A new hymn remembers gun violence victims in Uvalde, Texas

‘God, Our Nation Feels the Loss’ is Carolyn Winfrey Gillette’s newest hymn

by Mike Ferguson | Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE — The Rev. Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, a Presbyterian pastor and hymn writer, has published a new hymn lamenting gun violence and remembering “the beloved children of God who died in the school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas” on Tuesday.

“Many of us, as individuals, do not accept violence, keep silence or clamor for guns,” Gillette wrote in a note accompanying her hymn, “God, Our Nation Feels the Loss,” which is set to the music of “Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me.”

“Yet, as a nation, we do these things, and as a nation, we need to repent; we need to turn around and live a different way. All of us are called to do more than sing and pray; please work for gun safety laws in your community and state.”

The hymn relies in part on Matthew 2:18: “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”

Here are the lyrics:

God, our nation feels the loss

as our children pay the cost

for the violence we accept,

for the silence we have kept.

Rachel weeps for children gone;

God of love, this can’t go on!

Jesus, Lord, we hear you say,

“Don’t turn little ones away!”

May we build a kinder land

where our children understand:

Every child here matters more

than the guns we clamor for.

Holy Spirit, wind and flame,

send us out in Jesus’ name.

May we shout and say, “Enough!”

May we build a world of love —

till the sounds of weapons cease,

till our young can grow in peace.

The Rev. Carolyn Winfrey Gillette

Winfrey Gillette has written more than 400 hymns set to well-known tunes. She asks readers to “please share the hymn with pastors, musicians, worship planners and activists.”

Learn more at www.carolynshymns.com.