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Today's talk comes from Pastor Ben Stewart.

Well, in 1861, Julia Ward Howe and her husband visited Washington, D.C.

And as they arrived, they saw Union soldiers marching about singing a marching song.

The first verse of which said, John Brown's body is a moldering in the grave. John Brown's body is a moldering in

the grave and on they would go. The third verse was Jeff Davis will hang from a tree, inspiring

stuff like that. And so there was a minister standing next to Julia, and he understood that she was a poet.

And so he asked her, do you think you could write better lyrics to this marching song?

And Julia said, yeah, yeah, I think I can.

And so one night she sat down and woke up and wrote these lyrics, the first verse of which

was, mine eyes have seen the

glory of the coming of the lord he is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored

the third verse was in the beauty of the lilies christ was born across the sea with a glory in his bosom

that transfigures you and me.

He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free, while God is marching on.

And many of us know that song as the Battle Hymn of the Republic, written by Julia Howe.

What's a little less well known about Julia Howe is that after that and after the war, she became

concerned. When the civil war finally ended, she saw again that storm clouds of war were brewing

in Europe. And she realized we've lost so many sons and so many husbands, this has to stop.

And so she attempted to gather a universal coalition of moms to fight for world peace together. And she tried

to get a mom's coalition. She called for a Mother's Day of Peace. And though she was inspiring,

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