Pilgrims of New England and hymn 337

 The Hymnal Notes commentary for Hymn 337 (Theories, which thousands cherish) tells us that the Pilgrims were founders of the Congregational Church, “…in which Mary Baker Eddy so long held her membership….”

 One would think that perhaps the words of this hymn, which include many feminine pronouns for Truth, were written by a student of Christian Science.  But this is not so.  The author is a Unitarian minister of Boston, Robert C. Waterston.

 Another interesting fact is that the Separatists in England (who later became the Pilgrims in the New World) “…found protection in liberal Holland, where they had closer association with the French idea of Congregationalism, which, by way of Plymouth, finally went into England as ‘the New England way.’”  Hence, I guess, the name for the part of the U.S. where they settled – New England.

Joyce Voysey