The Old Rugged Cross was my Papa's favorite hymn. Although it was played and sung at his funeral, my most vivid memories of it are from summer Friday nights when three generations of my family would convene around the piano in my grandparents' living room. My Nana would play through the Reader's Digest Songbook of Family Faith and Joy from cover to cover as the rest of sang -- improvising harmonies and blending our voices as only family can. We each had our favorites (it will surprise no one that mine was Climb Ev'ry Mountain) and it was obvious by how he sang a bit stronger and more fervently each time, that this was Papa's. With cherished recollections to guide me, I strove to embody the joy and warmth of those gatherings in this arrangement.

- Ralph Raymond Hays