Carolyn Gillette
Carolyn Winfrey Gillette is a hymn writer and Presbyterian pastor. Gillette and her husband Bruce are the co-pastors of Overbrook Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania since April 2017. Hymn use. Gillette's hymns have been sung by congregations in every state of the US and in several other countries; they have been on national PBS-TV three times and the BBC-TV in the United Kingdom. Noel Paul Stookey of "Peter, Paul and Mary" made a music video with Emmy winner Pete Staman of Carolyn's hymn, "O God, Our Words Cannot Express," which was written  on September 11. Her hymns are found on the national websites of the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church, UMCOR, the Presbyterian Church (USA), American Baptist Churches, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Reformed Church in America, the Souper Bowl of Caring, the National Council of Churches, and Church World Service. United Methodist Bishop William Boyd Grove and Gillette were commissioned to write hymns for the inauguration services for Churches Uniting in Christ. Section::::"Gifts of Love". Gillette's book "Gifts of Love: New Hymns for Today's Worship" (Geneva Press, 2000) is a collection of forty -five of her hymns. Her hymns are also in the new supplements for the Episcopal and Presbyterian hymnals. The United Church of Canada's hymnal supplement (2007) will include six of her hymns. The Circuit Rider, The Christian Century, The Presbyterian Outlook, Presbyterians Today, Horizons, Ideas! For Church Leaders, Church & Society, and other magazines have published her hymns. Two of her anthems were recently published by the Choristers Guild. She was commissioned to write the lead article for the special issue on "Singing Our Lives" for Baylor University's Christian Reflection journal in 2006. Family background. Gillette and her husband  Bruce have been the co-pastors of First Presbyterian Union Church in Owego, New York since December 2018. They had previously served as co-pastors of Limestone Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware. They wrote the ecumenical guide for the Active Parenting Now (third edition) with Mary Jane Pierce Norton of The United Methodist General Board of Discipleship as a consultant. They wrote the study/action guide for Transforming Families and the Christian Family Week worship and educational resource for the Presbyterian Church (USA). Biography. She was born in Harrisonburg, Virginia on May 28, 1961. She grew up in a Methodist  family, and her father was a graduate of Drew Seminary. She was baptized and confirmed in Methodist congregations. She graduated from United Methodist Church-related Lebanon Valley College, and her parents continue to be active members of a United Methodist congregation in Hagerstown, Maryland.