“When We Were A Younger Nation”
When we were a younger nation,
When new settlers filled this land—
God, you called this congregation
By your guiding, caring hand.
Those you gathered shared a language
And a life of love and praise;
Through your grace, they spread your message
In those pioneering days.
We, your church, have seen great wonders
As we’ve known Christ’s presence here.
We have welcomed in new members;
We’ve been blessed from year to year.
Through our music and our worship,
Through our teaching of your word,
Through our laughter and our friendship,
We’ve proclaimed it: “God is good!”
Yet your goodness that we cherish
Can’t be kept within this place;
So you send us out in service,
Doing justice, seeking peace.
Spirit-filled, we heal the broken,
Build new houses—new lives, too;
God, in ways both lived and spoken,
We have sought to follow you.
In an ever-changing nation,
God, you call us yet again;
You have shown this generation
How to welcome others in.
Crossings bounds of faith and culture,
May we learn and grow and share;
And may we, your church, be faithful,
Loving, serving everywhere.
~ lyrics by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette
~ painting by Terry Avon Redlin
