All Are Welcome

Let us build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live

A hymn of radical welcome celebrating the church as a place where all are received — the stranger, the outcast, the poor — as the body of Christ. The five stanzas present different groups welcomed into the house of God.

History & Background

Written by Marty Haugen (b.1950) in 1994. One of the most widely sung contemporary Catholic hymns of hospitality and inclusion, adopted broadly across denominations.

Hymnal Appearances

Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 641
Gather 3rd Edition — 753
Gather 4th Edition — 915

Bulletin Note

All Are Welcome — Marty Haugen, 1994

Preaching Connection

The hospitality of God's house — Luke 14:21-23 and the great banquet.

Stanza Arc

The narrative or theological arc traced by this tune's stanzas: Christological love demonstrated through Christ's passion week: seeking steadfast love, learning servanthood through foot-washing, redemption through crucifixion, and transformation into Christ's likeness

Themes

Hospitality Welcome Inclusion Community