Hymns by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette
O God, the Great, Wide Seas are Yours
MELITA 8.8.8.8.8.8 (Eternal Father, Strong to Save)
O God, the great, wide seas are yours!
You carved the oceans' rugged floors.
You set the waters in their place
And made all sea life by your grace.
You also made humanity
To care for earth and sky and sea.
Forgive us when we disobey
And fail to care for what you've made.
Consuming more than what we should,
We harm the waters you call good.
Forgive us when we fail to be
Good stewards of your wondrous sea.
We pray for those who seek to care
For troubled waters everywhere —
For those who work to stop the spill
Of all that would destroy and kill,
For those who work with loving hands
To tend your marshes, shores and sands.
God, may we hear your call anew
To care for all these gifts from you.
May we protect the sea and shore
By using less, conserving more,
And humbly learning how to live
As stewards of this world you give.
Hymn Note for "O God, the Great, Wide Seas are Yours"
The hymn-prayer was written in response to the ongoing oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig that started on April 20th. Churches are also using other creation hymns by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, including her popular "The Earth is the Lord's." The first five hymns in her Songs of Grace: New Hymns for God and Neighbor (Discipleship Resources/Upper Room Books, 2009) have creation themes. Carolyn Winfrey Gillette is co-author of "A Journey to a Green Church."
My husband/co-pastor Bruce Gillette wrote a reflection on this environmental disaster that is posted online by several organizations: The Word and the World: Psalm 8 and the Gulf Oil Spill.
Greater Context: "How We Wrecked the Ocean" is an online April 2010 TED Talk by Jeremy Jackson, the Ritter Professor of Oceanography and Director of the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, on how the oceans are overfished, overheated, polluted and getting worse.
See Stewardship Hymns for a list of other helpful hymns with stewardship themes.
- Check out the rest of this web site for other wonderful hymns.
- Consider buying Carolyn's two books of hymns that give permission to use the book's hymns in a local church: Gifts of Love: New Hymns for Today's Worship by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette (Geneva Press, 2000) and Songs of Grace: New Hymns for God and Neighbor by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette (Upper Room Books, 2009)
- Share the hymn and her hymns web site with people in your church and other online friends in other churches.
- Check out A Dozen Ways to Support Carolyn's Hymn-writing (including hymn use permission).