul I am,
Although I cannot see!
I am resolved in this world
Contented I will be.”
—Fanny J. Crosby, age 8, after being told there was no cure for her blindness
Since March is Women’s History Month, we have planned a hymn sing featuring the hymns of Fanny J. Crosby. The hymn sing will be our Vespers service at Camp Broadway this Sunday evening at 6:00 p.m. Fran Patterson will kick us out of the camp at some point Sunday evening, so we will not sing all the nearly 9,000 hymns that she wrote, but we will sing some of her more popular hymns, the first one that she composed, and her favorite hymn.
You may know Fanny J. Crosby’s name as the author of hymns such as “Blessed Assurance,” “Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim It,” and “Rescue the Perishing,” but she is much more than that. The more I read about Fanny Crosby, the more I realize that I knew very little about this remarkable woman.
Fanny J. Crosby was born on March 24, 1880, and became blind at the age of six weeks due to a harsh treatment for an eye infection by a visiting doctor. Her father passed away when she was six months old, so during childhood she was reared by her mother and maternal grandmother. These strong women in her life gave her a good foundation of who she was to become.
While a student, and later an educator, at the New York Institute for the Blind, she penned over 1,000 secular poems and songs, four books, and co-wrote many political and patriotic songs.
Her life at the institute would span seven years as a student and eleven years as a teacher. Institute life presented her many prestigious acquaintances along with numerous firsts as a woman and a blind person in the nineteenth century, such as an invitation to speak and perform at Congress.1
In 1864 William B. Bradbury encouraged her to write Sunday School hymns. She wrote “We Are Going,” which was sung at Bradbury’s funeral four years later. She never wrote another secular song and was able to support herself with her hymn writing.
While Fanny J. Crosby is known for her hymn writing, she was also a city mission worker. She stated, “From the time I received my first check for my poems, I made up my mind to open my hand wide to those who needed assistance.” At the age of 60, she “made a new commitment to Christ to serve the poor” and lived a life of poverty for the next three decades. Once her health began to fail, she lived with a relative and passed away just shy of her 95th birthday.
May we learn from her devotion, take what Fanny J. Cosby taught us, and move forward for our daughters to carry on.
Join us Sunday evening at Camp Broadway to sing some of her hymns and to learn more about this powerful woman of God.
1 Women in Ministry and Leadership: An Anthology | OER Commons
Marina Dichenko, a professional violinist, came to speak to the youth about how she moved to America from Ukraine where her family still resides in Kharkiv. After a discussion with the youth about the atrocities in Ukraine, Marina and Emily played Ralph Vaughan Williams’ ethereal piece, “The Lark Ascending”. Then Chapel Choir sang “Siyahamba” a cappella for Marina! “We are marching in the light of God!”
The retreat concluded with making beautiful prayer beads with our own beloved Camilla Bloom and Claudine Marion. Many thanks to all the adults who volunteered their time to lead our youth! 
Quarterly Business Meeting and Budget Vote
Coffee Fellowship Sundays at 9:00 a.m. in Room 302
Vespers Hymn Sing
Devotional Writers Still Needed
Broadway Supports Ukraine Relief Efforts 
Agape Meal Time Change
Cloud Covered Streets at Broadway
Prayer Requests
