This litany was used for the dedication of the new website for Collegiate United Methodist Church and Wesley Foundation in Ames, IA. As a website is a vital ministry of any congregation, it is important to bless it and dedicate it to God’s work.
In the beginning, God spoke a word of creativity, and the world came into being.
In our own time, our digital creativity can bless and teach, inspire and guide, as we serve as God’s mouthpiece in the world.
In ancient times, God communicated through blazing rainbow and burning bush, in soaring temples and in a small, still voice
Today, God communicates through pictures and screen icons, through social networks and weekly emails.
Ancient writers communicated to us the grace and love of God through prophetic writings and poetry, in gospels and letters.
Contemporary voices utilize blogs and Twitter, podcasts and PDFs, sharing that grace and love of God they have experienced with all of the world.
<your church name> is called to be a voice of progressive Christian faith in a world that
increasingly believes Christianity to be irrelevant or unimportant.
We also believe that we are to be a fully inclusive community of faith, welcoming all persons to a relationship with God in Christ, and encouraging each person to desire God’s Spirit.
As we dedicate a new website today, we give God thanks for the freedom of communication, the ability to reach far beyond our walls in order to include others, and the opportunity to
connect with and offer hospitality to one another through technology.
May it grow and flourish as a means of grace for us and for many.
Let us pray.
Communicating God, we pray for all those who will visit the website of <your church name>—those here today and those whom we may never meet face-to-face. May they sense within its pages your continual call to charity, to prayer, to justice, and to community. May we each also find within it words to inspire us on our journey of faith and to help us discern your hope and will for all of creation. Amen.
Written by Tim Gossett. Copyright © 2013 by Collegiate United Methodist Church/Wesley Foundation.
Please adapt as you wish but credit would be appreciated.