We Pray for Youth We Dearly Love
O WALY WALY LM
Solo (optional young voice):
“If I should die before I wake,
I pray thee, Lord, my soul to take….
And if I die on violent streets,
I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep.”
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Congregation:
We pray for youth we dearly love
Who still await each bedtime hug,
Yet– when they hear of violence– cry
And ask, “Will I be next to die?”
O Lord, forgive our nation’s sin:
We judge the one with different skin.
We turn from those we should embrace;
We count on guns instead of grace.
Forgive our blindness to the way
Some live in fear from day to day.
Forgive us when we cannot see
That all are bound till all are free.
God bless the youth who live in fear,
And may we seek your kingdom here.
May love be where we stand our ground
Till justice, peace and joy abound.
Tune: English folk melody. (“Though I May Speak”)
Text: Copyright © 2013 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved
Email: bcgillette@comcast.net Web site: www.carolynshymns.com
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Hymn Note on “We Pray for Youth We Dearly Love”
“For The Boys Who See Themselves In Trayvon Martin” was a National Public Radio story broadcast on Sunday, July 14, 2013.
The Rev. Dr. Otis Moss of Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ talks about the discussion with host Jacki Lyden..
Dr. Moss’ July 14, 2013 sermon is posted on YouTube
This NPR story was heard by the Rev. Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, a foster mother for a four year old African American boy, co-pastor of Limestone Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware and a hymn writer. She wrote the hymn in the following two days while attending the Hymn Society of United States and Canada annual conference meeting in Richmond, Virginia.
Carolyn Winfrey Gillette is the author of Songs of Grace: New Hymns for God and Neighbor (Upper Room Books) and Gifts of Love: New Hymns for Today’s Worship (Geneva Press). Her hymns can be found in the hymnals of the United Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopal, Christian Reformed and United Church of Canada. They have been used by Habitat for Humanity, Church World Service, National Council of Churches, Family Promise, Sojourners, Souper Bowl of Caring, Humane Society in the United States and others. A complete list of Carolyn’s 200+ hymns can be found at www.carolynshymns.com Carolyn and her husband Bruce serve as the co-pastors of Limestone Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware.
