Hymn #325: Child of Blessing, Child of Promise

Ronald Stephen Cole-Turner (b. 1948) used this text written in 1981 for the 1982 baptism of his daughter, Rachel Elizabeth. It first appeared in the hymn supplement Everflowing Streams, published by the Pilgrim Press in 1981, and has since been included in numerous denominational hymnals.

Ronald S. Cole-Turner was born in Logansport, Indiana, December 22, 1948. Ordained to the United Church of Christ ministry in 1974, Cole-Turner has been a professor of theology at Memphis Theological Seminary in Tennessee and at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania.

Christian Friedrich Witt (1660-1716) is believed to have composed this tune, named STUTTGART for the German city. It was found in Psalmodia sacra(1716), which included 774 chorales and 356 melodies – over 100 of them new and most likely composed by Witt.

Christian Friedrich Witt was born and died in Altenburg (Gotha), Germany. He began his musical studies with his father, a court organist in that city, and later trained with Georg Kaspar Wecker in Nuremberg. In 1686, he became organist at the Gotha court and in 1713 was appointed kapellmeister.