I post the following new hymn with the kind permission of Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, a gifted Presbyterian pastor in Owego, New York. She has written over 400 beautiful hymns, all set to familiar tunes.
Here is her introduction to one she wrote for All Saints Day:
"O God, We Give Thanks for the Saints Gone Before Us" is a new hymn celebrating faithful Christians in the past and present; it is also a prayer that we will follow Jesus in the world today. In a time when competing voices in society encourage us to abandon the way of Jesus, we need to remember how he taught us to live.
O God, We Give Thanks for the Saints Gone Before Us
ASH GROVE 6.6.11.6.6.11 D ("Let All Things Now Living")
ASH GROVE 6.6.11.6.6.11 D ("Let All Things Now Living")
O God, we give thanks for the saints gone before us —
remembering well how they walked Jesus' Way.
They valued the truth and would rise to defend it.
They knelt to be kind to the poor day by day.
They welcomed in immigrants, honored new neighbors,
put love before greed, and sought peace over strife.
May we in our homes and our churches and nations
recall Jesus' teachings and welcome this life.
O God, we give thanks for the saints now among us —
for teachers and helpers and activists, too,
for those in our families and those who work with us
to make the world better, to make the world new.
We thank you for those who seek justice for others,
for those who seek Jesus and live by his grace.
May we in our homes and our churches and nations
give thanks for their witness of love in this place.
O God, we give thanks for the Way Jesus shows us;
may we seek to follow his reign from above.
The world often calls us to hatred and violence,
but Christ's Way is welcome and mercy and love.
Like prophets, apostles, and martyrs before us,
like those who bear witness to you every day,
may we in our homes and our churches and nations
be saints who are eager to choose Jesus' Way.
Biblical References: Matthew 5:1-12; Matthew 6:33; John 8:31-32; Matthew 25:31-46; 1 Corinthians 1:1-3; Micah 6:8
Tune: Traditional Welsh melody ("Let All Things Now Living") (ASH GROVE)
Text: Copyright © 2024 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.
Email: carolynshymns@gmail.com New Hymns: www.carolynshymns.com/
O God, We Give Thanks for the Saints Gone Before Us
Note: You can email her if you want to be on her contact list or if you wish to use any of her hymns in your congregation. Here are some of her latest:
