Three Hymn Books
Horace Maycock was taken prisoner on Christmas morning 1942. He soon arrived in Camp 70, south of Rome, with thousands of other captured soldiers. Describing this traumatic experience, he said:
It is difficult to convey the true meaning of loss of liberty. Those who have experienced it can fully understand the complete turnaround involved, in which a name becomes a number, the man a machine. It is not easy to adapt to an inflicted mechanical atmosphere, to be thrust suddenly into a world that, at first sight, appears devoid of any understanding of human rights and feelings.250
Under the brutal conditions of captivity, this soldier did find a way to fill the void of human understanding. He and many others made their way to the “churches” organized in their camp. There were Wesleyan, Anglican, and Catholic groups, each of which was a source of strength and encouragement to those who participated.
In November 1943 Maycock was moved to Germany with sixty other prisoners to work on a railroad construction site. As Christmas approached, he took it upon himself to organize a church for this small group. They were all billeted in one room, and this became the sanctuary. He made a rough wooden cross. His only other resources were three old hymnbooks, from which he copied songs onto sheets of black-out paper. With one violin for accompaniment, he held the first service on Christmas morning.
The image of this worship service comes to mind when I am sitting comfortably in my own Episcopal church, surrounded by stained glass, organ music, silver, and linen. I wonder if we come close to the spiritual depth of these men worshipping under much more austere conditions. Probably not. In their circumstance, the need for God was obvious and urgent. Truly, in this sense, blessed are the poor in spirit. We can only approximate this urgency by reminding ourselves of our fallen nature and our constant need for the forgiveness and grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.
—Matthew 18:20