Call
to Worship
[males] For
better or worse, the time is nearly past for preparation. Christmas morning is only hours away.
[females]
But we have made this last appointment,
setting aside our concern for all on our social calendar and shopping list that
we did not accomplish, choosing instead to gather for worship on the eve of the
celebration of Christ’s birth.
[males]
Let us accept the prelude’s musical
invitation to slowly and deeply inhale God’s promised peace, and to firmly and
completely exhale the stress that holiday busyness has accumulated in our
bodies, minds, and spirits.
[females]
Let us relive the Advent journey of
candle lighting; refreshing ourselves with holy anticipation, sacred
preparation, and birthing joy.
[all]
Let
us open ourselves to the arrival of the manger-born messiah!
Prayer
of Confession:
We
confess, O God, that Christmas, as we’ve planned and worked it so far, has worn
us out. The glitz, the gatherings, the buying, and the fixing have ground us
down. Forgive the degree to which we have allowed ourselves to get sucked into
commercialism; forgive the ways that the genuine spirit of Christmas have been
sucked out of us.
By
the resurrecting power of your Holy Spirit, renew our hope in your promise;
give us eyes, ears, and hearts to ponder the gift of Emmanuel—God with
us—beginning tonight, and every day of our lives. Give us the wisdom,
compassion, and focus to recognize your coming in each face along the journey;
through the grace of the Bethlehem babe who became Messiah. Amen.
©
2014 Todd Jenkins
Thank you for this gift. I hope to use it with attribution. :)
ReplyDelete:-) Knowing that it is being used elsewhere is a joy.
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