Invocation for Advent Festival of Choirs
A few years ago I was invited to deliver a prayer of invocation to begin a local festival of choirs on the first Saturday of Advent. This annual festival is now a little over ten years old and includes ~7 choirs (sacred and secular) from around our area. It is well attended and brings in a wide cross section of our community members.
Writing a prayer of invocation for such an occasion is not as simple as it might seem as there is much to do in a short time! Below is a sample prayer which acknowledges the nature of the gathering, gives thanks to God and for the festival participants and organizers, and anticipates the birth of Jesus Christ. It could easily be adapted for a variety of events and seasons and I hope it gets your creativity flowing. Happy praying…
On this night, let us breathe God in deeply as we pause for a moment together in a spirit of prayer.
[LONG PAUSE]
God who is worthy of our singing praise…
…we come humbly, simply, and gratefully…
…to the listening silence of this place…
…seeking the presence of your Holy Spirit…
…and your blessing for what is about to take place.
We ask that your gift of music…
…visit us in powerful, mysterious and wonderful…
…ways this evening.
We ask that you accept the long hours and preparation…
…of the musicians here tonight as gifts of praise to you.
We ask that you receive also the labor…
…of those who have planned and coordinated…
…and made all of tonight possible…
…as signs of faithfulness and love.
And we ask that you receive all of this…multiply it…
…expand upon it…inhabit it…and fill it with new life…
…that through it your good news might be heard.
Bless then this Festival of Choirs…we pray…
…lifting us all of us up on lyric waves…
…that sound to us like the heavenly banquet…
…that sound to us like hope, peace, joy and love…
…that sound to us like that baby…
…crying in a Bethlehem manger…
…who is our source and our Emmanuel.
In the name of that one we long for…
…and that one we expect…Jesus the Christ…Amen.
© Rev. Kevin Goldenbogen, 2016
