Invitation

written by Reuben Kendall, August 2022
for the invitation, all text to be performed by the liturgist or read in unison by the assembly

Let us go together 

to the fountain of living waters; 

Let us go hand-in-hand!  

For there the living water flows, 

a well that satisfies all thirst, 

and does not exhaust itself; 

There where thirst is banished 

water flows like laughter, 

like tears of refuge; 

there is enough, and more! 

Behold, the river that washes away 

the stain of death! 

The season of its fullness is at hand; 

it overthrows its banks and channels; 

its floodplains are blessed! 

Let us walk together 

upon the earth of God! 

Let us dance arm in arm! 

For Eden has slept beneath our feet, 

ever dreaming of the time she will awake, 

shaking famine off her back; 

The horsemen of famine and war 

will bridle their mounts; they will pull plows; 

The blades of hatred will be bent into pruning hooks; 

the long neglected trees will receive 

their care; in each the tree of life will be reborn; 

their leaves will be for the healing 

of all nations; 

The Kingdom of God is at hand, 

and is now here; 

it is among us! 

So may our tears be tributaries of that great river; 

may our footsteps be its fields and orchards; 

in us let it bloom and keep on blooming; 

in us may it flow and keep on flowing; 

in us may it live and keep on living, 

the water of life, 

the garden of God, 

the Life Undying!