Hymns by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette
Shades of purple, shades of blue, green and yellow, orange, red —
Noah and his family, too, saw the rainbow overhead.
God, Creator, high above you displayed your sign of love.
Soon new life was springing forth, filling land and sea and air.
God, you chose to bless the earth with the promise of your care —
And your promised love extends far beyond our human friends.
In the rainbow, you were clear: every living thing has worth.
You love every creature here on this planet we call Earth.
God, forgive when we destroy gifts from you that bring you joy.
May your church begin to see in that rainbow high above:
We are daily called to be stewards of this world you love.
Since the earth is dear to you, may we treat it kindly, too.
The Presbyterian Outlook magazine commissioned this hymn and sells it ($9.95) with the hymn text and music together as a downloadable bulletin insert. You can buy a complete collection of hymns for Lent 2012 at a discount. Your purchase helps support this excellent religious magazine.
You can read more about Carolyn Winfrey Gillette's creation care work in her articles "Shrinking Bills, Growing Membership" (PDF file) (Horizons magazine, November/December 2009), "A Journey Towards a Green Church" (PDF file) by Carolyn and Bruce Gillette in Call to Worship: Liturgy, Music, Preaching and the Arts (May 2009) Environment and Worship issue, and the solar web page for Limestone Presbyterian Church.
The Green Bible (HarperCollins, 2008) is for those who care about creation (for more details about this Bible and praise for it, see Carolyn's article, "A Journey Towards a Green Church").
Other creation care hymns can be found on the Earth Care and Stewardship pages.