Hymns by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette

Biblical References: Genesis 1-2:4; Psalms 8
Tune: John Bacchus Dykes, in Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1861 ("Eternal Father, Strong to Save")
Text: Copyright © 2010 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.
Email: bcgillette@comcast.net     New Hymns: www.carolynshymns.com/

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." (PDF file).

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.

• You can read more about Carolyn Winfrey Gillette's creation care work in her articles "Shrinking Bills, Growing Membership" (PDF file) (Horizons magazine, November/December 2009), "A Journey Towards a Green Church" (PDF file) by Carolyn and Bruce Gillette in Call to Worship: Liturgy, Music, Preaching and the Arts (May 2009) Environment and Worship issue, and the solar web page for Limestone Presbyterian Church.
• The Green Bible (HarperCollins, 2008) is for those who care about creation (for more details about this Bible and praise for it, see Carolyn's article, "A Journey Towards a Green Church").
• Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril by Kathleen Dean Moore and Michael P. Nelson brings together the writings of over 80 faith leaders, gifted writers, scientists, government leaders, business leaders, naturists and activists to make the moral arguments for working to stop Climate Change. The hope is that a moral consensus, along with the scientific consensus, will inspire people to needed action. After a foreword by Desmond Tutu, the book's inspiring writings are organized in different sections for why we need to morally respond to Climate Change:
  
  
  1. For the survival of humankind
  2. For the sake of the children
  3. For the sake of the Earth itself
  4. For the sake of all forms of life on the planet
  5. To honor our duties of gratitude and reciprocity
  6. For the full expression of human virtue
  7. Because all flourishing is mutual
  8. The stewardship of God's creation
  9. Because compassion requires it
  10. Because justice demands it
  11. Because the world is beautiful
  12. Because we love the world
  13. To honor the Earth and Earth systems
  14. Because our moral integrity requires us to do what is right

Other creation care hymns can be found on the Earth Care and Stewardship pages.