GATHERING

ENTRANCE

REFLECTION

Where refugees seek deliverance that never comes,

And the heart consumes itself, as if it would live,

Where little children age before their time,

And life wears down the edges of the mind,

Where the old man sits with mind grown cold,

While bones and sinew, blood and cell, go slowly down to death,

And Perfect Love seems long delayed,

CHRISTMAS IS WAITING TO BE BORN:

In you, in me, in all mankind.

CANDLE LIGHTING

CALL TO WORSHIP

Leader:                       Holy, eternal source of light and life and love,

                                    you call us to be your people,

                                    to come into your holy presence.

People:                       And so we come.

Leader:                       God of deliverance,

                                    you call us to learn your ways

                                    and carry your good news

                                    into a future we do not understand.

People:                       And so we come together.

Leader:                       We gather as one small part of your family of faith,

                                    waiting for Christmas to be born

                                    in us and in all creation.

All:                               O Holy One, help us to glimpse your perfect love,

                                    even as we wait.

 OPENING PRAYER

HYMN

WORD FOR THE CHILDREN

SILENCE

PRAYERS

CONFESSION

Leader:                       Holy One, the relentlessness of life wears us out.

Voice 1:                       Our senses become dull,

                                    overwhelmed by the cries of your children

                                    living in shelters or on the street.

Voice 2:                       Our hearts and minds shut down,

                                    unable to bear the pain of refugees,

                                    longing for deliverance that never comes.

Leader:                        We long for your perfect love

                                    and fear that you will never come.

All:                               Forgive us when we forget

                                    that you are waiting to be born in us.

INDIVIDUAL PRAYERS OF CONFESSION

ASSURANCE

Leader:                        The Holy One forgives us with perfect love,

                                    even when we resist love’s birth in us.

THANKSGIVING AND PRAISE

INTERCESSION AND PETITION

COMMITMENT

All:                               O Holy One, we come today
to claim our relationship with you.

 

                                    We pray for the commitment to grow together,
sharing the gifts you give us with others
here and in the wider world.

 

                                    Forgive us for the hurt we have inflicted,
and help us forgive those who have hurt us.

 

                                    Give us strength and discipline
to nurture our relationship with you;
to care for every part of your creation;
to foster justice and be in solidarity with those in need;
to work to end all war, and violence, and discord;
and to respond joyfully when you call,
freely giving our selves as you have shown the way.

                                    We open our hearts to you and your creation

                                    in the name of Jesus, who is the Christ.  Amen.

HYMN

THE WORD

SCRIPTURE

SERMON

SILENT REFLECTION

OFFERING

 COMMUNION

PREPARATION

                 Leader 1: This is the table of the Heavenly Feast,

                                  the joyful celebration of the people of God.

                 Leader 2: We gather now as one body, joined around the table.

                 All:             Nourished and hungry, loved and loving,

                                  believing, rejoicing, being,

                                  as God lights and rests among us.

 

GREAT THANKSGIVING

Leader 1:                     Perfect Loving God,

                                    we give you thanks for the many places

                                    where we see your love

                                    even in our broken world.

 People:                       We give you thanks for Jesus

                                    who brought healing and hope

                                    where there was only pain and suffering.

 Leader 2:                   We give you thanks for your Holy Spirit,

                                    who challenges and sustains us

                                    as we seek to offer healing and hope

                                    in our time and in this place.

All:                               We give you thanks for you Holy Church

that holds us close as we wait once more

for Christmas to be born.

BLESSING THE ELEMENTS

Leader 1: Christ invites everyone to eat the bread of life,

                to drink the cup of the new covenant.

Leader 2: Jesus said, I am the bread of life.

                You who come to me shall never hunger,

                You who believe in me shall never thirst.

Leader 1: On the night of his arrest, Jesus took bread,

                 and after giving thanks to God, broke it and said,

                This is my body,

                broken for the healing of the world.

                Whenever you eat it, do so remembering me.

Leader 2: After supper, Jesus took the cup and said,

                This is the cup of the new covenant,

                poured out for you and for all.

                 Whenever you drink it, do so remembering me.

All:            O Holy One, send down your Spirit

                that these gifts of bread and cup

                 may be for us the body and blood of Christ.

                 Unite us with Christ forever

                 and bring us with the whole creation

                 to your eternal realm.

SHARE THE ELEMENTS

         If you do not wish to receive the elements today you are welcome to join the circle and allow them to pass, or remain in your seat. We serve grape juice in our cups.

         The wafers are gluten-free.

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING AND DEDICATION

All:            God of abundance and mercy,

                 we give joyful thanks

                 for your eternal love and healing presence

                 in our celebration of bread and cup.

                 Bless this body of Christ

                 that we may attend faithfully

                to our call to be your servants,

                with each other and throughout the world.

All:            Amen.

 

SHARED REFLECTIONS

ANNOUNCEMENTS

HYMN

BENEDICTION

 Leader:                       Knowing that Perfect Love casts out all fear,

                                    and now, pregnant with the hope

                                    that Christmas continues to wait to be born

                                    in all of us,

                                    let us greet one another with signs of peace.

All:                               Amen.