Extravagant Welcome Litany of Celebration III
Leader: No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you’re welcome in the United Church of Christ!
People: Together, let us remember the many ways the United Church of Christ is offering extravagant welcome in the name of Jesus Christ —in our churches, through our partnerships and by our shared ministries. There is much to celebrate!
Leader: Yes! That’s why we celebrate the Stillspeaking’s Friend-Raising weekend, when members and congregations use our new “Uniquely UCC” video message to reach out intentionally with words of invitation and welcome.
People: Extravagant welcome! That’s our church’s wider mission!
Leader: We celebrate the enthusiastic response of the 200 people who gather each year for the New Church Leaders Institute to be inspired and equipped to start new inclusive and welcoming churches — and revitalize existing ones — throughout the United States.
People: Extravagant welcome! That’s our church’s wider mission!
Leader: Yes! That’s why we lift-up Disabilities Awareness Week and celebrate the 230 people gathered in St. for the first-ever 2010 “Widening the Welcome: Inclusion for Fall” conference presented by the UCC Disabilities Ministries and the UCC Mental Illness Network.
People: Extravagant welcome! That’s our church’s wider mission!
Leader: Yes! That’s why we celebrate the 200th anniversary of UCC global mission and the extravagant friendships that the UCC builds and sustains around the world. We celebrate the first-ever global mission study immersion, during which Conference Ministers, Seminary Presidents and Global Ministries board members and staff traveled last month to Zambia and South Africa to see first-hand the work of historic mission partners and personnel. We celebrate the next immersion trip to Haiti and Colombia in December 2010.
People: Extravagant welcome! That’s our church’s wider mission!
Leader: Yes! That’s why we celebrate ucc.org’s 33 percent increase in traffic over last year, the 20,000 daily readers of the Stillspeaking Daily Devotional and the 45,000 fans now relating to the UCC on Facebook. We celebrate all who are discovering the UCC through online relationships.
People: Extravagant welcome! That’s our church’s wider mission!
Leader: Yes! That’s why we celebrate the successful launch of Faith Practices and the more than 300 educators, authors and editors who contributed to its planning and development. We celebrate how Faith Practices is equipping our members to practice their faith in everyday life. All the world is God’s big stage!
People: Extravagant welcome! That’s our church’s wider mission!
Leader: Yes! That’s why we celebrate that more than 3,000 individual UCC members have opted themselves in as Stillspeaking Voices — committed ambassadors eager to live and proclaim the “God is still speaking” message by inviting others to find a home in the UCC.
People: Extravagant welcome! That’s our church’s wider mission!
Leader: Yes, we have much to be grateful for. Together, let us bless the work of the United Church of Christ:
People: Stillspeaking God, you have given the United Church of Christ a distinctive witness in our communities and throughout the world. We thank you for these places — and so many others — where we are poised and placed to offer the extravagant welcome that befits you, but is — sadly — not always offered in Jesus’ name. Make us continually bold in reaching out and remind us that you have already prepared the way. AMEN.