Christmas Prayer 2025

God of angels and shepherds, God who comes to join us as a wee baby,

it is Christmas time again and once again

we listen to the carols, we tell the story, we bask in the glow of candlelight.

This year, as we do every year,

we listen for angels proclaiming Good News for all people.

This year, as every year,

we seek to find the Promised One in our world

God of candles flickering in our midst,

the candle flames look so fragile, a mere puff of wind could put them out.

And yet they are strong enough to bring light in the longest night

and heat to the coldest season.

May these candles in our space tonight lead us to find what we need:

hope that drives away despair;

peace in a tumultuous violent world;

joy that lifts our hearts, blooming where we least expect it;

love that is active and alive in the world;

and the promise that we are not alone, that you share every part of our lives.

As the candle flames dance and flicker,

help us reflect their light into the world around us.

God who loves this world so deeply,

you know, as we do, that there is much pain around us this night.

Outside our doors the snow drifts high,

the thermometer plummets and the wind steals our heat.

Around the block and around the globe are

those who find joy distant and difficult this year;

those who have lost hope,

those for whom peace is just a word, not reality,

those who wonder if they are indeed loved, or even lovable.

As we celebrate the birth of the Promised One

we pray for all of your beloved children who are in pain

who are afraid,

who weep,

who grieve.

Through your grace and love may they know that they are not alone,

lead them to find sparks of hope, peace and joy,

remind them that they are indeed Beloved.

God of dreams, keep us dreaming.

Keep the promises and dreams and hopes of Christmas

with us all the year round.

Plant dreams in our souls,

dreams that bring hope,

dreams of peace and justice,

dreams that bring us joy,

dreams of love that drives the world forward.

We share all our prayers, our hopes, our dreams,

our cries for help and comfort, our worries and fears,

in the name of Jesus, Christ the Lord,

whose birth we celebrate with angels and shepherds and millions of others.

Amen.

David's Christmas Story

Hey David! Wake UP!!!
David rolled over and let out a big yawn. As he sat up he looked around the field. Everything looked perfectly normal, like nothing special had happened last night. Had it all been a dream?

As he walked around the field, encouraging the sheep to move to a new section of grass, David thought about last night...the angels, the baby, the singing....he glanced over toward Bethlehem and shook his head...it was just so hard to believe...maybe it had just been a wonderful dream.

It started as a perfectly normal night. The flock was gathered together for a restful evening. It was David’s turn to stay awake, to make sure nothing happened, and all the others settled in for a sleep. David’s turn would come later.

As the evening drew on something kept David looking toward the town, It looked just like it always did but for some reason David was sure there was something special happening over there. Maybe it was just all that extra traffic for the census. So many people! David was glad to be out here in the field where things were quiet.

Suddenly there was this bright light all around. For a moment David thought the nearby bushes were on fire but then he realized the light was coming from the sky. He let out a yell and the rest of the shepherds woke up and jumped to their feet, sure that something was attacking the sheep. Then they saw the light and all fell on their faces. As David’s eyes adjusted to the light he could see a shape in it, an angel right there in front of, well above, him. David was frozen where he stood, afraid to move a muscle.

Then the voice came. It wasn’t like any voice David had ever heard before. “Don’t be afraid,” the angel said, “I bring you really good news, good news that is for everybody.” David looked right at the angel, wanting to hear more. “This very night a baby has been born,” the angel continued, “a baby who will be the Messiah, the Promised One of God.”

Now David was curious, excited, and afraid all at once. The elders had been talking about the Promised One for his whole life. They had said this was the one who would come and make Israel great again, bringing peace to everyone. The always reminded David that he had been named after the great King from long ago, and that a new king was coming who would be just as great. David wanted to hear more. How could he see this baby?

The angle was still talking: “Here is how you can know you found the right baby. He will be wrapped in strips of cloth and will be lying in a manger.” David was confused. A manger? Not the fanciest house in town? But then he remembered that the great King David had once been a mere shepherd boy and God chose him for a king. This new baby must be the same.

Suddenly the sky got even brighter. It seemed like dozens more angels appeared. The sky itself seemed to be singing about Peace on Earth and Goodwill to all! The music rang out, echoing off the hills. David’s heart raced. He wanted to join the song!

Then just as suddenly as it began, the song stopped. The light went out like someone had blown out a lamp and the field was dark and quiet again.

The other shepherds were talking excitedly among themselves, then one said to David: “We are going to the town to see if we can find this baby. You are the youngest, you stay here and watch the flock. Don’t lose any of them!” Then they all ran off, leaving David and the sheep alone in the field.

Watching them run down the hill David thought how unfair it was. He wanted to go too. He looked around and suddenly heard a voice telling him to go. The sheep would be fine, just go. David paused for a moment and then he ran after the rest.

When he got to the town David wondered where to go but somehow he just knew. Something or someone led him to a small house. As he got closer he could hear a baby crying, he could hear the other shepherds talking, telling the story of what had happened. This must be the right place.

David quietly snuck in along the side of the room, He didn’t want the others to see him and yell at him for leaving the flock alone. From where he was hiding he could see the manger, the baby nestled in his mother’s arms, everything. The other shepherds stayed for a few minutes then headed back to the field. As they left David could hear them singing and shouting and telling everyone the met what had happened. David knew he should leave too, if the others got back to the field before him he would be in trouble. But he couldn’t leave. He wanted more time to look at the baby.

While he sat and watched the baby started to cry. The mother held him close and started to sing. It was a song about God making everything right, about the hungry being fed, about people in power being pushed out of their fancy chairs and poor people lifted up, about God remembering God’s promises. The song made David feel hopeful, like everything would be alright. Suddenly the woman looked straight at him. She smiled at him and said, “It’s alright, come over here and take a better look.”.

David went over and looked at the baby. As he looked into that tiny face the song the angels sang started to ring in his ears again. He felt so happy.

David remembered the flock out in the field. He had to get back. So he said good bye to the baby, and to the baby’s parents and ran all the way back. He got there just before the other shepherds. They would never even know he had left. When they got back it was David’s turn to sleep for a while before dawn.

As he lay down in the grass David kept thinking of everything that had happened. As he drifted off to sleep he saw the angels. He saw the baby. He heard the angel song. He heard the song the mother had sung to calm the baby. As he slept he dreamed of all the wonderful things God must be planning to do through this baby. It was a wonderful night, a wonderful dream. David was happy.

Many years later David would be in Jerusalem and see a teacher come to town riding on a donkey. That day David would remember that very special night with the angels and the baby. But that is a story for another time.

Christmas Eve Meditation

(Cross posted to Pastoral Ponderings)

 To Ponder, Perchance to Dream...

“And Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart”
In her heart, not just thinking them over, she pondered them in her heart. The place where dreams and hopes live. The core of our being. That is where these things she had heard and experienced rested. Her heart.

What did Mary ponder that night? As she lay there exhausted in that place where animals usually slept, looking at her newborn child in that manger ,what ran through her mind, heart, and soul. As the baby woke and cried out, as she picked him up and began to nurse, what was she seeing, thinking, feeling, hoping?

Did she wonder what the future would be like? Had she, like many parents before and since, spent the last 9 months dreaming about the life her child would live? Now that the child was here did she listen to the story that the shepherds babbled about angels and a message from God about a Saviour and wonder what that meant for her son? Did it make her hopeful or worried?

Or maybe she thought back to that day back in Nazareth. Was it only 9 months ago? That day when suddenly Gabriel appeared and told her she was favoured. He had told her that this would be a special child, one who would regain the throne of her ancestor David. Mary had not known what to do, this couldn’t be right, she questioned Gabriel and then agreed to the offer. But maybe a seed had been planted in her heart. Is that where the dream began?

Maybe she then thought of the hurried trip to see Elizabeth. She had to get away from the rumours and sideways glances, had to find a place of safety. Elizabeth was family, was married to a priest, and lived far away. That would be a safe place. Did her thoughts drift to the day she arrived and Elizabeth told of her child leaping and dancing with joy at the mere approach of Mary and the baby growing in her belly?

Maybe the pondering landed on the song that came to Mary’s lips that day. The song of power and defiance and hope. The dream of a world renewed and reborn. The dream that her child would bring healing, liberation, and freedom. The dream that God was at work in turning the tables, turning the world upside down through this child that she carried. Somehow Mary just knew it to be true. This little being that was turning and swimming in her womb would do all those things. It was more than a dream or a hope, it was a promise. Now that the child was here did her ears ring with that song once again? Did she sing it to him now, just as she had sung it to him so many times before?

Had she been there when Elizabeth’s son was born? Had she been there that day when John was named and Zechariah found his voice again? Had she listened to his song of hope and promise about John and about another, a saviour who would come? Listening to that song may well have deepened the dreams about the child. The dream wasn’t only hers...

Or maybe there was another side to the pondering. Maybe Mary remembered the dream, the hope, the promise and then compared it to what she knew of the world. Would the dream survive in the midst of imperial power? She knew what that power could do. She had seen the legions in action. Would Rome step aside as the dream came true?

What did Mary ponder as she held her newborn son to her chest, listening to his breathing?

I think she saw the hope. I think that she looked back on all that had happened over those last 9 months and remembered every moment. I am sure that like so many other parents-to-be she had spent many a night dreaming about her child. I think that in those sleepless nights when it was so hard to get comfortable she thought about what Gabriel had said, what she had sung, remembering many long talks with Elizabeth about the future, whispering and singing to her belly, sharing the hope and dream with her unborn child, and now she looked at that child and saw all those hopes and promises reflected in his eyes.

Then she would come to the present. The long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the arrival in a town bursting at the seams, the beginnings of the labour pains even as it became obvious that nobody had any room, the grateful acceptance of a space in the lower level of a house because the guest room was full, the pain of childbirth, and the surprise of shepherds bursting in with their story. And she pondered it all, seeing the dream and the hope, a dream and hope that the shepherd’s story seemed to reinforce. I want to think that Mary held the dream high and pondered how the world could be so much better because of this small child gently nursing in her arms.

And now, 2000 years later we sit and listen to the story again. We too are invited to ponder all these things in our hearts. We too are invited to share the dream.

What do we ponder here tonight? What dreams do we bring with us to this Christmas Eve?

I think our Christmas dreams have much in common with Mary’s. I think that after all these years the dream of God re-ordering the world, of God bringing peace and justice to God’s children still resonates among people of faith. The world sometimes seems like a broken place. There is much that could be better. Christmas invites us to dream of the ‘better’.

The Christmas promise carries with it many dreams. The birth of a child always makes us dream about the future, the birth of this child also makes us dream about the present. At Christmas God breaks into the here and now, the promises are for a Jewish peasant family 2000 years ago, for us here and now, for those who will come after us.

The birth of Jesus awakens hope in our lives. Hope that drives out despair. In a world where bad news and violence and division seems to rule the day Christmas wakes us up to possibility. We are people of hope, we dream of a world where hope is stronger than despair.

One of the titles Jesus is given is the Prince of Peace. Our Christmas dream is of the “time foretold when peace shall over all the earth it’s ancient splendours fling”. We dream of a transformed world where weapons of war are turned into tools of peace, where “they shall not hurt or destroy on all God’s holy mountain”.

A traditional Jewish song says “Joy shall come even to the wilderness...deserts like a garden blossom”. The old carol proclaims “Joy to the World, the Lord is come!”. Our Christmas dream involves Joy. In the dry places of our lives, where joy seems distant or impossible Christmas reminds us of the God who shares our lives intimately, the God who is always with us. We sink into deep trust and find Joy in God’s deepest presence. We dream of Joy blossoming in the world like the desert after a rain.

Love came down at Christmas, Christina Rossetti once wrote. Love was born at Christmas. The idea of Emmanuel, God-With-Us taking on human flesh and walking among us sounds like a dream. The idea of Love taking on human form and moving in the world is a dream, a dream of the God who is actively leading us to love each other as we have been loved. Our Christmas Dream includes remembering how deeply we are loved by God.

Mary dreamed that her child would transform the world. Mary dreamed of a time of peace and justice and renewal. All these centuries later we still share her dream. We ponder the promises of the story. We dream a dream, a hopeful dream that leads us to live as renewed people, people of hope, people building peace, people singing for joy, people actively loving our neighbours.

Keep dreaming my friends. As we listen to the angel song ringing through the sky keep dreaming of all that this night promises: Peace on the Earth, Good will to all. Christ is Born, Alleluia! Amen.

A WEdding Meditation

In Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth we read these words:

If I speak in the tongues of humans and of angels but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. ...

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable; it keeps no record of wrongs; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. ... And now faith, hope, and love remain, these three, and the greatest of these is love

This morning in churches around the globe candles were lit. As we prepare for the coming of Christmas we light candles reminding us that we need hope, we seek peace, we look for joy and this morning a candle was lit to remind us that love is central to how God acts in the world. Love, I believe, is the creative word that brings out life. Love is the force that keeps us together.

Today we gather together to celebrate a particular face of love. We have come to celebrate with A&M as they declare their love for and commitment to each other. Marriage, at its best, is an incarnation of love. Family, at its best, is held together by love – both the families into which we are born and also the families which we choose, or which choose us.

Now if we are honest, marriage, family are not always easy. There are days we disagree, sometimes strongly. There are days we just need to spend time away from each other. The road of life sometimes has potholes or speed bumps or periods of construction. Thankfully love which flows from God is strong and resilient.

The love that Paul describes in his letter to Corinth is not just the love of Hallmark movies, of candlelight and roses. It is a love that is deep and resilient. It, as Paul says, bears all things, hopes all things, believes all things. This is the love that carries us through the tough days.

In marriage we make ourselves more vulnerable than in almost any other relationship. We choose to put our hearts and souls in the care of another person. And we do that knowing that neither of us is perfect. It is a great act of deep trust. Trust at that level comes from being loved by and loving the other. Trust at that level is something we need to hold very precious.

M&A, today a new family is being formed. To a degree it will combine the families from which you have come as you bring forward what you have learned about life from them. At the same time it will be something new, a place where the two of you will learn and grow together. May this new family be a place of deep trust and love. May it be a place where you both can continue to grow into who you were meant to be. As time passes may your love deepen and mature.

In the book of Ecclesiastes there is a passage that says:

Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other, but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? ... A threefold cord is not quickly broken.

M&A, may you be there to pick each other up, to keep each other warm. And may God, who gives us love, who is best known through love, be the third strand in the cord of your life, the strand that adds strength and stability when the other two are stretched to their limit. May you be blessed, may you be a blessing to each other and to all others in your lives. Amen.

Words of WElcome

Welcome to St. Paul’s, a come as you are church. Come as you are means that all are welcome here. Whatever your skin tone, what ever you hair colour, dressed in the fanciest clothes in town or in something that happened to be reasonably clean come as you are. Maybe you moved to Grande Prairie yesterday or your family has been here for generations, or anywhere in between. Maybe you have been immersed in the church your whole life or maybe you are just curious about this Jesus character. Come in and sit down. You might be Lesbian, Bisexual, Straight, Gay, or Asexual; cisgendered, trans, non-binary or just trying to figure it all out. There is a place for you. DO you know exactly what your place in the world is or are you (for the first, second or 54^th time) wondering what to do next? Come and listen for God’s whisper. We are a come as you are church, whoever and however you are you are a beloved child of God and are welcome here.

As we gather we also remember that in 1899 a treaty was made between the people who had been here for millenia and the people who were starting to move in. WE thank the Beaver, the Cree, the Dene ‘tha for their care for the land and their willingness to share and we pray that God would help us all live into the promises made on our behalf all those years ago.

Epiphany Communion

INVITING
Be it the simplest wooden table or the grandest carved stone altar
this is Christ’s table.
Christ invites us to meet him here.
All are welcome to this meal, there is room for everyone.
Come and taste the grace eternal, come and see that God is good.

THANKSGIVING
Jesus is born! Emmanuel has arrived!
Glory to God in the Highest!
God is with us right here, right now!
And so we sing songs of praise and thanksgiving!

God of star light and angel song,
like the shepherds and the Magi
we come to see the newborn Saviour.
Like Anna and Simeon we sing our songs of praise
that after our long wait the promise has come true.

We remember the many Herods in our history,
people who actively worked against your hope and promise.
With thanks we remember all those who, encountering you,
chose a different path, went a different way,
so that the hope would win.
God who is revealed in many ways we give thanks
for all the ways we have come to know you, to hear you.
Keep our eyes, ears, minds, and souls open,
that we would continue to meet you –
in places expected and unexpected.

STORYTELLING
God of Christmas, as the Christmas season comes to its close,
we remember not only the Babe in the manger
but the adult he will become.
Jesus, child of Mary, will change so much –
how we understand the world, ourselves, and you.
For challenging the powers around him
he will be arrested, tried and executed.
But then he will break the bonds of death.
Here at this table we remember another table,
there Jesus will take bread, bless it break it and share it saying:
This is my body broken by the world, eat it and remember me.
At that same meal Jesus will take a cup, bless it and share it saying:
This is the cup of the New Covenant, drink it and remember me.
After all these years we still gather to eat and drink and remember.

SPIRIT-INVOKING
God, in Jesus you took on human form, sharing our lives.
Your Spirit moved through him into his followers.
As we gather at this table today, may your Spirit move among us.
Give us the wisdom to look for you, the courage to be ready to encounter you, and the willingness to take our part in your remaking of the world.
We pray in the name of the Child in the manger, the man he will become, the Risen Christ, who encourages us all to pray saying:
Our Father...

BREAKING, POURING, SHARING
The Bread we break is the bread of life
The Cup we share is the cup of love.
Christ is present in these ordinary things.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
God who took on flesh in Jesus,
We offer thanks for meeting us at this table.
We pray that this encounter with you would feed us in body, mind and soul. May every time we encounter you push us to grow into you would have us be. May we leave this table ready to carry your light and love into the world around us. Amen

For Christmas Eve 2025

 

Call to Worship
After all our hoping and waiting and dreaming the night is finally here
the baby is born, Christmas has arrived.
With eagerness and excitement we listen for angel song,
Peace on the Earth, Good will to all!
On this wondrous night we run with the shepherds, we ponder and dream with Mary
Jesus is born, come let us adore him...

Opening Prayer
God, in the midst of Christmas hustle and bustle you invite us to dream,
we dream of hope that drives away despair;
of peace that changes the world;
of joy that breaks into the dark places of life;
of love that meets us face-to-face.
As we gather tonight to celebrate the birth of a baby,
help us to dream about a renewed world, lead us to ponder the amazing story we hear tonight.
We pray in the name of Jesus, the hope of the world, whose birth we celebrate tonight.
Amen.

Commissioning
Go now to share the Good News that the angels first told the shepherds:
For unto us is born this day a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.
Go out into the night to see the lights of hope, peace, joy and love shining in every Christmas decoration
Go out to dream a dream, to imagine a world renewed and reborn
And as you dream, as you ponder the Christmas gift remember that you are never alone.
The God who takes human form and is lying in a manger is with you every step of the way.
May we all carry the Christmas blessing into a New Year.

For lighting the Advent wreath on Dec 24

On this night we light candles. This candle reminds us of the spark of Hope awakening in our midst. Light a blue candle

On this night we drive away shadows. This candle reminds us that the Prince of Peace will change the world. Light a blue candle

On this night we listen for angel song. This candle reminds us of the Joy that erupts in our midst like flowers in the desert after a rain. Light a blue candle

On this night we remember that we are not alone. This candle reminds us that at Christmas Love takes on flesh and walks among us. Light a blue candle

On this night we celebrate the birth of a child. This candle reminds us that the Light of the World has come. Glory to God in the highest! Light the white candle

For January 4, 2026 --Epiphany Sunday

 

CALL TO WORSHIP
Something drew us here this morning
Maybe a habit, maybe some new star in the sky.
Something keeps us looking and waiting,
Trusting that Jesus will meet us, that God will be revealed to us.
Let us join the Magi, and Simeon, and Anna, let us meet the child today
As fellow seekers and wait-ers we gather for worship

OPENING PRAYER
God of Epiphany, God who is being revealed in our midst,
in this time of worship open our eyes, our ears, our hearts, our souls,
open our very beings to sense how you are with us.
Free our tongues to sing your praise.
Spark our generosity to share our gifts.
Feed our bodies and spirits as we gather at your table.
And when this time of gathering is ended
lead us back out to share the Good News of a baby who will change the world. Amen

PRAYER FOR & ASSURANCE OF GRACE
Source of Life and Love, you reveal yourself in many ways.
Sometimes as a bright shining star, sometimes as a newborn baby, sometimes in bread and juice.
And yet, so often we miss the signs, we don’t see or hear or feel you right in front of us.
We take the wrong road, or we just don’t wait long enough.
God of Grace, in our seeking and our waiting,
guide us like the Magi, grant us the patience of Simeon and Anna.
Help us recognize your presence.
May we let the encounter change us, may we sing songs of praise.
...time of silent prayer...
God is indeed revealed in many ways. God meets us where we are, sometimes in grand spectacle, sometime in the everyday things of life. However God reveals God-self it is to lead us in the path of hope and renewal, reminding us that we are beloved.
Thanks be to God. Amen.

OFFERING DEDICATION
God, when they saw the newborn baby Jesus the Magi offered rich and rare gifts, Simeon and Anna offered songs of praise.
We offer what we have, our time and talent and treasure in response to Jesus’ presence in our lives. May they be used to help build up the Beloved Community, to pass on the Good News of a world being renewed.
We offer them in love and service to Jesus, in whose name we gather, in whose name we pray.
Amen

COMMISSIONING
We have joined the Magi on their quest, we have met Simeon and Anna in the temple
Like them we have encountered the Promised Child, Jesus of Nazareth.
We have sung and prayed and eaten together
Continuing to build the Beloved Community
Now we go out into the world
sharing the hope and the promise found in a tiny child,
proclaiming that God is actively transforming the world.
Go now secure in the knowledge that the God we meet in Jesus is with you every where you go.
Always and All Ways. Alleluia!

Christ Candle for Epiphany and the following Season

 

Like many before us, we seek to see God active in our world.

The flicker of the candle flame reminds us of God’s light, which can not be put out.

As it burns in our midst we center ourselves for worship

Prayer for Love -- Advent 4

PRAYER FOR LOVE (with thanks to Christina Rossetti and John 1)
In the beginning was the Word, the source of all
God what was the Word? Was it a word of Love?
And then the Word became flesh and lived among us.
God we celebrate the birth of a baby, where we meet you in flesh.
Love came down at Christmas...Love was born at Christmas
God we give thanks for the gift of Love, active love, love in a real body.
As people who strive to follow the Law of Love that this baby will teach, we pledge:
Love shall be our token...Love to God and love to all..Love for plea and gift and sign.
We pray in the name of Jesus, Word-Made-Flesh, Love embodied, whose birth is now just days away.
Amen.

Prayer for Joy -- Advent 3

 (References the songs Joy Shall Come  and Joy to the World as well as Philippians 4:4)

Joy shall come, even to the wilderness
God we know the reality of the wilderness, we feel the empty places in life
And the parched land shall know great gladness
We look for water to bring life and growth
As the rose, so shall deserts blossom, living springs shall give cool water
We await the birth of Jesus, the Living Water, so that our joy will bloom like the rose.
Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice!
Trusting that we are not alone, we find joy in the gift of Your presence.
Joy to the World! The Lord is Come!
We tell the old stories of faith and are reminded that You bring New Life, New Hope, New Joy.
And heaven and nature sing.
God of Grace, fill our hearts with trust and joy.
We pray in the name of Jesus, whose birth causes all Creation to sing for Joy. Amen.

Prayer For Peace -- Advent 2

PRAYER FOR PEACE
God of the promise, you speak to us through the ancient prophets.
Revealing the dream and promise of the Peaceable Kingdom,
sharing the vision of swords turned into plowshares, of the wolf lying down with the lamb
predicting the time when nations will learn war no more.
As we await the birth of Jesus, who we call the Prince of Peace,
remind us that a child, this child we await, will lead us to the future.
Help us find the path to the transformed world,
may we ascend the holy mountain, where none will hurt or destroy.
We pray in the name of Jesus, whose birth draws near. Amen

Prayer for Hope --Advent 1 2025

PRAYER FOR HOPE
God there is too much turmoil, violence, hatred, and pain in the world.
Hearing about it makes our hearts ache. It leads us to wonder...
In our wondering about the future it can be easy to fall into despair.
Help us, we pray, to find causes for hope.
God of hope, God who continues to act in our midst,
allow us to see your hand bringing light into the darkness,
awaken us to the love that drives out fear,
fill us with the hope that is stronger than despair.
We pray in the name of Jesus, whose birth we await. Amen

For Advent 2025 -- theme The Christmas Dream

OPENING PRAYER

God of _____ in this season of longer nights and twinkling lights,
It is good to dream.
As we gather to prepare our hearts and minds for the birth of a child,
help us to dream about the changes the child will bring.
Open our being that we could see ­________________ around us,
and then lead us out to share our dreams with the world.
Amen

COMMISSIONING:
In this season of preparation and planning and waiting,
we take time to dream about what the birth of a child might mean.
Go out into the world sharing your dreams for Christmas,
Line for the theme of the week
As you go, be assured that in our waking and in our dreaming we are never alone.
The God made known as Parent, Child, and Spirit’
who fills our hearts, minds and spirits with ______.
who gives us a dream and vision for life,
is with us always. Alleluia!

For November 16 -- Upside Down Power

PRAYER FOR & ASSURANCE OF GRACE
Compassionate God, Help us to to be compassionate,
binding up each other’s wounds, protecting the vulnerable among us.
Lead us to ‘commit’ empathy on a regular basis,
allowing other people’s pain and fear, hopes and dreams to touch our hearts,
allowing that sharing to shape our actions and attitudes.
Creating God, whose Beloved community is diverse and multi-hued,
help us build a community where of hope, one where
we may not be the same, we may often disagree, we may even fight,
but we ALWAYS act lovingly toward each other.
Gracious and Merciful God, when we miss the mark:
when compassion and empathy are lacking in our lives
when we fall prey to ‘us vs them’ language and forget the beauty of diversity
when we mistake gentleness for weakness, when we believe that might makes right
when we forget to love family, friend, neighbour and enemy as you first loved us
forgive us we pray
...time of silent prayer...
God’s power is shown in gentleness and weakness. God’s power is shown in grace and mercy. God’s power is shown in love. Through this power God reminds us that we are Beloved, that we are forgiven, that we are renewed to be God’s people
Thanks be to God. Amen.

A Communion Prayer for an Upside Down World

INVITING
A simple table, a basic meal.
But in the upside-down logic of God’s Reign also a great banquet
God invites us to this table where there is a place for Ev’ryone Born
God is the host, we are the guests,
all are welcome to share in the Banquet of faith.

THANKSGIVING
May God be with you
And also with you
Lift your hearts in praise and thanksgiving
It is good to offer thanks to God

Source of life and love we give thanks for all that you have given us.
We see the beauty of the earth and sing praise.
We remember those who came before us, the communion of saints
the ones who passed on the stories of faith and we are thankful
for their witness, their hope, their commitment to a New World.
We share again the promise that you are always with us,
turning over our expectations and assumptions,
re-creating the world into a reign of love and hope and justice
and we sings songs of hope and thanks.

STORYTELLING
In the midst of our thanksgiving we remember the core of our story.
In Jesus, child of Mary, you broke into the world in a new way,
reshaping expectations of who the Messiah could be.
Jesus challenged his friends and his enemies to see the world anew,
to turn upside down their understandings:
of blessings, of power, of leadership, of status.
Some welcomed this upending, others did not.
Jesus was arrested, tried, executed.
But then you turned the world upside down again, raising Jesus from death.
And we give thanks.

As we gather at this table we remember another table, long ago and far away
where, just before his arrest, Jesus gathered with his friends.
There he took bread, blessed it, broke it and passed it to them saying:
This is my body broken by the world, eat it and remember me.
At that same meal Jesus took a cup, blessed it and passed it to them saying:
This is the cup of the New Covenant, drink from it and remember me.
After all these years we still gather at tables to eat and drink and remember.

SPIRIT-INVOKING
God who has created and is creating, as we gather at this table here today.
Send your Spirit upon and among us.
Help us see the upside-down logic that leads to your Reign of peace, justice, hope and love.
Awaken in us a willingness to be turned head over heels
that we would participate in the mending and re-making of the world.
We pray in the name of the Risen Christ, who brings us to this table.
And with full voice the people all said: AMEN!

FRACTION AND DISTRIBUTION
The Bread we break is the bread of life
The Cup we share is the cup of love.
Gifts from God for the beloved people of God.
Thanks be to God.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
God who invites us to the table,
we have eaten, we have drunk, we have tasted your goodness.
May this meal and this faith-filledcommunity strengthen us in body, mind and soul,
as we continue to live into a world that is being turned upside-down.
May we have the courage to stand on our heads
as we try to see the world as you see it.   AMEN

For November's Theme of "Turning the World Upside Down"

CALL TO WORSHIP
We have been called, called to be a community of faith,
called by the God who turns the world upside down.
In response to that call we come to sing and pray and listen,
Line to go with that week’s theme
Come and worship, come and celebrate God’s transforming presence.

OPENING PRAYER
God who has created and is creating,
you have brought us together today.
God who challenges our assumptions of how the world must be with how it could be,
Line to go with that week’s theme
In this time of prayer and song and listening,
Help us catch the dream, encourage us to help turn the world upside down as we live into your Reign.
We pray in the name of Jesus, who proclaimed a new, transformed world and who taught us to pray saying...
LORD’S PRAYER

COMMISSIONING
With God, in Christ, through the winds of the Holy Spirit the world is turned upside down
The first shall be last, the greatest shall be least.
We go into the world to share a different vision, a different dream.
Line to go with that week’s theme
As we go to help upend assumptions, to help turn things upside down
we are assured that the Triune God: Parent, Child and Spirit, holds us in love.
Thanks be to God.

For October 5, 2025 --Worldwide Communion Sunday

 CALL TO WORSHIP
The table of faith is set, inviting us to gather.
We come with hungry hearts and hungry souls.
The cup of hope waits for us to come and drink.
We come thirsting for love and justice in the world.
The bread of life sits waiting to be broken and shared.
We come to worship together, gathered at the family table with the rest of the family of faith.

OPENING PRAYER
Give us this day our daily bread...
we still share the ancient prayer.
Bread of Life, we seek to be fed.
In this time together fill us with the Living Bread
show us the abundance of bread, of manna from heaven
feed our hungry hearts and souls.
And when the meal is ended,
send us back out to sing songs of thanksgiving for the feast. Amen

 Dedication Prayer
Gift-giving God, you have set the table before us, you have filled it to overflowing,
As we give thanks for the abundance in our lives we choose to share that abundance with the world around us.
We offer these gifts of treasure, we offer our time and our talent to help bring bread to those who hunger, hope to those who despair, love to those who are afraid, and a passion for justice to the world around us.
We offer them to your service, in the name of Jesus, the Bread of Life.
Amen.

COMMISSIONING
We have gathered at the table,
where there is a place for everyone born.
We have eaten together, giving thanks for the daily bread that feeds us,
now we go to share the Bread of Life with the world, helping to create justice and joy
And may God: the Baker; Jesus, the Bread of Life; and the Spirit, the Yeast that lifts us up, be with you always
Sharing delight in a world fed and renewed. Amen.

For June 22, 2025 -- Proper 7C

PRAYER FOR & ASSURANCE OF GRACE
Steadfast God, the world around us is a busy noisy place.
Sometimes it is overwhelming and our anxiety soars.
Caring God, there are so many demands on our time each and every day.
And in trying to meet them we sometimes forget to care care of basic needs.
Calming God, sometimes the anxiety, the noise the business lead us to melt down.
So we try to run away, to retreat into a safe place, to hide somewhere until the danger has passed.
Source of Life, God of Grace and Mercy, when we are overwhelmed, when we forget to take care of ourselves, when we want to hide away from the world,
Remind us to stop, to pause, to care for ourselves, help us to listen for your voice in the midst of the storm.
...time of silence...
In the storms and chaos of life, in the times of silence and calm, God is there. God leads us to the place we need to be to care for ourselves, to help us grow, to be the people God created us to be.
Thanks be to God. Amen

Prayer for the Centennial of the United Church of Canada

 

God who calls us to be the church,

we celebrate the many faces and guises your church has worn over the centuries

each one with its own gifts, each one with its own challenges

yet all linked together in Christ.

This year we celebrate 100 years of a particular part of the larger Body,

this experiment we call the United Church of Canada.

We give thanks for the dreamers and visionaries of over a century ago,

people who saw a possibility and then gave years of their lives

working to make the possible real,

bringing together multiple churches in the hopes “that all may be one”.

God who has whispered, and still whispers, in our ears,

pushing us forward, opening our eyes to new understandings of what it means to be faithful.

We celebrate the times when we listened.

We give thanks for those who spoke boldly both to church and nation,

for bold discipleship and leadership over the years,

calling us to daring justice work.

We pray that we can follow in their footsteps.

God who is with us in out triumphs and glory, you are also with us when we stumble.

We admit that we have not always been the church we could be.

We have hurt each other,

we remember our mixed history with our First Nations, Mètis, and Inuit siblings,

we remember the times we could have spoken louder but chose the safer route,

we acknowledge that at time people have been made to feel unwelcome or unworthy

even in this United Church of ours.

And as we remember we repent, we lament, and we pray that we can learn a better path.

God of our present, we know that all is not well with the church.

There are so many stories of faith communities struggling.

Too often anxiety and dis-ease mark the ways we describe ourselves,

making it hard to hear the continued whispering of the Holy Spirit

urging us forward, showing us Good News, giving us hope.

God of abundant life, in the midst of our dis-ease help us see the new life in our midst.

God of our future, that undiscovered country,

we don’t know where this experiment called the United Church will be in 10, 15, 20 years.

How will we be the same? How will we be changed?

As we live with the uncertainty and unknown, help us be faithful.

Open our eyes and ears that we might see and hear you leading us forward.

Give us a vision, a hope, a promise.

Help us be a church that embodies Deep Spirituality, Bold Discipleship, and Daring Justice.

God who calls us to sing the songs of faith in a new key or with different words,

God who challenges us to grow and evolve as individuals and as a church,

we pray for this church that we love, this church that sometimes frustrates us,

sometimes infuriates us, and often holds us together as the world crumbles.

We give thanks for those who have gone before,

we celebrate with those who walk with us today,

we pledge to pass on the songs, the stories, and the hope to those who will follow us.

We offer these prayers in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, the Risen Christ, the head of the Church Universal as we share words that he once shared with his closest friends:

Our Father...

Maundy Thursday Communion Prayer

Source of light, and life and love, you invite us to the table.

We gather here in the name of Jesus, the Servant King,
who challenges us to love family, friend, neighbour, and enemy,
and who reveals most fully your loving purpose while sharing your hope for what the world could be.

God who has created and is always re-creating,
you spoke and the world came into being,
in you we live and move and have our being.
As part of the world you love, as some of your Beloved children,
we reflect on the many gifts that have filled our lives.
We join our hearts with the rest of your Beloved children around the globe who sing, shout, and dance their thanks.
And we name, aloud or in silence those things for which we are thankful this evening...
For all your goodness God, we sing thanks and praise.

Ever present, ever loving God, you promise to be with us always, to the end of the age,
you are there when our hearts are heavy with pain, sorrow, grief, anxiety or fear,
you are there to carry us when our strength fails,
you share our tears and comfort us in our dis-ease.
Here, tonight, in your presence we hold in prayer all of your Beloved children who struggle
and we name them aloud or in silent prayer...
Comforting God, may all those who are in pain, who are afraid, who weep, all those who struggle
know that they are loved this night.

God of our past, our present, and our future, The One who was and is and is to come,
From the beginning of our story you have found different ways to communicate with your children.
You have sent messengers and teachers, prophets, priests and pastors.
With joy we remember them, the named and the unnamed, the famous and the unknown.
All those who have been part of our cloud of witnesses, reminding us of the Good News,
all those who have challenged us to be who you created us to be.
God of community we give thanks for all we have learned for others in our walk of faith.

God who has been and is and will be active in the world.
As followers of Jesus of Nazareth whom we name as Christ, Messiah, Word-Made-Flesh
we give thanks for his life, teachings, death and resurrection.
We remember what he taught about the Kingdom that is and is yet to come.
We remember who he modelled what living as citizens of the Kingdom of Love should look like
as he ate with the marginalized, healed the broken-ness in life, calling all to love each other
and we commit our selves to follow The Way he showed us.

Here tonight we remember a special part of the story, a special meal just before his death: (Luke 22:14-20)

When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves, for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

God of Grace, as we continue to eat and drink and remember,
pour your Holy Spirit onto and into us.
Reawaken in us the dream of what the world could be, fan the fires of passion for your Kingdom.
Embolden us to give of ourselves to spread your love and hope where ever we go.
Help us follow The Way of Jesus Christ.
We pray these things in his name and memory as we join with millions of others through the centuries and across the miles to share words he once taught his friends: Our Father...

The Bread we Break is the Bread of Life
The Cup we Share is the Cup of Love.
Gifts from God for the People of God.

PAlm Sunday 2025

PRAYER FOR THE JOURNEY AHEAD
Parades are exciting, hope is exciting, we like to cheer and wave
God we are quick to join in on the exciting stuff.
But beyond the parade, in the hard work of changing the world, that is less exciting.
God help us to stay around when the cheers die down and the heat and pressure start to rise.
We follow Jesus into the city, we join the crowds along the roadside.
Give us the courage to stay committed as Jesus challenges the comfortable and familiar ways we know.
Or if the heat and pressure get too much, if our anxiety and fear win out.
Help us find the way back after we have taken time to be afraid, lead us back out of our hiding places, help us live into the love that casts out fear.
God as we walk through this week of triumph, challenge, defeat and disaster,
Open our eyes to see the new dawn that awaits, the promise of light shining over the horizon. Amen.

For March 23, 2025 -- LEnt 3C

CALL TO WORSHIP
When the days drew near for him to be taken up Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51)
Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to he fellow disciples “Let us also go, that we may die with him.(John 11:16)
Throughout this Lenten season we travel with Jesus to Jerusalem, daring to face what lies ahead.
Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters! Incline your ear and come, listen so that you may live
We seek God where They may be found, we call upon Them while They are near
Come to sing, to pray, to celebrate God’s presence! Let us worship together...

OPENING PRAYER
Gardening God, you have planted us in this place and time.
Help us to grow, to be fruitful, feed us with things that sustain and satisfy, help us drink deep of the water of life.
In this time together this morning,
open our ears, our hearts, our souls to receive your life-giving word, dig around us and feed our roots.
Then lead us back out in joy, let us go forth with peace,
as we join in the songs of praise of the world around us.
We pray in Jesus’ name as we remember words he once taught his friends...

For March 16, 2025 --Lent 2C

PRAYER FOR & ASSURANCE OF GRACE
God, you invite us to follow your Way, you offer us a whole new future.
But sometimes the promise takes so long to come true that we start to doubt
Sometimes we make back-up plans in case the promise somehow fails.
And again you come to us, calling us to be people of hope, to trust in the promise.
Help us to trust, help us to be people of hope.
God of the promise, there are days when we feel alone, surrounded by people who are out to get us,
There are days when we feel like lone voices sharing a different vision in a wilderness of opposing voices
There are days when it is easy to lose heart.
God of grace, when we lose heart, when we doubt the promise, when we fall back to our own plans,
Forgive our weakness, remove our anxiety and despair, renew us to trust and hope.
From the witness of the ancient writers we hear these words of assurance: (Psalm 27 1, 13-14)

The Lord is my light and my salvation;  whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?...
I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;  be strong, and let your heart take courage;  wait for the Lord!

In that confidence we will be people of trust and hope. Thanks be to God. Amen.