Hymns by Women in the New Covenant Hymnal
Author: Chuck King
May 01, 2025
First in a series: Part 1: Kate B. Wilkinson
"May the Mind of Christ, My Savior" was first published 100 years ago–1925–in a children's hymnal, Golden Bells. The tune was composed for Mrs. Wilkinson's poem by A. Cyril Barham-Gold, a Church of England clergyman.*
Kate Barclay Wilkinson (1859-1928) was a member of the Church of England and involved in a London ministry to girls and young women. It was in connection with this ministry that "Katie" was involved with a mission at St. Leonard's-on-Sea and likely met the composer of the tune (ST. LEONARDS). Biographical details are difficult to come by, but the poetry seems to have been written prior to 1912. It seems that the hymn was influenced by the Keswick Convention Movement, in which she was active. Its devotional intimacy and aspirational intensity capture the essence of that movement (still evident in the annual Keswick meetings in England's Lake District).
The words of this classic modern hymn are rooted in Philippians 2:5: "Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus . . . " Many readers of the NCC Blog can sing the hymn from memory–snatches of verses, selective verses, or in toto. The poetry has an elegant simplicity:
May the mind of Christ my Savior
Live in me from day to day
By his love and power controlling
All I do and say
May the Word of God dwell richly
In my heart from hour to hour
So that all may see I triumph
Only through His power
May the peace of God my Father
Rule my life in everything
That I may be calm to comfort
Sick and sorrowing
May the love of Jesus fill me
As the waters fill the sea
Him exalting, self abasing
This is victory
May I run the race before me
Strong and brave to face the foe
Looking only unto Jesus
As I onward go
May His beauty rest upon me
As I seek the lost to win
And may they forget the channel
Seeing only Him
With common words, uncomplicated syntax, and biblical terminology, the hymn expresses the heart's prayer for a vibrant Christian life. Note that God is the agent of this desired life: the mind of Christ, the Word of God, the peace of the Father, and so on. But in the fifth verse we express our part as well, "May I run the race." (And is there an echo of Philippians 2:12-13 in that verse? "Work out your salvation . . . for it is God who works in you.")
Kate B. Wilkinson did not live to see her hymn become among the most beloved of hymns in the English-speaking world. It was not published in Keswick Praise until 1975, and it was only included in the premier Church of England collection–Hymns Ancient and Modern–in 2000. But by then it was already published globally in scores of hymnals across the denominational spectrum, and sung by four generations and counting.
*interesting side note: Barham-Gold's first curate was All Souls Church, Langham Place, three years after the publication of this hymn. All Souls is now particularly famous as the church pastored by John Stott for many years. The church has a long history of evangelical warmth and exceptional music.
References consulted for this article include the hymnal site hymnology.org, the website of the publishers of Keswick Praise, and The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology.
Chuck King, M.M., M.A., is Music Director of New Covenant Church in Naperville.
Photo by Geoff Chang on Unsplash.
BACK