Litany of Dedication
A Note from the Editor: New Creation Fellowship Church in Newton, Kansas, hosted a celebratory service that called upon its congregation to come together and deepen their sense of belonging. Four readers stood near the newly installed lift in the back of the sanctuary and led the congregation in a litany of dedication. Following the reading, a ribbon was cut, and the congregants were invited to try out the new lift, symbolizing the church’s commitment to accessibility and inclusivity. ADN celebrates with New Creation Fellowship Church on this step toward inclusion of people with mobility disabilities, and we commend their desire to broaden their focus to other areas of disability inclusion.
Litany of Dedication for the Accessibility Lift
New Creation Fellowship Church, February 19, 2023
Written by Audrey Ratzlaff
Person 1: You are welcome in this place! Each week we proclaim these words as one expression of our mission statement that as a community, we are called to invite and embrace all people with God's love.
ALL: All are welcome in this place!
Person 1: Today, we dedicate this lift to God's work of loving and welcoming others in our community.
Person 2: We give thanks for the love of God that we have received.
Person 3: We give thanks that we have this opportunity to demonstrate and embody God's love.
Person 4: We give thanks for this space–and all who enter its doors.
ALL: Thanks be to God!
Person 1: This was a project of many hands, many heads, and many hearts.
Person 2: Many hands demolished the old and constructed the new.
Person 3: Many heads planned and organized what needed to be done.
Person 4: Many hearts, inspired by God's love, shared their resources of time, finances, and prayer.
ALL: We open our hands, our heads, and our hearts.
Person 1: This lift expresses our desire to be a community that connects people,
Person 2: that removes barriers,
Person 3: that asks questions and adapts behaviors,
Person 4: that offers true belonging to God's many people.
Person 1: We've worked to make our building accessible to those with mobility issues, but there is still more work to do to be a fully inclusive community. So, as we dedicate the lift,
ALL: we rededicate ourselves to this work of inviting and embracing, welcoming and including.
Person 1: By using this lift for all our ministries and in our ongoing life as New Creation Fellowship Church, may we continue to discern how to follow Jesus,
Person 2: build friendships and kinships,
Person 3: call forth and honor each other's gifts,
Person 4: and value each person and all people, for they are created by God.
ALL: All are welcome in this place! Thanks be to God!
