Wilderness Advent
(Pisgah Stranger)
Lyrics: Bill Griffin . . . . . . . . . . Music: David L. McCollum
Elkin Community Chorus 58th Annual Concert
December 2nd, 2018 – First Baptist Church, Elkin, North Carolina
. . . . . . .
This year (2020) would have been the 60th annual concert of the Elkin Community Chorus. The ensemble draws singers from towns and counties across northwest NC, rehearses for seven weeks, and gives two free concerts to the public on the 2nd Sunday in Advent. Linda and I have sung with the group for more than 30 years. We miss it. We’re listening to our stack of recordings from previous years and holding onto the hope that we’ll all be vaccinated and singing together again next fall.
David McCollum has been one of the group’s directors for more than 20 years. Several years back he asked me to write a Christmas poem for which he would compose the music. ECC debuted Wilderness Advent in 2018. Thank you, David, thank you Amy Johnson and Amy Tayloe for your accompaniment, thank you Tonya Smith, co-director, and thanks to the 90 or more of our neighbors whose voices make the waiting, the yearning, the anticipation of Christmas a sacrament.
. . . . . . .
Wilderness Advent
(Pisgah Stranger)
A stranger here, I sleep beneath the slash of stars,
The Pisgah forest deep and friendless.
I close myself to love, my heart requires the dark;
Can night within this cove be endless?
Come, you’ve slept too long
And love grows dim.
Awaken to a song – Can it be Him?
Is it madness or a dream that seems to whisper here?
The murmur of a stream or singing?
It chants, a still small voice, I’ve nothing now to fear
For tidings of great joy it’s bringing.
Come, you’ve slept too long
And love grows dim.
Awaken to a song and welcome Him!
And now the music swells as every fir and spruce
Unloose their boughs to tell the story:
May all God’s creatures wake, hearts quickened by the truth,
Invited to partake of mercy.
Come, we’ve slept so long
That love grows dim.
Awaken that our song may worship Him.
Come sing it with the wind and all the Pisgah throng:
The Child reclines within the manger!
With owl and bear and deer my soul’s reborn in song
For none of us is here a stranger.
Come, you’ve slept too long;
If love grows dim
Awaken to a song for it is Him!
Waken . . . welcome . . . worship . . . it is Him!
. . . . . . .
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
. . . . . . .
V E R S E ❦ I M A G E 
Beautiful music, lyrics, singing, Bill. I enjoyed looking at the first page of the sheet music, too, playing along in my head. I wonder if I could get the entire piece of music? Rebecca Godwin
LikeLike
Many thanks, Rebecca. Let me check with David McCollum; I think he would be OK with me sending you the full score. As far as I know he has not yet found a publisher. I am just awed by the composition he created to accompany my lines of verse. BILL
LikeLike
We really enjoyed the music and the song and following the words of your poem.. Thanks, Mom and Dad,
LikeLike
Thanks Mom and Dad! Maybe next year we’ll be having more LIVE Christmas concerts. See you tomorrow 😉 — Billy
LikeLike
Bill and David, this is gorgeous and beautifully performed. I’m honored to know and admire you both. I sent this on to our choir director for some future singing day. Love and Merry Christmas to you and thank you. Jane Shlensky
LikeLike
Thanks so much, Jane. David’s arrangement and the Elkin Community Chorus gave life to those lines. I’m awed. And if your choir would like to sing the anthem in the future I can put you in touch with David McCollum, although as far as I know the piece has not yet been published. BILL
LikeLike
Beautiful!!!!
-Mike
LikeLike
Thanks for all the years of inspiration!
LikeLike
When music gives me chills, I know it’s a visceral and intimate connection. These gorgeous voices with this magnificent composition, honored your inspiring words in a transcendent way. I was so moved!! You couldn’t have shared anything more appreciated than this gift of combined creativity. Thank you Bill (and friends). Always have known how special you are. Marylin
LikeLike
Marylin, thank you so much! Merry Christmas to you and yours. Thinking of the times you and I shared at Weymouth brings me Joy — just what the world needs! Peace — BILL
LikeLike
Absolutely glorious! The poem, the music, the voices, all magnificent. I’m sending this to our priest at St. Thomas Episcopal in Burnsville and suggest that she invite the chorus to St. Thomas next year.
LikeLike
Thank you, Cousin. David McCollum is the most inspiring and joyful choral director Linda and I have ever been blessed to sing for. This year we’re listening to old recordings instead of gathering to sing but the spirit comes through. Merry Christmas to you and Ed. — BILL
LikeLike
Linda, David & Bill… thank you for this beautiful collaboration of joy! Isn’t it so sweet that God would come to us in the form of a baby?! God needs us to awaken with those pangs and share that thrill of creation with the world!
LikeLike