age heard,
Grace to own Thee as my Treasure,
Grace to love Thee without measure.

Anna Hoppe, 1919.

A LUTHERAN PSALMIST OF TODAY

It is gratifying to know that the spirit of hymnody is not dead, and that
still today consecrated men and women are being inspired to "sing new
songs unto Jehovah," In Milwaukee, Wis., lives a young woman who for
several years has been attracting wide-spread attention by her Christian
lyrics. Her name is Anna Hoppe, and the hymns she writes suggest strongly
something of the style and spirit of the Lutheran hymns of a by-gone age.

Born of German parents in Milwaukee in 1889, she began to write verse in
early childhood. Most of them were on patriotic themes, such as
Washington, Lincoln, The Battle of Gettysburg, and Paul Jones.

"At the age of about eleven," Miss Hoppe tells us, "I wrote a few lines
on Angels."

It was at the age of twenty-five years, however, that she began in
earnest the writing of spiritual poetry. Many of her poems were published
in religious periodicals and aroused much interest. In the hymnal of the
Augustana Synod, published in 1925, twenty-three of her hymns were
included. Since that time a collection of her hymns under the title,
"Songs of the Church Year," has appeared. In 1930 eight of her lyrics
were published in the "American Lutheran Hymnal."

As a prolific writer of hymns, Miss Hoppe probably has no equal in the
Lutheran Church today. Her unusual talent seems all the more remarkable
when it is known that she is practically self-educated. After she had
finished the eighth grade in the Milwaukee public schools, she entered a
business office. Since that time she has worked continuously, and has
received the benefit of only a few months' training at evening schools.
At present she is employed in the office of the Westinghouse Company.

Her hymns are composed in the midst of the stress and hurry of modern
life.

"Many of my hymns," she writes, "have been written on my way to and from
church, and to and from work. I utilize my lunch hours for typing the
hymns and keeping up correspondence. I used to do quite a bit of writing
on Sunday afternoons, but now we have a Layman's Hour in our church at
that time, and I do not like to miss it. I also attend our Fundamentalist
Bible lectures, Jewish mission meetings, and the like. Still I find a
minute here and there in which to jot down some verse."