Writing but not as you know it

In our bible study in Zac's Place we've been reading about how Jesus treated the outcasts in society, and last week we began the process of writing a collective psalm or poem/song.

I asked questions and people shouted out answers that I gathered together on a flipchart. I took it home with me and arranged the ideas and words into a semblance of order, trying not to add too many of my own words, and not to leave out any ideas. The only editing/censoring I did was to change fuck to screw to make it unobjectionable to anyone who might look for a reason to disregard the truth and honesty of the words.

Here are the pages

 and here is the sheet describing how people have felt when treated as an outsider.

And here is the finished psalm:

A song for the outcasts, the lost and the lonely
Walk with me, talk with me.
In my life I have experienced everything you feel. 
I know what it’s like
To be judged and found unworthy.
To be insulted and reviled because we’re different.
To be looked down upon and rejected.
To be isolated and invisible.
Vulnerable and violated.
To be blamed and shamed.
A little, ugly, unloved, failure,
Abandoned and forgotten.
Humiliated and frightened.
Rejected and ignored.
Misunderstood.
Hurt.

Screw you society!
Who are you to judge?
Look first at yourself. 
For you and me, we are all the same: one in Christ.
One day you will be the outcast, you will be hurt
Because hate leads to blindness.
Have you never made a mistake?
God is good; he listens.
(But he doesn’t answer, does he?)
If you haven’t walked a day in my flip flops
Don’t slander me.
I will not be talked about like some dirty renegade.
I will not believe your lies.

You have heard this before, I know, but believe you are loved.
You are of worth, special and accepted.
Don’t be afraid, you are not alone;
I see you; I am with you.
Don’t let your anger separate you from my love.
Trust.
I have a plan for your life.
A plan without condemnation.
A plan to give you hope.

You are lost but you are found.
Come sit, eat with me. 
I will walk in your flip flops.

Thank you for those who have given.
Thank you for those you have given.
Thank you for the shining light of hope in my darkness.
With you I am strong.
You are my safe place.