the cry of my heart...

Lord, call us into the church.

Call us in often,

  and teach us the old words and old songs

  with their new meanings.

Lord, give us new words for the words we wear out.

  give us new songs for those that have lost their spirit.

Give us new reasons for coming in and for going out,

  into our streets and to our homes.

As the house of the Lord once moved

  like a tent through the wilderness,

  so keep our churches from becoming rigid.

Make our congregation alive and free.

Give us ideas we never had before,

  so that alleluia and gloria and amen

  are like the experiences we know in daily living.

Alleluia! O Lord, be praised!
In worship and in work, be praised! Amen.

-taken from the Covenant Hymnal