Let There Be Peace on Earth

“Let There Be Peace on Earth” is a song written by Jill Jackson-Miller and Sy Miller in 1955. It was initially written for and sung by the International Children’s Choir created by Easter Beakly and Arthur Granger of the Granger Dance Academy in Long Beach, California. The composers led a number of rehearsals for the children’s choir from 1955 to 1957, and the song is still the theme for this group of children who represent a host of nations and who sang in Washington, D.C., at the JW Marriott next to the White House in 2002. Jackson-Miller, who had been suicidal after the failure of her marriage to screenwriter Felix Jackson, later said she wrote the song after discovering what she called “the life-saving joy of God’s peace and unconditional love”.The song is performed worldwide throughout the year, and particularly during the Christmas season, which has led to it being considered a Christmas song. It is included in the hymnals of a variety of Christian denominations, and is used in worship services even by a number of denominations that do not include it in their hymnals. It typically concludes Unity Church services each week. The original lyrics for “Let There Be Peace on Earth” have been altered on many occasions for differing reasons, including for gender neutrality (where “father” is replaced with “creator”, and “brother” is replaced with “family” or “each other”), and secularity (where “God as our Father” is replaced with “Earth as our Mother” or “love as our compass”. Both the gender-neutral and secular alternate lyrics have been copyrighted by the original licensing agent of the song.