Podcast Episode 20
Bishop Samuel Cowther
with Dr. Melody Maxwell & host Nick Walters
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Episode 20 of This Week in Christian History once again features Nick Walters, founder of the Center for Christian History at Mississippi College, guiding listeners through a week of important moments that have shaped the Christian story. Each episode follows a consistent structure: an interview with Nick Walters, a Deep Dive led by a subject-matter expert, and two historical highlights drawn from this same week across the centuries.
This week’s Deep Dive features Dr. Melody Maxwell of Acadia Divinity College, a respected historian whose work focuses on global Christianity, missions history, women in ministry, and the expansion of Christian traditions beyond the North Atlantic world. Her expertise brings needed context to the historical backdrop of Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther’s consecration, one of the most significant episodes in the development of African Christian leadership. While the content of the recorded interview is not summarized here, the episode guides listeners toward understanding why Crowther’s consecration marked a defining shift in how Anglicanism and global missions began to recognize indigenous leadership within rapidly growing African Christian communities. His story continues to shape conversations about missions, cross-cultural ministry, and the rise of African Christianity as a global force.
This episode also features two expanded historical highlights that occurred during this week in Christian history.
June 23, 1942 – One of the most widely loved hymns in Protestant churches, “When We All Get to Heaven,” came from the creative partnership of two Philadelphia women: lyricist Eliza Hewitt and composer Emily Divine Wilson. Hewitt authored nearly 1,700 hymns during her career, leaving a vast devotional legacy across multiple denominations. Wilson, who composed the melody and instrumentation that made the hymn instantly recognizable, devoted her life to church music within the Methodist Episcopal tradition. She died on June 23, 1942, as a childless widow. Because no known photographs of her survive, her legacy is carried forward entirely through the sound of her music rather than any surviving visual record. Her work remains one of the enduring examples of how many women deeply shaped American church life without leaving behind the documentation more common for male contemporaries.
June 25, 1962 – On this day, the United States Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision in Engel v. Vitale, ruling that mandatory school prayer composed by state officials violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The prayer was short, nonsectarian, and designed to be used each morning: “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our country. Amen.” The Court ruled 6–1 to strike it down. Justice Potter Stewart issued the lone dissent, arguing that the case misunderstood the intent of the Establishment Clause, which he believed applied only to the formation of an official state church. His dissent would become one of the most cited minority opinions in debates about religion in public life. The Engel decision continues to shape American conversations about school prayer, civic religion, and the intersection of faith and education.
This episode reflects the broader purpose of This Week in Christian History: to connect listeners with the global story of Christianity through meaningful interviews, extended historical context, and a weekly survey of the people and events that have shaped the church. Those interested in missions history, African Christianity, hymnody, American church-state debates, or the study of Christian heritage will find this episode particularly valuable.
Photo credit: “Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther,” public domain image via Wikimedia Commons.
