Lelia Naylor Morris wrote and composed the music to "The Stranger of Galilee" in 1893. She was born in Ohio in 1852, the fifth of seven children. As a child she learned to play the piano and sang in the choir of the Methodist church her family attended. At age 30, she attended a Holiness camp meeting where, in her words, "I opened my heart and let the Holy Spirit come in." Following this experience, she felt called to write hymns, both words and music, and completed over 1,000 in her lifetime. These include "The Fight Is On," "Let Jesus Come Into Your Heart," "Nearer, Still Nearer," "Sweet Will of God," and "What If it Were Today?"
A biography of Morris, Singing at Her Work, (written by Mary Ethel Weiss) was published in 1953.
1n 1998 a historical marker was placed by the Ohio Historical Society at the Trinity Episcopal Methodist Church where Mrs. Morris served as organist.
Stranger of Galilee