I have participated in many communities that try to welcome those on the margins of society or on the margins of the church.  This is a beautiful sentiment, and it can also contribute to more “othering”.  In the contexts that I experienced it was we, the white, the educated, the wealthy, the able-bodied, the cisgender: we embrace you in this space that we have defined and where we are at home. So I wondered about turning that around, and allowing whoever was singing to claim God’s welcome, in our diversity, as we are and as we are becoming.

I have followed Mark Miller’s work for years. It was such a thrill that he was interested in working with this text, and I love what he created. I hope that this song will bless many communities seeking to live out acceptance and inclusion.

You can preview or purchase the music and text on GIA Unbound and duplicate it for worship with One License. It is also a part of my printed collection Elemental Joy Mark Miller’s CD, Revolution of the Heart, and the United Church of Canada Resource, Then Let Us Sing. You can listen to the CD track on Spotify here or watch Mark and collaborator Julian Wamble sing it: