After 25 Years, I’m Changing My Charge and Benediction

For as long as I can remember I have used the following Charge & Benediction when leading worship (The things said at the end of a church service, kind of a sending and blessing as we go into the world).

Go forth into the world with compassion and justice in your heart
Give voice to the silent
Give strength to the weak
See one another

Hear one another
Care for one another
And love one another

It’s all that easy
And it’s all that hard

Now may the grace of God
The love of Christ
And the power of the Holy Spirit
Be with us all, now and forevermore
AMEN

While I probably should have known how problematic the lines, “Give voice to the silent” and “Give strength to the weak are,” it is abundantly clear that I need to change it.

Obviously, I expect no parade or accolades for something that I probably should have done a long time ago, but I offer this as a reminder that even the most deeply held and embodied traditions can be changed. Words matter and our ability to shift, change, and learn matters just as much.

Here is the new one that I am playing with . . .

Go forth into the world with compassion and justice in your heart
Hear voices of the long-silenced
See strength in what has been deemed weak

See one another
Hear one another
Care for one another
And love one another

It’s all that easy
And it’s all that hard

Now may the grace of God
The love of Christ
And the power of the Holy Spirit
Be with us all, now and forevermore
AMEN

Thoughts?