A New Hymn for Immigrants
A new hymn written by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette when she was serving as the August 12-19, 2023 chaplain in the Presbyterian House at Chautauqua Institution.
This hymn is based on the Old Testament reading for the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A, August 27, 2023.
There Came a Time in Egypt
AURELIA 7.6.7.6 D ("The Church's One Foundation")
There came a time in Egypt when Joseph wasn’t known—
when people had forgotten the seeds of help he’d sown.
With immigrants increasing, the leaders lived in fear.
That fear turned into murmuring: “We do not want them here!”
The rulers told the midwives, “Don’t let their numbers grow.”
But Shiphrah said, with Puah, a quiet, faithful, “No!”
When they were tasked with killing, they saved the baby boys.
God, may we, too, be willing to challenge what destroys.
O God, you sent us Jesus who said, “Take up your cross!”
He taught that faithful living will often have a cost.
He taught us to be daring, creative, wise and strong—
to make the world more caring, to challenge what is wrong.
When immigrants are struggling, when children live in fear,
when forces of destruction are threatening people here,
God, make us like those women, and may we seek to be
the ones who usher life in, till all are whole and free.
Biblical References: Exodus 1:8-2:10; Matthew 16:24-26
Tune: Samuel Sebastian Wesley, 1864
Text: Copyright © 2023 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.
Permission given for free use of this hymn to churches, including streaming online.
Email: carolynshymns@gmail.com New Hymns: www.carolynshymns.com
Carolyn Winfrey Gillette has served churches in New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey; these churches have been in small town, suburban and inner-city settings. She has also served as a chaplain for a hospital and several hospices. Carolyn has written over 400 hymns that have been sung in churches in all 50 states, six continents, published in more than 20 books (including four of her own) and on over 10,000 websites. The Christian Century, Sojourners, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, PBS-TV and NPR have all done feature stories on how her hymns relate faith to contemporary concerns. Carolyn and her husband Bruce are pastors of the First Presbyterian Union Church in Owego, NY, have three adult children and five grandchildren.
Read Article Here
https://www.presbyterianmission.org/story/pcusa-hymnwriter-celebrates-resourceful-hebrew-midwives-and-laments-the-dangers-immigrants-face/