A Responsive litany of commitment
God calls each of us according to our gifts, to serve those in need, to seek justice for the oppressed and disenfranchised, to care for the earth and all the creatures that inhabit it, and through our words and action to bring God’s love and peace to all creation.
- Will you, as servants of God in community with one another accept this call?
We will, and we ask God to help and guide us. - Will you give faithful witness in the world that God’s love may be known in all you do?
We will, and we ask God to help and guide us. - Will you proclaim the good news of God’s everlasting love through your words and deeds?
We will, and we ask God to help and guide us. - Will you work to serve all people, the stranger, the immigrant, the poor, the hungry, the disenfranchised, the oppressed, the sick, the afflicted; people of all ages, class, creed, and orientation, following the example of Jesus?
We will, and we ask God to help and guide us. - Will you strive to work for the just and proper use of God’s creation that we may free the world from poverty and famine and move towards justice and peace in all the earth?
We will, and we ask God to help and guide us. - Will you guide, encourage, challenge and support one another, and in all things strive to live together in the peace and unity of Christ?
We will, and we ask God to help and guide us.
As there are many members in one body, so we, though many, are one body in Christ.
Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Let us encourage one another to live a life worthy of the calling each of us has received, being humble and gentle, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace.
Let us pursue justice and peace for mutual upbuilding.
Laying on of Hands
I invite you now to form a circle, all facing the same direction, and to put your hands upon the head or shoulders of the person in front of you in the circle. Thus we create physical links representing the deep roots of our connectedness through God. In the moment that follows, I invite you to silently or out loud lift up the person in front of you in prayer, praying for their work and invoking God’s presence in their life.
Silence moving into a cacophony of prayer
Closing Prayer
Pray with me. Gracious God, we lift all our prayers to you. As you have called workers to various tasks in the world and in your church, so you have called each of us, with unique experiences and gifts, to serve you. Fill us with wisdom and patience, with love, with faithfulness and hope, and with courage and compassion. We ask you to rekindle the gift of your spirit in each of us remembering that you have given us not a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and humility. May we with gladness join as a community that as individuals and as a whole supports one another, serves our neighbors in need, and works for a just and peaceful world for all of your creation.
This Commitment Litany was used originally at Bond Chapel, University of Chicago.
