By Liturgical Element
Light the Candle!!!
Below is an Advent wreath liturgy written for a Christmas Eve family/early service using Isaiah 9:2-7. It gives children and adults alike a chance to shout in church and celebrate the birth of the Christ-child. Fun, simple and meaningful. One: The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. RESPONSE: [SHOUT] Light the candle!! One: [LIGHT PURPLE CANDLE #1] A light has shined on those living in deep darkness. RESPONSE: Light the candle!! One: [LIGHT PURPLE CANDLE #2] You have made the nation great; you have increased its joy....
read moreOur Joy: Prayers for Advent 3
Prayers for the 3rd Sunday of Advent (Magnificat — Luke 1:46-55) Prayer of Invocation – God of song and silence, speak to us today. God of joy and justice, help us to see how you weave them together, in wombs and rooms, in letters written, and privileges waived. God of surprising power and fierce tenderness, visit us. Fill us with your spirit, and give us voices to sing your praise. Prayer of Confession – Holy One, sometimes, we admit, we are the ones who need to be brought low, taken down a peg, reminded that the world...
read moreNativity: Look Again
Most of us have 1 or 5 or 10 of them. You know crèches…nativity sets…little wooden houses with painted shepherds, magi, doting parents, and the baby Jesus in a manger. They are an ancient and effective tool that the church uses to tell the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. We also see them so often during Advent and Christmas that well…maybe…we don’t see really see them at all. Here are some ways you might use nativity sets in the worshiping life of your church to reclaim them as a tool for telling the...
read moreAlphabet of Ideas
In the wake of the 2016 US presidential election, Rev. Martha Peck wrote a newsletter article for her church and an accompanying “Alphabet of Ideas for Anxious Times.” This list could be used: by a mission committee, seeking to expand its reach by a prayer group as a prompt for intercessory prayer. as an art activity—inviting people to illustrate the actions with stick figures or other drawings by individuals/families during the season of Advent The presidential election of 2016 revealed a deep divide between Americans,...
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