Presbytery hymn-writer Carolyn Winfrey Gillette has composed a new hymn for post-election Sunday and beyond, and generously made it available free of charge. (Please include an acknowledgement when you copy it!)
A version with Scriptural references is available by clicking here, and with music included here.
Thanks to Carolyn and Bruce Gillette for this gift.
There Is Room in God’s Great Welcome
HOLY MANNA 8.7.8.7 D (“God, Who Stretched the Spangled Heavens”)
There is room in God’s great welcome; See! The doors are open wide!
Here on earth as in God’s heaven, hear the call to come inside!
There is so much room for difference— men and women, gay and straight.
In God’s love, the rooms are countless, but there is no room for hate.
There is room in our good nation if we stand on justice-ground.
God has made a good creation; colors, cultures all abound.
Welcome, sister! Welcome, brother! All those yearning to breathe free!
There is room for one another but no room for bigotry.
There is room for understanding, for the outcast and the poor;
For the Christian, Jew and Muslim— there is room for these and more.
For the people on the fringes, for the ones with long career,
There is room for building bridges, but there is no room for fear.
There is room in faithful churches for the wounded and oppressed:
Women who’ve been told they’re worthless, refugees who feel distressed,
Immigrants who fear the future, people scorned and pushed and shoved.
God, may we seek what you treasure: may we all make room for love.
~~~~~
Biblical References: Deuteronomy 10:19; Leviticus 19:34; Isaiah 56:1-8; Matthew 5:26-48; 25:31-46; Mark 5:25-34; Luke 10:35-47; 13:29; 14:15-24; John 3:16-17; 14:2; 10:16; 13:3-35; Acts 2:21; 8:26-40; 10:34; Romans 13:10; Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 4:30-5:1; Hebrews 13:1 and 1 John 4:7-8.
Tune: William Moore’s Columbian Harmony, 1825 (“God, Who Stretched the Spangled Heavens”) (MIDI)
Alternate tune: RESTORATION, Walker’s Southern Harmony, 1835 (“Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy”) (MIDI)
Text: Copyright © 2016 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.
Email: bcgillette@comcast.net New Hymns: www.carolynshymns.com