This worship song was written during my second last year as university chaplain at the University of Western Ontario and Fanshawe College in London, Ontario. It’s a gathering song meant for the “Opening of Worship.” The three verses can stand on their own, but I added the “Come, Oh sinner come” refrain in 2019 to add an invitational aspect.
This hymn was initially published in Songs of Rejoicing (Selah Publishing, 1989). The melody is called “Alila”, a combination of my parents’ names (Alice and Lammert) that they coined when they named their boat.