GATHERING
ENTRANCE
REFLECTION
Blessed are you
who bear the light
in unbearable times,
who testify
to its endurance
amid the unendurable,
who bear witness
to its persistence
when everything seems
in shadow
and grief.
Blessed are you
in whom
the light lives,
in whom
the brightness blazes—
your heart
a chapel,
an altar where
in the deepest night
can be seen
the fire that
shines forth in you
in unaccountable faith
in stubborn hope
in love that illumines
every broken thing
it finds.
Jan Richardson,
“Blessed Are You Who Bear the Light”
in Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons, p 47.
LIGHTING THE ALTAR CANDLE
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Blessed are you, Holy One,
as you call us to bear your light.
People: The night is long.
We grope in the shadows,
reaching out for the warmth of your love.
Leader: Blessed are you, Holy One,
as you call us to testify to your goodness.
People: The days are hard.
We come to you for ease and rest,
for refuge in the chapel of your heart.
Leader: Blessed are you, Holy One,
as you call us to carry your light and your love
into a world that is filled with grief and sorrow.
All: We are here,
ready to become what we already are,
the Holy Risen Body of Christ,
pouring ourselves out for the healing of the world.
OPENING PRAYER
HYMN
SILENCE
PRAYERS
CONFESSION
Leader: Blessed Bringer of Light and Love,
your steadfast love endures forever!
People: You invite us to follow the star like the Magi,
and encounter your love made visible,
but we see only darkness and shadows and turn away.
Leader: Blessed Bringer of Light and Love,
your light shines and is not overtaken
by the darkness.
People: Like the people in Galilee,
we are blinded by our limited expectations
and do not see your persistent light shining
in spite of the darkness.
Leader: Blessed Bringer of Light and Love,
you have placed your light in our hearts,
so that with you,
our hearts can blaze forth your love and light,
healing every broken thing.
People: How can this be?
Our light is faded,
our faith shaken,
and our love timid.
INDIVIDUAL PRAYERS OF CONFESSION
ASSURANCE
Leader: The Bringer of Light and Love says,
“Arise, shine for your light has come and is risen upon you!”
All: Then we shall see and be radiant,
Amen!
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.
Here we celebrate God’s presence among us,
united in Christ’s spirit, broken and whole all at once.
All: Nourished and hungry, loved and loving,
sinner and forgiven, we make one circle
of knowing, believing, rejoicing, being,
as God lights and rests among us.
GREAT THANKSGIVING
Leader 1: Holy One, we are grateful,
as you ground us in your love
and surround us with your light.
People: Holy One, we are grateful,,
for Jesus, in whom the light lived
and the brightness blazed
to show us what it truly means
to be human.
Leader 2: Holy One, we are grateful,
for your Holy Spirit filling us
with the love that illumines,
offering hope and strength.
All: Holy One, we are grateful,
for your church, the community
where the faithful gather
to bear witness to your love and light.
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 he gave himself up, 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 grain and grape,
and work of human hands
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
Leader 1: The body of Christ, broken for all of us.
Feed on Christ in your hearts with thanksgiving.
Leader 2: The cup of the new covenant, poured out for the healing of the world.
Drink deeply of it.
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. Amen.
SHARED REFLECTIONS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
HYMN
BENEDICTION
Leader: Let us tend to the worries of the day we are in,
let us love what is ours to love,
heal what is possible to heal,
change what is possible to change in this day.
And when we look back
may we see the one who was always with us,
who is always with us
and who will be always with us.
Making a way, loving us into each moment.
All: Amen.
Benediction Source: Nadia Bolz-Weber,
https://thecorners.substack.com/p/avoiding-despair-like-i-owe-it-money
