Advent Candle Suggestion: In our Church we do Candles as our Children’s Time, We have our small collection of children light the candles youngest to eldest (whoever is there), those who haven’t gone go first. It is impromptu, not planned. It saves on having to schedule and ensures that the candles are lit and we spend children’s time explaining the meaning of the candle and how it relates the story of the week. If you don’t have children, I bet you could do this with your deacons as well.
Week 1: Hope/Prophesy
God you whisper to us, when we dare not hope suggesting to us the impossible
Mortal do you think these bones can live?
God it is in your multitude of knowledge, that we say the answer back to you, you know
Speak hope to the bones
We will speak hope together
Come let us speak the hope of the Holy Spirit today, and Live!
Lighting Hymns: Live Into Hope, Taize: Bless the Lord my Soul, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (v. 1)
Week 2: Peace/Purpose
God promises that all those who thirsts will drink, all those who hunger will be fed
Come, the banquet is set, all are invited
Truly peace shall reign, for everyone shall have enough
Come, and listen, so that you may live. I will make you an everlasting covenant
Who wants to taste and See the Lord?
Come, let us practice this peace today and everyday
Your joy shines through troubles, more than just happiness, God’s Word is life sustaining Joy!
All things come to being through God, and without God not one thing came into being.
Each of us have a spark of that joy within us!
Come let us renew our joy with God!
Hymns: O Come O Come Emmanuel v. 2, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence v. 2 & 3, Joy to the World Taize: The Kingdom of God, O Come All Ye Faithful
Week 4: Love/Good News
Hymns: The First Nowell, What Child is This
God we are thankful you unleashed your love into the world
Good News has come
There is nothing like the love of God
Filling the world with good news
Reminding us that hope, joy and peace are possible, fulfilling the promises of the covenant
Come let us whisper that God is coming soon!
Hymn Suggestions: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence v. 1 & 4, Come Thou Long Expected Jesus v 3 & 4, O Love that Wilt Not Let Me Go, Of the Father’s Love Begotten, Taize: Magnificat
Christmas
All is well, Christ is here
Hear the Good News of Great Joy.
Christ has come, the baby is here!
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Guardian, the Heir of Peace!
Come let us worship the Lord
Glory to God, One Earth Peace, and Goodwill towards humankind!
Prayer of Confession: God we confess that sometimes your instructions confuse us. You tell us both to live our lives and to look towards heaven. You know we are only human, so it is difficult for us to do both at the same time. Forgive us when we get distracted or confuse. Remind us that practicing hope, and peace here on earth is worth it. And help us when we go astray, we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: God’s love is from everlasting to everlasting, know the truth in your heart: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.
Prayer of the Day/Dedication: God it is a good thing you are the Prince of peace, and that you leave pieces of it for us to follow, because we definitely need help on that. Guide us to your peace today and everyday we pray. Amen.
Hymns: Take My Life, My Hope is Built on Nothing Less, O For a Closer Walk with God, Abide with Me, Lord Make Us Servants of Your Peace
Children: God promises peace. Ask the children to imagine what peace is like–help them to imagine peace as creativity not just silence or stillness. Discuss how we might practice peace now.
If you find these resources useful please consider contributing to my Doctorate in Ministry in Creative Writing!
Today I think that the most prescient thing God ever did was to hang their rainbow in the sky.
God knew what God was doing when they hung up the bow after the storms
Knowing that we needed the reminder that every storm runs out of rain–as Maya Angelou put it.
Knowing that it would be claimed and expanded by all of God’s queer children, proclaiming that love is love is love is love and that God created a multiplicities of genders and sexualities–just like God created a rainbow with thousands upon thousands of hues and in-betweens.
We need rainbows, because God knew
Before sociological studies and microscopic and macroscopic science; before we did our Genesis job of naming all of the people, places and things of the world, you knew that very naming would make us create divisions.
Before we made elaborate charts to discover and explicate the mystery of the Trinity, God, you knew
You knew how much we need rainbows
You knew racism would be a stumbling block of sin,
that normalcy is a illusion of bigotry
that being neurotypical or not is a spectrum….which is another word for rainbow
and that gray can beautiful color, and sometimes we sit in the gray–
God I always imagine that the Trinity is gray, in between and a part of the rainbow world you created.
And God, you knew that you, the Almighty and Many Breasted God needed to symbolically and in all practicalities disarm Godself.
Promising never to send natural disasters as punishment.
Never.
And putting the most powerful weapon of the time, the equivalent of a gun, up. Forever.
Because if God can disarm Godself, then it is clear what we should do.
In the midst of horrific gun violence in the US, the state imbued violence in the United States and Colombia, and in the midst of border wars in Armenia-Azerbaijan, climate asylum and violence in Syria, and the oppression and apartheid conditions in Gaza.
God you know we need to figure out how to live in concert and beauty in rainbows–and how to first and foremost disarm ourselves as you did thousands of years ago.
Thousands of years ago.
God, thank you for your prescience.
And for all the rainbows
And for giving us the time.
And the promises within the rainbow, that it won’t always be like this.
Come, Let us learn the ways of God, and walk the paths of Jesus
In the days to come, God’s house will sit on a mountain and all nations shall stream to it. And God will arbitrate peace for us.
Come let us worship the Prince of Peace
Call to Worship
We are one in the Spirit
Not because we are all the same, but because God creates enough multitudes to include all identities
God calls every single person to God’s sanctuary
Come, let us practice peace with the Lord
Prayer of Confession: God, I confess that I do not always know what it means to be a Christian. Sometimes I wonder if I have enough faith, or have done enough to be Christian. You remind us that we are all unique and beloved in your eyes. That you see who we truly are, warts and all, and welcome us home. You know our essence, and call us each beloved child of God. Remind us as many times as we need to know we pray. Amen. (unison)(Silent Confession) Amen
Prayer of Confession: God, somedays I am tired of trying to figure myself out. Am I male or female? Am I Christian or not? Am I cis or straight of queer or trans? How can I know who I really am? And I confess that if I’m white, I’m able to forget it and if I’m not I have to remember it every single day. Sometimes, it does not feel safe to fully occupy my identity. And then I remember how Paul, in his clumsy way, tells us that in Christ there isn’t male or female, Greek or Jew, because God is not binary, God contains multitudes of belovedness. Help me to rest in God’s rainbow of love I pray.
Assurance of Pardon: God’s love is from everlasting to everlasting. Hear the good news: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: God promises to be our God, and that we will be God’s people, and this is God’s Covenant of Love. We know the truth and can proclaim it to one another: in Jesus Christ we are Forgiven. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication: God, may we feel the deep peace. The peace that comes in the stillness of silence, and the peace that comes from the chatter among friends. Let us hear the peace of the rain and the peace found in sunshine. Grant us the gift to experience this peace we pray. Amen.
Feel free to use/adapt with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta
@Black Liturgies [Image of Daunte Write in a Red Baseball Cap with the words: “They dress the wounds of my people, as though it were no serious. saying ‘Peace, peace.’ when there is no peace. Jeremiah 6. Watermarked from @BlackLiturgies]
God, I am so mad.
I’m heartbroken by so many things, but I’m mad about the state sanctioned murder of yet another black and brown person.
“Thou shalt not kill” you say. But they say “He had a gun, he looked older, she was suspicious.”
And the streets run with blood, too often the blood of children.
I’m so angry that white terrorists shoot up towns and schools and workplaces and grocery stores and are arrested alive again, and again.
But Black skin is seen as more dangerous than a gun.
I’m so scared of those people who thinking they are keeping us safe: white men and women, cops, and especially white cops.
Lady Jane Illustration [Digital Illustration of a person with flowing green hair, a dark grey jacket, gold hoop earrings and nose ring, trans flag pin, and green shirt. They are clutching their face with their hands. Behind them are pink flowers blooming. The text reads, ‘policing doesn’t keep us safe’]
It makes me think of my friends in college–all 4 of whom were beaten by their father, it makes me think the 3 sisters all who were raped by him throughout their lives, and how they all kept it a secret from each other because of the shame of it. They were hurt by their own father, a cop.
God why is it that we cannot take weapons from abusive individuals? Why is their right to remain armed deemed more important?
Why does their need for violent safety trump my need for peaceful safety?
Why do the police always win?
God I’m angry, and I’m going to stay angry. Because the lack of justice burns my soul. It makes me hunger for a different land, a different way, a different power structure.
God I must confess over and over again Racism is killing us, all of us.
And it’s tricky and can make White People feel safe, when we too are dying. We commit suicide and deal with depression and toxicity all because we are blind and refuse to be healed.
Curse You White Fragility, Male Fragility and American so called Patriotism.
Our communities, economies and peace is dying each and every time one of our Black Siblings die.
Black Lives Matter.
Our families, our relationships, our very understanding of time iteslf suffers whenever a Brown sibling is abused and killed.
Stop Asian Hate, No Human Being is Illegal, Bad Theology Kills.
How can we stop the killing?
Is this how it felt, Lord when your children suffered slavery in Egypt?
Did Jesus weep in Jerusalem because he saw the Jews and the Gentiles and the Samaritans and the Essenes killing each other to win the prize of peace, never understanding that peace can’t be forced or taken or violently enforced.
Is this why you disarmed Your very own Godself? Hanging your Bow in the sky? And did you foresee the rainbow as a sign of acceptance, celebration, inclusion and peace for our queer siblings even as our Trans siblings of color die violently every week in the United States?
Are you angry God? You must be, because I am so angry.
God these are your children, and I am going to stay angry, until things change.
I’ll be here.
Praying
and Working, Protesting, Voting, Calling Representatives, Giving out Food and Water, and Living Out the Anti-Racist Journey and Work.
And I Know I’ll Still
Even After All That
Be Angry.
And it comforts me to know, that you, God, are angry too.
Thank you for this anger Lord.
Amen.
Please feel free to use/share/adapt the prayer with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta. Please credit Lady Jane Illustrations and Black Liturgies for the the apropos and inspirational images.
Lord, help us during this time of anxiety and illness and woe to pursue peace.
Peace is not the quiet, stilled silence of two different sides, but the active and creative power that you put into being when you created the world.
God, you know it’s funny that you’ve made us to be counting beings.
When I am anxious at night, I count sheep, sometimes I count steps or play counting games to distract myself.
We’ve even been counting off scripture at worship: reading “together” at home when I hold up my fingers 1-10.
And sometimes we advise each other to count our blessings when things look their bleakest.
When Abraham was worried about his legacy, God advised him to count the grains of sand, or to count the stars.
When my son, who has autism, is anxious he counts off the schedule on your fingers.
One finger: go to the store, second finger: go to the bank, third finger: go to the blue house (home) and play iPad.
All will be well as long as he ends up home playing iPad.
God, I am aware that we are counting first: vote, second: wait (and wait and wait) for the results, third: accept the results and peacefully pass power, fourth: so we can all end up safe at home.
Funny how we are counting, each and every vote to pursue peace. Funny, and not so funny, because it fits so well.
Help us to count, God.
Help us count every single vote. Help us count as an act of peace.
Help us to count each and every vote. Help us to count each and every person as a child of God. Help us to count the steps of peace.
One
Two
Three
One Lord and Savior, Two Natures, Three Persons
One breath out, Two short breaths out, On Three we sigh together
(Just to be clear) One breath out, Two short breaths out, On Three we sigh together
If you would like a word copy of this document (which is probably easier to format) just email katyandtheword at gmail with the subject line advent and I will be happy to send you a copy
We remember how faithful God was to Abraham and Sarah,
Moses and Miriam, and Hannah and Eli
Come let us know God, through God’s promises
We live into your promises, Loving God
Light the Promise Candle
God, we are thankful that every year
You fulfill your promise and become particularly present
every Sunday, every prayer, every gathering in your name,
You are there. You show your love in baptism and communion,
and you reveal your presence through advent and Christmas.
Help us to live into your promises,
every time we wait for Jesus,
we pray. Amen.
Optional Hymns: Great is Thy Faithfulness, Be Thou My Vision, God of the Sparrow, God of the Ages, Whose Almighty Hand, Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
Nov 29, 2020 Thanksgiving Candle:
Lord we give thanks for your protection and gifts
Glory to be to God, who has filled the world with enough for everyone
When we are in trouble, we have God to pray to
God help us to trust in God
Let us proclaim the good news, God is abundant and gracious
We live into thanksgiving, Loving God
Light the Promise Candle
God,
As we look at all the bounties of the earth,
teach us how to give the sacrifice of praise.
For you have created us this way
so that the more we give thanks
the better human beings we are.
Help us to live into Thanksgiving,
every time we wait for Jesus,
we pray. Amen.
Optional Hymns: For the Fruit of All Creation, Let All Things Now Living, We Gather Together, Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow
Dec 6, 2020 Hope Candle: (based on Joel 2)
Lord, even now you are calling to us
You promise the trumpet will sound, all wrongs will be right!
We will call the assembly in hope, one way or another we will connect and gather together
We are the congregation: the aged, the children, the infants. We are the people of God
God says, fear not, for I will fill you with my spirit. Live into Hope.
We live into hope, loving God.
Light the Hope Candle
Prayer: Lord,
in the midst of suffering
and death, remind us
that love is worth
the cost of hope.
Teach us to
enact the world
we hope for we pray.
Help us to live into Hope
every time we wait for Jesus,
we pray. Amen.
Optional Hymns: Sing O Come, O Come, Emmanuel v. 1, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence v. 1, Live Into Hope,
Peace Candle: Peace: (based on Isaiah 61:1-4)
Lord, here is the hope! You have sent us to proclaim the good news to the oppressed,
We are all called to to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives
Let us proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
You comfort all who mourn, and give us the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
You promise to repair the ruins! Live into peace.
We live into Peace, Loving God!
Light the Peace Candle
Prayer: Jesus
as we see fighting
and lies and hatred.
Show us peace,
not as a passive thing
but as the power to
acknowledge each and
every creature’s mutual worth
Help us to live into Peace
every time we wait for Jesus,
we pray. Amen
Optional Hymns: Sing O Come, O Come, Emmanuel v. 3, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence v. 3 Comfort, Comfort You My People or A Place at the Table, Blest Be the Tie That Binds
Dec 13, 2020 Joy Candle: (based on Luke 1:46-56 which is opt for next week)
Lord God this is the time to magnify the Lord
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant
We are called to see how God has brought down the powerful from their thrones
We need to look and acknowledge and proclaim with joy that it is God who lifts up the lowly
God’s promises are forever! This is the day that the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it! We live into Joy, Loving God.
Prayer: Holy Spirit,
as we feel the stirrings of Joy
that Jesus Christ is a part of our lives.
Remind us that Jesus
came to help all people
from generation to generation.
Help us to share the Joy it is
to fill every sing person who hungers
with good things.
Help us to live into Joy
every time we wait for Jesus,
we pray. Amen.
Optional Hymns: O Come, O Come Emmanuel v. 2, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence v. 2, Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain
Dec 20, 2020 Love Candle:
God, we sing glory to God in the highest, for you embody love
You take on human flesh, out of love for us
Truly, who embodies love like Jesus?
He has come to teach and to pray, to heal and to disciple, to live and to breathe with us.
Born in a manger, full of hope, peace and joy, that is our Savior, Jesus Christ.
We Live into Love, Loving God
God of Bounty,
We know that you are synonymous with love
To speak of God is to speak of love,
and to speak of love is to speak of God.
Teach us what love really is:
Embodying hope and peace and joy all at once.
Help us to live into Love
every time we wait for Jesus,
we pray Amen.
Optional Hymns: O Come, O Come Emmanuel v. 1 Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent v. 3 and/or 4, They will Know we are Christians by Our Love
Dec 24/25, 2020 Christ Candle:
Let our Soul magnify the Lord
We rejoice in God our savior
God is with us, from generation to generation
Look at what the Mighty One has done for us
God fills the hungry with good things, brings up the lowly, and brings done the powerful
We live into the discipleship of Jesus Christ, Loving God
Light the Christ Candle
Prayer:
Lord God, we know that Jesus is born
Born of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love,
Christ is coming,
Touch us with your presence we pray.
Help us to live into discipleship
and to see Jesus,
we pray Amen.
Optional Hymns: What Child is This?, The First Nowell, Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
Call to Worship:
Happy are those who take refuge in God
Serve the Lord with fear and trembling and kiss his feet
The nations conspire in vain, for our Lord is God, and God will break ancient schemes
Come let us worship the Lord our God.
Hear the Good News; The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed.
The smallest of seeds, but it has grown into the greatest of shrubs.
See all the air come and make nests in its branches
Come, let us come home and nest with God.
Call to Worship:
I shall never be afraid
God is my rock, God is my salvation
Whom shall I fear?
No One
Why should I run, no one can harm me, I shall overcome: come let us proclaim the truth
God is my rock.
Invitation to Confess: Like a loving parent, God awaits us with open arms to hear our troubles and soothe our sorrows. Come let us confess to the Lord
Prayer of Confession: Lord, sometimes I feel like I have nowhere to run to. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed, and that I have no one to turn to. Sometimes I just want to run away. So I ignore things, or I snap at life, or I feel hopelessness overwhelm me. Remind me that you are always present, that I can turn to you with anything. Strengthen me with your love I pray. Amen.
Prayer of Confession: I confess that I don’t feel like a child of God today. I see all of my cracks and mistakes, and have trouble focusing on the good. How can I go home broken? But then you remind me, if I’m broken, how can I not go home? Help me to come to you so I might bathe in your good food, soft beds and loving hospitality and be restored, I pray.
Assurance of Pardon. God’s love is from everlasting to everlasting. God does not hold grudges, but instead loves us when time are good and when times are bad. Reassure one another with the truth: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.
Assurance of Pardon: When the walls are tumbling down, God remains our rock and salvation, and so we can hang onto the truth: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.
Eucharist Prayer: God, bless this food with thanksgiving and hope. Remind us that the one who sent his only son to teach us and bless us and feed us, will not turn us away from the table. When asked how it is we are to care for one another, Jesus answered feed me sheep, feed my sheep, feed my sheep. Let this be the celebration meal to fill our hearts and soothe our souls. Send your Holy Spirit down on these elements so that we might take on the new day with energy, intelligence, imagination and hope, we pray in your loving son Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.
Hymns:
Here I am Lord
Somebody’s Knocking At Your Door
Spirit
Battle Hymn of the Republic
Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart
God Folded the Mountains Out of Rock
Rock of the Ages
With Children: Runaway Bunny, Play Hide and Seek and talk about how God finds you, Play Eye Spy: Talk about how God keeps track of you and how you keep an eye out for God, Plant seeds (especially mustard seeds), Make a Gratitude paper chain of all the things you are grateful for (can continue for many weeks), Wise Man builds his house on the rock Song, Build a tower and discuss the importance of salvation/God as your rock. Pairs well with Prodigal Son, Father Abraham had man sons Song
katyandtheword 