Our spirit of welcome is palpable during the passing of the peace, as people move about the sanctuary to greet one another, followed by a rousing welcome song with hand-clapping and children dancing and playing instruments on the steps of our chancel. In all of our written liturgy, we endeavor to use gender-expansive terms for God, such as Spirit of the Living God, Holy Presence, Creator, and Gracious and Loving One. Generally, male pronouns in biblical texts, both for people and for God, are replaced with non-gendered language.