The doors are flung open
for disciples
and for those who want to be disciples
and for those who are fearful
of the cost of discipleship
but are still curious
about what it means
to follow Christ.
Come and listen and learn.
Calculate the cost,
and decide.
Come and worship the Lord your God.

You are holy, God of Majesty,
and worthy of glory, and honor, and praise!
In gratitude and wonder, we lift our hearts before you.
Be present, we pray, with host and guest
at every table
in every time and place,
and breathe new life into their fellowship
as humility gives way to meaningful exchange.
Be present, we pray, with those invited to the banquet
and those who are excluded
because of their limitations
or their race
or gender
or their cultural background
or their orientation,
or their lack of authority
and power.
Breathe new life into their community
that all may be welcomed equally
in Christ's name.
Be present, we pray, as both host and honored guest,
and season the conversations 
with kindness and with love,
that all may be nourished, redeemed, and empowered
​as only you can do. 

Here I Am, Lord
What Wondrous Love is This?
Deck Thyself, My Soul, with Gladness
Come Down, O Love Divine
Lord God, Your Love has Called Us Here
The Church of Christ in Every Age
As We Gather at Your Table
Our Cities Cry to You, O God

Come to the banquet!
ALL are invited!
Come, and sit at the Table
with your siblings in Christ
of all races and cultures,
of different gender identifications,
of a variety of belief systems
and physical abilities
and mental health variances,
of a number of socio-economic
circumstances
and degrees of power.
The last shall be first,
and the first, last,
and all will be welcome
​in the courts of the Lord.

Jesus Calls Us O'er the Tumult
I Danced in the Morning
Will You Come and Follow Me
O Christ, the Healer, We Have Come
Healer of Our Ev'ry Ill
Woman in the Night​

You who are seeking
to learn from the Master --
open, curious, eager, or in need --
come, and sit before the Lord.

You who are bent over
under the weight of your pain --
physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual --
come, and stand before the Lord.

You religious leaders,
endowed with authority --
humble, faithful, hopeful, or misguided --
come, and state your case before the Lord.

God is ready to listen,
to teach,
to heal,
and to redirect.
Let us worship our God with shouts of praise!

Oh, Beloved,
Watchtower of the vineyard,
Grape Grower
and Vine,
you have loved your people 
with a great love,
tending us attentively,
and nurturing our growth.
Continue to build the hedge
around your people, we pray,
that we might not be devoured
by ravenous animals
seeking to satisfy their own 
needs.
Shore up the walls that 
protect your most vulnerable children
from being trampled 
by those whose greed
and lust for power
are devastating.
Prune us, we pray,
and hoe around our roots aggressively
to remove the weeds that grow up
in our midst
and choke out your word.
Send refreshing rain
upon those who are wilting from the heat
of fires that blaze out of control
among those who rage,
bent on destruction --
some of them doing so
in your holy name.
Grant us strength to endure
and wait with us until the fruit we produce
is full and rich
that the glory may go to you
in every good thing we produce. 
in Jesus' name we pray.