Hymn #69: Come, God, Creator, Be Our Shield | First Congregational Church

Marion M. Meyer (b. 1923) wrote this hymn to provide a grace for use by residents at their assisted living center. The grace is based on a German prayer Meyer knew from childhood and is the basis for the second stanza of this hymn; the other stanzas are modeled on it.

Marion M. Meyer served the United Church of Christ on the publications staff of the Board for Homeland Ministries from 1958 until 1988. She promoted the use of inclusive-language texts and encouraged Ruth Duck’s early work in Bread for the Journey (1981) and Everflowing Streams (1981).

Marion M. Meyer wrote this tune before adding the text. She named it OLD FIRST for Old First Reformed Church, UCC, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she is a member. It served as the opening hymn when the church dedicated its new hymnals in a service on September 17, 1995.

Marion M. Meyer was born July 14, 1923 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and learned music from her mother, a church soloist. Educated at Lakeland College nearby and at New York University, she taught English, athletics, and religion at the American School for Girls in Baghdad, Iraq, from 1950 to 1956.