Hymns by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette
You call us, Lord, to worship; the day is set aside.
Your love is overflowing; the doors are opened wide.
Yet as we see your goodness, we see what we have been.
And so we humbly ask you, "Forgive us of our sin!"
We are forgiven people; we know your love's embrace.
The peace of Christ is with us; forgiveness fills this place.
We hear your word in scripture, in sermon and in song.
Again, again, you tell us: we're loved and we belong.
We share our joys and sorrows and then we offer prayer
For people who are hurting, for nations everywhere.
We bring our tithes and offerings, returning what is yours,
For what we keep may vanish, but what we give endures.
We celebrate your love, Lord, with water, wine and bread.
For at your font we're welcomed and at your feast we're fed.
We pray the prayer you taught us; we sing your praise and then
Through daily, faithful living, we worship you again.
Hymn Use Permission: Songs of Grace: New Hymns for God and Neighbor by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette (Upper Room Books, 2009) includes a permission note for those who own this book to use this hymn (along with the 76 other new hymns in the book) in their local church's worship services. People who do not own Songs of Grace are asked to contact Carolyn (bcgillette@comcast.net) for permission to use the hymn and to get a copy of the hymn formatted for worship bulletin use.
This new hymn celebrates the joy and importance of corporate worship on Sundays. The hymn was written to the tune of a popular Easter hymn; we worship every Sunday because it is the day of our Lord's resurrection. The first verse begins with a reference to Sabbath and then gives thanks for God's presence in the different parts of the Reformed order of worship (Directory for Worship, W-3.3202 and the Book of Common Worship, pp. 33-45) that is shared with other traditions.
See Stewardship Hymns for a list of other helpful hymns with stewardship themes.