Call to Worship
Joy
comes to the world this night!
In our God who sets aside glory
to become as hopeful and helpless as we
are.
Hope
comes to the world this night!
In Jesus who embraces the poor as family,
who brings justice for those who are
oppressed.
Peace
comes to the world this night!
In the Spirit who would reconcile the
divided,
who build bridges and tear down walls.
Evening Prayer
Here,
the faithful come
that
we may adore you,
God-who-is
with us.
Here, the lonely come
to find you and your family,
God-who-gathers us to your heart.
Here,
little children look
with
wide-eyed wonder,
God-who-comes
in wonder.
Here, older folks listen
for comforting words,
God-who-is-our-story.
Here,
we join with
those
who watch,
God-who-works-night-shifts.
Here, we join the animals
gazing at new life,
God-who-renews-creation.
Here,
we welcome all
who have
travel in this season,
God-who-shares-our-journey.
Here, we sing our carols
of joy and grace,
God-who-is-our-songwriter.
Here,
we gather on this holy night,
to
adore you, God in Community, Holy in One,
even
as we pray as we are taught:
(The Lord’s Prayer)
Call
to Reconciliation
Be
near us this night, God of compassion and hope.
Be near us, as we bring our foolish lives, our damaging words, our poor
choices to your heart. Be near us, and
touch us with that mercy which gives us new life, even as we rejoice in the
life which was in the Child whose birth we celebrate in these silent moments.
Unison Prayer for Forgiveness
We sing of the one who away in a manger, God
of holy nights, but ignore the cries of little ones who are forgotten. We imagine the holy family was well-off as we
are, forgetting they are the relatives of the poor around us. The gifts of wonder and grace are offered to
us, but how silently we use them in our words and lives.
Come to us once again, Bethlehem’s Child, to
give us new life and hope. May we join
the angels in singing songs of joy, as we bring healing to the broken. May we open the doors of our hearts to those
searching for refuge from their journeys to escape fear and danger. May we see each person as precious in your
eyes, as well as ours, as the One whose lowly birth we celebrate this night,
Jesus our Brother, our Lord.
Silence
is kept
Assurance
of Pardon
Here in the silence of these moments, in the light
of candles as well as grace, in the warmth of hope as well as those around us,
we are offered the good news. This is
the night God came to us, to remind us that we are never alone, we are loved
and welcomed and affirmed by our God.
O
come, let us adore our God whose love came down this night; whose grace and justice
walked among us; who peace and hope are the gifts we can share with all around
us. Glory to God, Glory to God in the
highest! Amen.
Prayer of Dedication/Offering
God of
holy nights, as we offer our gifts, gather them up to be the hope for all who
struggle, food for those who hunger, shelter for those who sleep rough, life
for all who yearn. In Jesus’ name, we
pray. Amen.
Great Prayer of Thanksgiving
May
the God of silent nights be with you.
May the God of holy nights be with you.
Come,
let us adore our God as we lift our hearts.
We pray that God will fill them with joy
and wonder.
Let us
echo the songs we have heard from angels on high.
We will sing glad songs of joy and
compassion.
In the
bleak mid-winter of chaos,
where
empty winds moaned,
your
heart sang new songs,
God of
great joy,
and
creation tumbled forth:
birds that fly south
and bears which hibernate in winter;
snow that drifts in meadows,
and waves that crash on shores;
stars which guided wise ones to a stable
and point sailors safely home.
All
that was good and beautiful was shaped
for
those created in your image,
but we had no room in our hearts for your
grace,
and sent your hopes away empty-handed.
Through
Hannah and Zechariah,
with
the songs of Isaiah and Mary,
you
told of what you were going to do
to
offer us life and bring us back,
but we preferred the gifts offered by
temptation,
the old stories told by death.
So,
you became on us, taking on
our
birth, our life, our death
so we
might know your love for us.
As we
join in the joy that has come to the world,
as we
look for your light in the shadows of this night,
we
sing our praises to you:
We join the angelic chorus, all those
around us,
and all creation in praising you, God of
silent nights.
Glory in the highest!
Blessed is the One born this night.
Glory in the highest!
It was
in David’s hometown
that
your holiness became humility,
your
power turned into weakness,
your
glory transformed in humanity
as a
baby too its first breath.
Placed
in a feeding trough,
Jesus came to feed us
on life-giving bread;
with
animals as his midwives,
Jesus came to offer all creation
new hope and wonder;
born
into poverty,
Jesus came to share with us
the abundance of God’s love;
dying
our death,
Jesus came to set sin’s power aside,
to break death’s cold grip
with the warmth of the resurrection.
As we
celebrate his birth on this night,
as we
seek to follow him every day,
we
proclaim that mystery known as faith:
Born, Jesus knew the hunger of babies;
walking, Jesus scrapped his knees
and wandered the streets of home;
living, Jesus knew the hurt of rejection
and the welcome he offered others;
dying, Jesus knew our deepest fear
and the moment of separation from life;
being raised, Jesus knew God’s love
and faithfulness being fulfilled;
returning, Jesus will be the One
to journey with us into God’s new life.
And
though the days are hastening on,
you
continue to pour your Spirit
on the
gifts of the holy meal of this night
and on
all your children gathered in this moment.
Here,
God-who-is-our-life,
the
broken bread gives us the strength
to share hope with those in despair,
to challenge the injustice all around us,
to rebuild neighborhoods others rush past.
Here,
God-who-is-our-grace,
the
cup is poured into our souls so we may
offer a welcome to all who are forgotten,
embrace those who grieve amidst so much joy,
reconcile with those from whom we are
estranged.
And
when that birth of new life comes,
as all
time and history comes to an end,
we
will join our sisters and brothers
of
every time, and of every place,
in
praising you forever and ever,
God in
Community, Holy in One. Amen.
Sending
Let us
go to share God’s joy with all the world.
We will bring wonder and grace to those
around us.
Let us
go to be the hope of Jesus for others.
We will seek justice where there is none.
Let us
go to offer the Spirit’s peace.
We will welcome all rejected by the world.
© 2018
Thom M. Shuman
