Call to Prayer
We are in Babylon tonight (today).
How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
We've been washed, but we are not yet clean.
We've been baptized, but we're not yet free.
We are in Babylon tonight (today).
We live in the land as aliens and strangers.
The culture is seductive and resistant.
We cave in to it; get lost in it;
we forget our story.
How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?

Mutual Accountability for Following Christ's Teachings

Prayer Responsory
If possible, allow time at the close of the meeting for this closing action before sending forth.

On the boundary of assembly and dispersion we,
  Christ's priestly people,
  face our powerlessness and our vocation.

We can't do everything, but we can love.
We can't speak the final word, but we can love.
We don't quite feel like we belong, but we can love.
When Jerusalem is a faint memory, still, we can love.
When we don't have the answers, still we can love.
When we can't agree about gay and straight,
still we can love.

When we feel awkward and restless, still we can love.
We're frustrated with the constraints of youth and aging,
but we can love now.
We long for the good old days,
still we can love now.
We are weary of waiting
for the land of promise,
but we can love now.
We let petty irritations trip us,
but we can love.
We choke on our faith song, but we can love.
We limp in our worship and service, but we can love.
We are embarrassed at how messy our lives are,
but we can love.

Here a solo voice initiates the singing of "Ubi Caritas" (in The Faith We Sing, 2179).

(From Alive Now Sept/Oct 2004. Copyright © 2004. The Upper Room. Used by permission.)

Daniel T. Benedict, Jr. is Worship Resources Director for the General Board of Discipleship and an elder in the California-Pacific Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.