"Break Thou the Bread of Life" and Share the Gift of the Holy Spirit
Many times in our life, we need to get back at the actual word to understand God. This is what "Break Thou the Bread of Life" trees to do this in its unique way.
"Break Thou the Bread of Life" was a combination of words by Mary Artemesia Lathbury (1841-1913) and the music of William Fiske Sherwin (1826-1888).
This hymn is a song that concentrates on the Word of God and the three Divine Persona, aka the Trinity, in its four stanzas and four lines.
The hymn was written in 1877 on the shore of Lake Chautauqua in New York. "Bread of Life" by William Fiske Sherwin and "Overtown" by George Allan were tunes used for this hymn.
Mary Artemisia Lathbury (1841-1913) was an American writer born in New York. She was the daughter of Methodist minister. She began her career as an art and French teacher in Vermont while contributing writing pieces to many publications. Most of Lathbury's writing was about the American religious periodical press. She was a well-known writer within her circles and celebrated as the 'poet laureate of Chautauqua.' Her two hymns were "Break Thou the Bread of Life" and "Day is dying in the West." Her first hymn was written as a 'study song" for the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle. Later, it was included in Horder's Congregational Hymns (1884).
William Fisk Sherwin (1826-1888) is an American composer and hymn maker, affiliated with the Baptist Church. Born in at Buckland, Massachusetts, he is known as a teacher of vocal music. He composed many hymns, with fifty-nine works under his name. Aside from his hymn work, he also wrote many tunes for carols and church music. In all, he composed forty-five songs including "Bread of Life," which is used only in two hymns – this hymn and "Builder of Ages."
