GATHERING
ENTRANCE
REFLECTION
When the song of the angels is stilled
When the star in the sky is gone
When the kings and princes are home
When the shepherds are back with their flocks
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost
To heal the broken
To feed the hungry
To release the prisoner
To rebuild the nations
To bring peace among the people
To make music in the heart.
– Howard Thurman
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: The New Dawn will arise upon you.
People: You shall see and be radiant.
Leader: The New Dawn will arise upon you.
People: The Holy One will bless the people with peace.
Leader: The New Dawn will arise upon you.
People: The joy of the Lord is my strength.
Leader: The New Dawn will arise upon you.
All: God is here among us.
Let us rejoice and be glad in God’s presence.
INVOCATION
HYMN
WORD FOR THE CHILDREN
SILENCE
RESPONSIVE READING
Leader: Rise up in splendor, the light has come! Alleluia
Voice 1: One star burns in the sky more brightly than all the others.
Voice 2: The sun and moon and stars form a joyful chorus around the one star.
Leader: God, in your light we see a new dawn. Our voices join the chorus.
All: Christ, our light is born. Alleluia!
SILENCE
PRAYERS
CONFESSION
Leader: O Holy One, the year begins with war around the world.
Bombs fall day and night,
Hour after hour, by death abroad appeasing wrath,
folly and greed at home.
Voice 1: Our hate comes down to kill those whom we do not see,
For we have given up our sight to those in power
And to machines, and now are blind to all the world.
Voice 2: This is a world where no lovely thing can last.
We trample, gouge and blast;
The people leave the land; the land flows to the sea.
Leader: Fine men and women die,
The fine old houses fall, the fine old trees come down:
People: Highway and shopping mall
still guarantee the right and liberty
to be a peaceful murderer,
a murderous worshipper,
a slender glutton, or a healthy whore.
All: O Holy One, forgiving no enemy,
forgiven by none, we live the death of liberty,
becoming what we have feared to be.
INDIVIDUAL PRAYERS OF CONFESSION
ASSURANCE
Leader: O God, you cleanse us from our hidden faults,
And through the love of Christ
and light of the Holy Spirit
you offer us salvation each new day.
All: Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE COMMUNITY
JESUS PRAYER
All: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours
now and forever. Amen.
HYMN
THE WORD
SCRIPTURE
SERMON
SILENT REFLECTION
OFFERING
The first Sunday of each month we switch to a Communion Liturgy.
SHARED REFLECTIONS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
HYMN
BENEDICTION
Leader: Go slowly
Consent to it, but don’t wallow in it
Know it as a place of germination and growth
Remember the light
Take an outstretched hand if you find one
Exercise unused senses
Find the path by walking it
Practice trust
Watch for dawn
All: Amen.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
Confession: From 1999:I by Wendell Berry, A Timbered Choir, pp 125-126.
Jesus’ Prayer: United Methodist Hymnal, #894: Ecumenical Text
Benediction: What to Do in the Darkness by Marilyn Chandler McEntyre, in Weavings
Feel free to copy from these liturgies. We only ask that when substantial portions are abstracted or used in a written work, Seekers Church be credited, and that the URL be cited.
