Warm greeting strikes a chord in worldwide hymnbook

It’s not every day that someone literally sings your praises, but for Demetrius O’Neal of Five Mile Prairie, that’s exactly what happened when a warm greeting he extended inspired a hymn that is now sung by thousands throughout the world.

It was a cold Sunday in early 2017 when Andrea and Tom Brett hurried down a snowy sidewalk in north Spokane on their way to a worship service. The Bretts, both originally from Spokane but at that time living in Branson, Missouri, were in town to visit Tom’s parents. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that visit included worshipping on Sunday, come rain, shine or, in this case, snow.

As they approached the building, they were met by O’Neal, a fairly new member of the congregation who had been asked to greet attendees that day. With open arms and a smile, he called out to the Bretts, “Welcome home, welcome home, welcome home! Welcome to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!”

“It was just this beautiful greeting,” Andrea recalled. “It was so warm, and it was so friendly, and it was so enthusiastic.”

“That’s just Demetrius,” said Bishop Scott Starley, who leads the congregation O’Neal attends each Sunday. “He just brings an energy about his faith that not everybody has.”

O’Neal was raised by his grandmother in Alabama and grew up in the Baptist faith. He joined the Air Force in 1973 and first came to Spokane when he was stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base in 1993. After raising their four children, he and his wife decided to settle permanently in Spokane.

In 2014, O’Neal met missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when a friend of his asked the missionaries to help the O’Neals move into their new home. They fed them a meal to say thank you, and the missionaries asked if they could visit them again.

“When they came back the next week, they had a Book of Mormon in their hand,” O’Neal laughed. He was baptized a member of the church five months later.

“I’ve always felt welcome,” he said. “I’ve found nothing but love from Day 1, very accepted from Day 1. I just love the church.”

It’s that love and welcome that he strives to pass along to members and visitors as he interacts with them each Sunday, his words and actions always informed by his exuberant Baptist upbringing.

“It was so refreshing,” said Andrea of O’Neal’s greeting on that snowy day in 2017. “He brought his enthusiasm and his religious tradition to our doors, and I just thought it was so fabulous.”

Andrea’s encounter with O’Neal came at just the right moment. Only days before, she had been visiting her son at Brigham Young University, where he was enrolled in a songwriting class. A musician herself – Andrea, Tom and their three children performed a stage show in Branson, Missouri for 23 years – she decided to tag along with him to class, where the students had been working on writing original hymns. Sitting in the class, she was inspired to write a hymn of her own someday.

When she heard O’Neal’s greeting days later, her wheels started turning.

“As I went into the chapel and sat down, it just occurred to me: welcome home. That’s the hymn I’m going to write,” she said.

When she returned to Branson, she completed the hymn within a few months. It speaks of the warm welcome we can receive in places of worship and ultimately the loving welcome we will receive when we return home to God after this life.

The song sat untouched for months. Then, in December 2017, Andrea’s father passed away, and she and her family performed it at his funeral.

In 2018, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints put out a call for submissions for a new hymnbook, the first update to the faith’s hymnal since 1985.

Andrea submitted 10 songs, including “Welcome Home.” In total, around 17,000 original hymns were submitted from musicians around the world.

Andrea received a standard letter letting her know her submissions had been received, and then didn’t hear anything until 2023, when the hymn committee contacted her to let her know they were considering “Welcome Home” for the new hymnal, one of only about 375 songs to be included.

“It’s such a thrill. It’s so humbling and awe inspiring,” said Andrea of her hymn being chosen from among so many.

Several days of revisions followed as Andrea worked with the hymn committee to refine the lyrics and music. She was asked to provide a “tune name” to be included with the song, a practice that is traditional in hymn writing. She chose “Demetrius Wade,” in honor of both O’Neal and her father, Wade, at whose funeral the song was originally sung.

Finally, in February of this year, “Welcome Home” was released digitally as one of the first 37 hymns to be made available for immediate use. The print version of the hymnal in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French is expected to be completed in 2027, with translations in about 50 languages to follow.

The day the hymn was released, Andrea tracked down O’Neal’s phone number and called him with the news. It had been eight years since he had greeted her so warmly and inspired the hymn that would now be sung throughout the world, but he had no idea about the impact he had made.

“I was just in shock for a minute there, like, is this for real?” said O’Neal.

The shock didn’t end there. Soon Andrea learned that the world-renowned Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square would be performing “Welcome Home” in April as part of the church’s 195th annual general conference.

“There’s no sound like theirs, there’s no spirit like theirs,” said Andrea of the Tabernacle Choir. “It’s just completely unique in all the world.”

Friends from O’Neal’s congregation pooled money together so he and his grandson could fly down to Salt Lake City for the conference. They were sitting next to Andrea and her family in the packed 21,000-seat conference center as the choir performed their hymn.

“It was hard to fight back the tears,” O’Neal said.

Afterward, they were invited to meet with the choir and share their story. Since then, “Welcome Home” has been performed at other high-profile events. Andrea has posted various arrangements of the hymn on her website, andreabrett.com, where she gets downloads from all over the world.

“I just think it’s the whole idea of people needing a safe place, and that whole concept that resonates so deeply in our souls of home,” said Andrea of the hymn’s popularity. “Those two words, ‘welcome home’ … resonate on a spiritual level.”

For those who know O’Neal, it’s no surprise that he’s the one who inspired such a hymn.

“He’s genuine. You really feel like he means it and he cares, and he’s just a genuinely happy person,” Starley said. “You just can’t help but smile when he talks to you and when he welcomes you … It’s very fitting to have this hymn be about him.”