Prayer for Council Inaugauration

Invocation for the Inaugural Meeting of Atikokan Township Council
December 4, 2006

Spirit of Life, who calls us to live and work together in community,
we gather here this evening to recognize those people whom this community has chosen to be leaders, guides, and vision-keepers.
We pray that in their work together they would be ready to serve all the people of Atikokan, resisting the urge to listen solely to one group or another.
Grant them the courage to make decisions based less on what is easy or popular and more on a firm belief and vision of what is best for the community in the present and in the future.
Help them remember that they can have different points of view and still listen to each other with respect, that all are working for the good of the town.
And then, when the decision has been made, may they be able to share the decision, to work towards its implementation, to let go of the debate, and move on to the next issue.
May the 7 people we recognize tonight have the vision, the strength, and the will to help lead Atikokan into a new future.
May we who have chosen them be willing to work with them to grow this town into a place where life in abundance for all is made real. Amen.

COvenant or Contract

Covenant or Contract?
A Dialogue Sermon for Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario Conference Celebration of Ministry Service: May 29, 2005
Written by: Rev. Gord Waldie
May 2005

Scripture Passages:
Jeremiah 31:31-34
1 Corinthians 12:4-13
John 15:9-16

Base Concept:
Person in Paid Accountable Ministry meeting with new chair of Ministry and Personnel Committee to discuss M&P issues. The conversation is side-tracked when the M&P chair, who works in HR professionally, asks about the employment contract and conditions of the P.A.M. They then discuss how the church envisions the relationship between the “minister” and the congregation in terms of shared responsibility and ministry.

(Note: G = ministry person (Gord) and E = M&P Chair (Elvin).
Scene opens with G sitting at a desk working. There is a knock on the door.
G: (looks up) Hello? Oh Elvin, nice to see you. Is it 10:30 already?? Come in, come in.
E: (enters carrying a file folder) I think I might be a little bit early. I can wait a moment if you are busy.
G: Oh no problem, I was just reading through the workbook for the Conference AGM, nothing that can’t wait. Actually, just between you and me, it seems that it might be best to save for bedtime reading.
E: I know what you mean. I have seen many things like that for meetings.
G: Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about the M&P committee and to thank you for taking on the chair. As you know, Personnel stuff is vitally important work, but it is also very confusing at times. Did you get a chance to read through the M&P Handbook I gave you?
E: Yes I did, and the M&P files from the office. They were very helpful in letting me figure out what exactly this committee does. But there are a few things that I am confused about.
G: I thought there might be. M&P work isn’t exactly like Human Resources work but it is close. So what are your questions?
E: Well the first is this line from the beginning of the Handbook. It talks about “being in ministry together”. I thought you were the Minister. What does it mean?
G: (shuffling papers) Well, now, maybe this will help. See, here on the bulletin each week where it says “Ministers: The Congregation, Enabling Minister: Rev Gord Waldie”? Well that is because we recognize that the work of the church isn’t just done by one person. All of us work together to make the church grow. All of us are part of a relationship, we call it a covenant, where we promise to work together.
E: “Enabling Minister” If you are our enabler doesn’t that make us co-dependent?
G: (chuckles) Not really, but it does mean that we are interdependent. Churches need many things to run smoothly. They need people who are good with money and numbers, people who are good with children, people who paint the windowsills and all sorts of other things. Even if I was good at all those things, which I’m not, there is no way that I could do it all. Part of my role here is to help people discover what they can do as a part of the church and encourage or help them as best as I can. Maybe Empowering is a better word than enabling.
E: Hey, is that what you meant last week when you were talking about how we are all part of one body? I thought it was about spiritual gifts.
G: Well Paul does talk about spiritual gifts like prophecy and speaking in tongues on but later he goes on to talk about the church as a body. He suggests that if all of us were an eye we wouldn’t get very far in life. So yeah, that is why we talk about being in ministry together. So that we all do a bit of the work, eyes, ears, feet, hands. And while my title might be The Minister, really I am one of many.
E: But aren’t you in charge?
G: (laughing) I Wish! Actually the congregation and the Board are “in charge” if anyone is. We try to understand what path God has laid out for us and follow it but it is tempting to find a path we like better sometimes. You know, Jesus told his followers that he didn’t see them as servants but as friends. I think that is helpful to remember when we try to run the church. No one person is in charge and no one is the servant. We are all friends trying to work together. (pauses) Actually I don’t think that any of us is really “in charge”. The congregation, the Presbytery and I are all part of a covenant. The congregation appoints a committee, the M&P committee, to work with me and help set goals, talk about how things are going and so on. But I don’t really work FOR them. Part of the time I work FOR Presbytery, not only at meetings but in helping to represent the wider church to the congregation. My best guess is that I work for the church as a whole but most of that work is focussed in working with this congregation.
E: OK, I think I am starting to see what you mean. We pay your salary but you really work with us, not for us. You enable us to be a part of the church.
G: Well I think that God is a part of it too. A big part of being the church is trying to understand what God is saying to us. In fact God is a part of that covenant I just talked about. But basically that is what I mean. What else were you wondering about?
E: Well I found a signed contract for the secretary, and for the organist, and for the cleaning service. But I couldn’t find one for you? Don’t you have a contract?
G: Can I see that file? (shuffles through it, pulls out a page) Here, this is what is called a call form. It lists things like salary, vacation and study time, housing allowance. It is pretty much a contract. And somewhere in there should be a copy of the Joint Needs Assessment report. It included a position description.
E: Yeah I saw both of those but they don’t aren’t as clear as I think a contract should be. But I guess there are lots of ways people get hired.
G: Yes, the church sometimes isn’t as clear as we would like. But there is another point to raise. Although we agreed to those terms of employment when I was called (actually a lot of them are minimums set by National Church Policy) I don’t really work just under that contract. We work together in a covenant relationship.
E: You keep using that word, covenant. What do you mean?
G: A covenant is, well it is sort of hard to describe. A covenant is a way of working together. It is sort of like a marriage in some ways. Each party to the covenant makes promises about how they will behave and what they will (or won’t) do, just like the vows at a marriage ceremony. Actually it is a term that is used a lot in the Bible. God makes a covenant with Noah, and with Abraham, and with Moses. Jesus spoke of his followers as being part of a new covenant. Actually, I think Jesus was thinking about the prophet Jeremiah when he said that. Jeremiah talked about a covenant that wouldn’t be written on stone tablets or on scrolls but would be written on people’s hearts.
E: What do all these stories have to do with how we run the church though? I mean I understand why it is important to tell them and why it is important to talk about God’s promises and our promises to God. But when it comes to employment wouldn’t you rather have a hard and fast contract instead of this loose covenant thing? At least a contract would hold up in court.
G: In some ways you are certainly right. When things go sour it would be nice to have things a little bit more cut and dried. But unfortunately that doesn’t always work in the church. When we talk about the arrangement between a congregation and a minister we are really talking about a relationship. In fact when the time comes a minister doesn’t quit or get fired, but either the minister or the congregations asks Presbytery for a “change in Pastoral Relationship”. The best way I have found to describe it is like a marriage. And another thing, in any marriage things change as the relationship develops. The same thing happens in this covenant. Over time the position description will develop and evolve as the needs of the congregation change. That is easier to do when things are not cast in stone.
E: That sounds like a bizarre way to talk about someone’s job. How are conflicts worked out?
G: That really depends on the people involved. But for me, that is where that idea of a marriage helps. A covenant is a set of promises we make to each other. When a couple comes into problems we hope that those promises will support them, the same thing happens in a church. We remember that we promised to work together through our difficulties. When that happens a contract can be helpful in reminding us of what our legal and moral obligations are (what my salary and position description are for example) but the love and promises of the covenant are what help us to keep trying. At least that is the ideal.
E: Is that what you mean about the covenant being written on our hearts? I know that is how I feel about my wedding vows. They are a part of who I am now. They are part of how I run my life.
G: Exactly!
E: You know, as you talk about this I can see how this covenant ties in with that idea of us all being in ministry together.
G: I think it does, actually I think it is integral. But how do you see it?
E: Well, if we hired you and signed a contract it would be really easy to look at your job description and say that you do the ministry and we don’t. But when we make these promises to each other then we all have a stake in making sure they get lived out. The promises push us to take a bigger part in helping the church thrive, or even survive.
G: I agree. And don’t forget that these promises are made in a worship service. So God is part of our covenant. The book of Ecclesiastes talks about a threefold cord that is not easily broken. If the covenant promises had to rely on all of us as people then it would be easy to see how they would never work. But with God as the third strand in the cord we add strength and stability. I use that passage a lot in weddings.
E: So let’s see if I have this straight. We pay you but the ministry is done by all of us. We have agreed to some conditions of employment, like a contract, but really your work with us is guided by a set of promises we make to each other. And we include God in those promises to help when we don’t feel that we can live up to them by ourselves.
G: That just about covers it. It may seem confusing but I am sure that with time you will see both the strengths and weaknesses of the way we do things.
E: I sure hope there are some strengths. It seems like an awfully silly way to have people’s employment handled to me. But then I guess that the church doesn’t always have to do things the way everyone else does them.
G: And that is a good thing. Amen.

Christmas Eve Drama

Premise: 3 residents of Bethlehem are discussing the strange events that have taken place over the last couple of days. One (Samuel) is the owner of the stable/cave where Mary and Joseph eventually found refuge. One (Miriam) is a local midwife who was called to help Mary give birth. The third (Eli) is a leading towns-person who is frankly disgusted with all the fuss and mess.


The scene opens with Eli running into Samuel on the street.
E: Samuel! What was all that fuss over at your stable last night? I mean shepherds running around, people yelling, singing. Woke me from a dead sleep it did.
S: Sorry ‘bout that m’lord. But really I haven’t quite figured it out myself. All I know is that I let some wandering couple use the stable to sleep in. Then everything went crazy. Ah, here comes the midwife, maybe she heard something.
M: (enters pointing accusingly at Samuel) You! How dare you push a poor pregnant woman out like that?!? Going into labour and you make her sleep with cattle! Have you no shame?!?
S: Well...I…uh…I had no choice. There was no room I could give them.
M: But they were family! Descendants of David just like you! You couldn’t even find room for family in trouble??? (turns to Eli) And you! You with your great big house, how many travellers have you taken in these last few days.
E: Descendants of David, please. Half of the people in Judea claim to be descended from David. If I were to try and help all of them I would beggar myself. Besides, these travellers are dirty and unkempt. I mean some of them have even come from Galilee! Almost as bad as coming from Samaria if you ask me.
S: Exactly. I tell you, my inn was full! I even had people sleeping on the floor in the common room. It’s this blasted census I tell you. You want to blame someone? Blame the Romans!
M: That’s no excuse. If you paid attention to the Scriptures you would know that you are supposed to look out for those who have nothing. Imagine, making a woman give birth in a cold smelly cave surrounded by horses and cattle. Terrible I tell you, terrible.
E: I’ll thank you to keep your place Miriam. No woman is going to instruct me in the Scriptures. Wait, did you say give birth?
M: That’s right I did. In the middle of the night a boy came to my door saying that there was a woman in labour who needed my assistance and could I come right away. So of course I did. Unlike some people I have no qualms about helping strangers in trouble.
S: Seriously, I had no rooms left, unless I was supposed to give up my own bed… (Miriam just glares at him)…well okay I guess I could have done that. But how was I to know the woman was going to give birth last night? For all I knew she was pretending to be pregnant to get sympathy!
M: (disdainfully) You keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better.
E: Hey, was this the couple with the donkey I ordered out of my front yard earlier? Yeah, I wondered where they ended up. So she did have the baby.
M: She sure did, no thanks to either of you. But it was a strange birth if I do say so.
E: Strange? What do you mean?
M: Well, you know I have helped many children come into the world. And a lot of the time the parents thank God for the child. But this one was different. As the baby was born they kept calling him the Child of God, over and over again. And they were both so peaceful. Even in the worst of the labour Mary was so peaceful.
S: Yeah, when they were asking if I had room they said something about this baby being special. But hey, everyone says that. And I really had no room left. I thought I was doing pretty good by letting them use the stable. You know I had four men offer me gold to let their horse stay there? And those two stayed there for free.
M: (sarcastically) oh yes you are a real saint.
E: Well then this birth is what all the fuss was about. But why? I mean it’s not like they are the first people to have a baby. Not even the first to have a baby in less than ideal circumstances. Why did this baby mean that I woke up to find shepherds running through my property shouting and singing at the top of their lungs?
S: I heard something about angels, something about the birth of a Messiah. I think that they were praising God for the gift of a Saviour.
M: That is what they said to me. They talked about angels appearing to them while they sat and talked on the hills. Said that the angels had told them this baby was the Messiah.
E: ANGELS??? God sent messengers to SHEPHERDS???? What had they been drinking? Surely God’s Messiah wouldn’t be born in a stable. And surely the announcement would have been made in the temple in Jerusalem, not to a bunch of filthy smelly shepherds on a hillside.
S: I am sure you are right Eli. And the priests would have been there. But I know these shepherds. They may get drunk and rowdy at times but never when they are out in the fields. They take seriously their duty to care for the flocks.
E: They better! Those were my sheep they were watching!
M: No, they weren’t drunk. They didn’t really appear clear headed either but the certainly weren’t drunk.
S: Miriam, you saw the baby. You saw the parents. You heard what the shepherds said. What do you think? Could it be the Messiah?
E: Why would she know? You have to ask the proper authorities. They are the ones qualified to understand the Scriptures and what God is doing.
M: You mean the priests and the temple.
E: That’s right. They are the ones who work near the Holy of Holies. They are the ones who are clean and worthy. No offence Miriam. I know you are a good midwife. But you have to admit that you are not qualified to be making statements about religion.
Miriam just sputters in rage, there are no words…
S: Actually Eli I am not so sure. As I remember the stories, God often chose some most unlikely people. Even our great ancestor David was an odd choice. And then the prophets like Amos or Hosea. Maybe God could choose to use shepherds…
M: Exactly Samuel. Even David was nothing more than a shepherd boy at one point. And God uses women too Eli. Remember Ruth, and Esther, and Deborah? It is more relevant to ask why God would even think to use someone as arrogant as you or your friends as messengers. You high and mighty types think that you have all the answers. But I saw that child. I talked to his mother. There are things you people will never understand.
E: Miriam! How dare you talk to me that way?
M: How dare I? I dare because last night I met God face to face. I dare because in watching that baby I understood that God wants us to care for each other. That’s right, to care for people even if they are strangers from Galilee or poor, rowdy, unclean shepherd from the hillsides.
S: So Miriam, you do believe what the shepherds said? You think this child is God’s Chosen One? Can it really be true?
E: Don’t believe her Samuel. When the Messiah comes he will be a mighty king, ready to drive out the Romans. Do you really think small baby born to a ragged couple from Galilee could be a mighty king? Please be realistic.
S: I wish I could be as sure as you are Eli. But I talked to those shepherds last night. They all saw something out there. And look at Miriam’s eyes. Something special happened in that stable last night.
E: Nonsense. I tell you the shepherds were likely drinking, and Miriam is overtired, she is raving. No good can come from all this talk about Messiahs and kings I tell you. It was just another baby born. That’s all. (he storms off)
M: Samuel, yes I do believe. In some ways Eli is right, it makes no sense. But still I believe. This baby I helped bring into the world last night is the Promised One.
S: Take me to them Miriam. Let me see for myself and see what there is to see. Oh, and I believe that I may have room for them to stay tonight.
M: That would be a good thing Samuel. See, already the baby Messiah is making a difference in the world – he has softened your heart and you have yet to see him.
S: He has, through you Miriam. Your words about him have made me hope. Now, let us go and bring them back to my lodging. (they leave).

Bill Remembers -- For Nov 11

Remembrance Day was always very important to Bill. He always made it into a week long event by visiting with schools, Cub packs, Brownie groups, Sunday School classes and so on. But that is the end of the story. To understand why Bill did this we need to go back to the beginning, in this case the beginning is in 1941 when Bill was only 10 or 11.

Bill was the youngest of 8 children. His idol and best friend was his oldest brother Sam. Sam was twelve years older than Bill. In 1941 he was starting out on his own with a job and had just gotten engaged to be married. But, Canada was at war and Bill and Sam came from a family which put a high importance on serving one’s country. So Sam decided that he would join the army. Sam went off to basic training. After his training Sam came back home to be married. It was a time of great excitement. Sam got on the train for Halifax shortly after his wedding; from there he was going to get on a ship that would take him to England. Sam and Bill were both excited, Sam promised that he would bring back souvenirs and tell Bill all about the places he got to see. Bill was jealous but he was still too young to join the army.

For the first few months Bill got lots of letters from Sam who was training and drilling in England. There were a lot of rumours going around town that there was going to be an invasion of France soon but nobody knew for sure. Sam was also telling Bill all about the sights of England, he was able to visit the town where their grandfather had been born and meet with cousins who were still in England. Then the summer came and the letters didn’t come as often. Sam was busy but he couldn’t tell Bill what he was doing. One day in late August Bill was outside working in the garden when some men came over to visit. Bill didn’t recognize them but he just waved and kept on working. But as he worked he was suddenly hit with the sense that something was wrong. Bill walked towards the house and as he got closer he could hear his mother crying so he started to run. When Bill got inside his mom and dad were in the front room with the visitors. "Bill, come here for a moment" his father called. Bill went in and saw his mom crying and everyone looked very serious, his dad looked like he was crying too. Bill sat down. "Bill," said his dad, "These men have come to give us news about Sam." Bill looked at the men and suddenly felt very sick. "They have?" he asked. "Yes," his dad said taking a deep breath, "Bill, Sam’s unit was part of a force that was sent to invade a French port town named Dieppe. Unfortunately Sam’s unit ran into a German convoy in the English Channel. Sam’s boat was sunk before they got to shore. Bill, Sam is dead." Bill couldn’t believe this. Sam was supposed to go, have great adventures, collect some souvenirs, and come back. He wasn’t supposed to die. Bill couldn’t handle any more. He ran out of the house and hid in the garden shed for the rest of the day.

Time went by and the war came to an end. The men who had gone off to fight started to come home. As they returned, Bill would go and visit with them. Some of them came back missing an arm or a leg or blind. Some of them had been wounded but had healed with only the scars to show. Some of them had never been hit but certainly weren’t the same people on the inside. Bill would ask each of them about what had happened. Many of them had trouble talking about it but from the people who could talk about it Bill learned far more than he ever wanted to know. He heard of the horrors of an artillery bombardment, of the terror of running ashore at the landings in Normandy or Sicily, of the sickening stench of mud and blood and decaying flesh. Finally Bill stopped asking.

Some years later, Canada was again at war. This time it was in a place that Bill had never heard of, a place called Korea. Bill wanted to honour his brother’s memory so he enlisted and went over to fight. Bill actually did not see a lot of fighting but what he saw changed him forever.

When he got back Bill dedicated himself to making sure that people did not forget the lessons he and so many others had learned. He organized the local Remembrance Day celebrations; he made sure that the schools had people come to visit, he told his story whenever he could. As time went by this became more important to him. He could see that the younger children had a hard time understanding Remembrance Day because the war wasn’t real to them. Their experience of war was something in movies and games played on the playground. Bill did all he could to tell them what war really was. But there was something missing, something he knew he needed to do.

Several years after coming back from Korea Bill started going to church again. He had stopped after Sam was killed because it didn’t seem to matter. And then as he grew older he found that the church was important. As he went to church and read the Bible Bill began to get a picture of how God wanted the world to look. God’s plan wasn’t for people to fight; God wanted people to live together in peace. This struck home to Bill and he realized what he had been forgetting in his work around Remembrance Day. He had been forgetting to stress the importance that this never happened again. So he began to teach this to the children he met. He began to work for peace in his community, to lead protests against nuclear weapons, to call for more peaceful solutions to conflicts within his town, his country and across the world. So it was with sadness that he read of battles being fought in Cyprus, in Israel and Egypt, in Bosnia, in Kosovo, in Afghanistan, and so on. With each new crisis he strengthened his call for other alternatives. This, he realized, was what Remembrance Day was for. Not only to remember but also to prevent. "Never Again", he said, "Never again can we allow the price of human life to be worth so little as to send young men off to fight and die."

So now, each year Bill still helps to organize the Remembrance Day service, he still goes into the schools and churches and youth groups. He tells them about Sam, about the neighbours who came back from the war, about Korea, and he tells them that they have the power and the responsibility to change the world. And each year, in the afternoon of November 11 Bill returns to the cenotaph. Everyone else has gone home, all that remains of the service are the poppies and wreaths placed around the memorial. And Bill walks up to the cenotaph and reads the names carved into its face. He reaches out a wrinkled old hand and rubs his fingers across the bumps that spell out Sam’s name. With tears filling his eyes Bill drops to his knees and begins to pray for peace and for the loss of his brother and friends.

Advent Candles 2007

1st Sunday December 2 – Christmas is waiting and hope

Reader 1: Isn’t it Christmas yet? I’ve been waiting SO LONG
Reader 2: Not yet. Today is only the first Sunday of Advent. That means there are three more Sundays before Christmas.
Reader 1: 3 more weeks! Oh Christmas will never get here! I can hardly wait until it comes. I just get so excited when I think about what presents I will get.
Reader 2: Don’t worry, it will come soon enough. Besides, sometimes waiting for something before you get it makes it more special and exciting.
Reader 1: But I want it to be Christmas NOW!
Reader 2: You’ll just have to wait. Have you thought about what you want for Christmas?
Reader 1: Oh yeah. I want…
Reader 2: (interrupting) Wait, don’t tell me. I have another idea.
Reader 1: What?
Reader 2: Well it is time to light the first Advent Candle. What do you do when you blow out your birthday candles?
Reader 1: I make a wish
Reader 2: Well how bout, while we light the first Advent candle we all take a moment of quiet to think about what we hope happens this Christmas? Not just presents but all the things we hope for.
Reader 1: OK
Reader 2: (lights a purple candle then both readers return to their seats in silence)


2nd Sunday December 9 – Christmas is life-changing

Reader 1: You know there’s something about Christmas that I always find unsettling.
Reader 2: What do you mean?
Reader 1: I don’t really know. I just keep getting the sense that something big is about to happen, something that will change everything.
Reader 2: I don’t get it. Christmas is just Christmas. What could be about to happen?
Reader 1: Well I guess I think about when I became a parent. Everything was different from then on. I keep thinking about Mary and how this story changed her life.
Reader 2: But why would that mean your life would change?
Reader 1: It just reminds me of the possibilities. That’s it I guess. I think about Mary and her baby and I remember the possibilities of life. So many things are possible.
Reader 2: So the changes you think about could be a good thing?
Reader 1: Of course, but when changes happen then things are different. And well that is always a little unsettling. It can be good changes but different is different.
Reader 2: So what changes do you think will be coming this Christmas?
Reader 1: I don’t know, we never really know until they happen.
Reader 2: I wonder what next year will bring…
Reader 1: Well let’s think about what might happen and what we want to happen while we light the Advent candles. (readers light 2 purple candles then sit down in silence)


3rd Sunday December 16 – Christmas is carols and children

Reader 1: Do you know what my favourite part of Christmas is?
Reader 2: The chocolate?
Reader 1: No, watching all the kids get excited. I remember being so excited about what I was going to get and playing in the snow and unwrapping presents. You know I miss that a little bit.
Reader 2: Why do you miss it? Don’t you get excited anymore?
Reader 1: Well it isn’t the same as when I was young
Reader 2: Oh great, here we go again with the “Back when I was your age…”
Reader 1: That isn’t what I mean. I mean that there is something about Christmas that just goes with childhood. Now it isn’t as exciting as I remember it.
Reader 2: Well my favourite part about Christmas is…um…
Reader 1: the chocolate?
Reader 2: Well sort of, you know all the treats I get to eat. But really I like the music. I mean when else do we sing about red-nosed animals and talking snowmen and fat men on your roof?
Reader 1: And stars and angels and shepherds and a baby in a stable too right?
Reader 2: Well yeah, if you want to get all religious about it. But there are so many songs to sing right now. And I love to sing. We don’t sing very much any other time of the year.
Reader 1: You know, you’re right. I like the singing too. But I prefer to sing the Christmas carols from church, so yeah I will get religious about it.
Reader 2: I think we’re supposed to light some candles now.
Reader 1: Yep. Say what do you think those people out there like the most about Christmas?
Reader 2: Maybe they could think about that while we light the candles? (readers light 2 purple candles and the pink candle then return to their seats in silence)


4th Sunday December 23 – Christmas is chaos and calm

Reader 1: (carries a calendar) Let’s see, Monday is the recital, Wednesday afternoon is the school Christmas concert, Tuesday night is choir practice, Friday is the office party…(phone rings) Hello?
Reader 2: (standing opposite, holding a phone) Hi _____ I was wondering if you wanted to come carolling next Saturday?
Reader 1: No way. I just can’t do one more thing. I don’t know if I am coming or going as it is. I am not even sure what day it is. And I have to finish my shopping, and wrap the gifts and do some more baking
Reader 2: Relax. You know you really are doing too much. You need to take it a bit easier. How can you enjoy Christmas like that?
Reader 1: Relax? How can you be so calm? Life is just too busy. Maybe I will be caught up in time to celebrate Ukrainian Christmas.
Reader 2: Well I just got tired of running around like crazy throughout December. So I decided to do less baking, less shopping, and less “stuff”. Christmas still gets chaotic with all the kids and all the excitement but I make myself find the calm times as well
Reader 1: I should try that. Thanks.
Reader 2: I have an idea. Light some candles. And while they are being lit take deep breaths to help you relax. Then just sit for a moment in quiet.
Reader 1: I’ll try that. Talk to you later. (both “hang up” and then Reader 1 lights all 4 candles of the wreath, then both readers return to their seats in silence)


Christmas Eve – Christmas is light in the darkness

Reader 1: I hate this time of year!
Reader 2: What, you mean Christmas?
Reader 1: No, I love Christmas I hate the end of December. The sun goes down so early and comes up so late.
Reader 2: Well sure, but all that darkness means we can see the Christmas lights so much better. And did you see the full moon last night? That was awesome.
Reader 1: I guess so. It’s just that all the darkness makes me feel kind of depressed. And then with all the bad news we get these days it just makes it worse. Dark all around. I guess it makes it harder for me to feel joyful.
Reader 2: OK, but do you know what my favourite part about Christmas is?
Reader 1: The presents
Reader 2: Well after the presents. It is those lights people put out. Even the candles we light. All those ways we find to fill up the darkness.
Reader 1: But it is still dark. It is dark when we get up, dark when we have supper. It is dark most of the time.
Reader 2: So? Haven’t you ever noticed that it is easiest to see lights when it is dark? Even these little candle flames (lights the 4 candles of the Advent wreath) give off a lot of light when everything around them is dark.
Reader 1: You’re right. And look how they dance, like they are happy to be shining.
Reader 2: I think Christmas is that thing that reminds us that there is always light, even on these long cold nights.
Reader 1: Maybe. Anyway, while we light that middle candle why don’t we stop and think about the ways we can fight the darkness we hear about all the time. (light middle candle, return to seats in silence)

A Christmas Prayer

God of our waiting and hoping. For so long we have been waiting for this night. For so long we have been waiting for the coming of peace, the wonder of a better world, the reign of love and justice. On this night we gather to celebrate the birth of a baby who promises to bring all these things. May our celebration of his birth lead us to work with the Babe to help the promises and possibilities come to be.

God who changes our lives. The promise of Christmas comes with a challenge. You challenged a young couple to take risks and have a baby despite the social sanctions that told them what they were doing was wrong. You challenge us to do more than adore the baby, but also to care for his message and pass on his love. Help us to embrace the awe-inspiring change that comes with the birth of a new world, born with a baby in a manger.

God of carols and children. As we hear the old story and sing the old songs reawaken in us the wonder and awe of childhood. May we remember the joy and excitement of Christmas as we join in the celebration on this night and tomorrow morning. Help us raise not just voices but also hearts and souls in joyous song as we celebrate the birth of hope, the gift of life and light in abundance.

God of chaos and calm. The scene around the manger that night must have been noisy and hectic. And yet we imagine it as being strangely peaceful. All of us with children understand that contradiction. Life is hectic and noisy and chaotic and yet we can find the oases of calm when we stop to look. As we celebrate with noise and song and story, may we also find the silence of the night and the peace of your presence.

In the beginning there was darkness. And you called forth the light. Throughout recorded time there has been darkness, and you called out the light. In our world today there is darkness, help us to find the light. The Christmas story reminds us of your love and care for your created, how you will never abandon us to the dark. In the face of the darkness help us choose to be people of the light. As we stand in the glow of starlight and angel song and a babe with his mother may we always remember that though the light shines in the darkness the darkness has not, will not, and can not over come it.

God of Christmas. Tonight we celebrate the birth of a child. But we also celebrate the birth of hope, the changes of life, the wonder of childhood, the calm in the midst of chaos, and the power of light. On this holy night awaken in all the world a burning desire to make peace and justice, love and joy a reality in our homes, in our town, and around the whole globe. And may we share with meaning and gusto the immortal words “God bless us, everyone”.

These things we pray in the name of the baby who now lies in the manger, the child who later taught his friends to pray together saying:
Our Father, who art in heaven…

2007 Remembrance Day Prayer

God of life and community, once again we gather here to mark the 11th of the 11th. We come together as people from many backgrounds and histories, brought together in one place remembering Jesus’ prayer “that all may be one”.

God of community, you have called us to live with our brothers and sisters in peace and justice. So as we gather we echo the sung prayers “Let there be peace on earth, let this be the moment now” and “all we are saying, is give peace a chance”. Awaken in the hearts of humanity the drive for a world where peace and justice flourish.

But even as we gather to share our hopes for peace we also remember that we, as the people of the world, have all too often failed to hear your call for peace and justice. And so today we pause to remember millions who have been victimized by wars of aggression, wars fought for reasons noble and base, wars fought in many places on this ball of life we share.

Specifically today we remember places with names that sound strange and foreign to Canadian ears: Ypres, Passchendale, Vimy, Ortona, Juno Beach, Hong Kong, Kandahar – places where young men wearing the Maple Leaf fought and died or fought and were changed in the name of God, King, and country. We also remember those who remained, and remain, at home waiting and wondering and worrying.

God of all the people of the world, on this day we remember more than those Canadians who went and fought in strange lands. WE remember all soldiers, those in uniform and those in everyday clothes, who fight on battlefields. We remember those who are not fighters but are instead caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, civilians trapped between fighting forces. We remember people of many nationalities: German, British, Japanese, Australian, Italian, Dutch, Afghani, American, Iraqi – we remember their losses and pray that all who suffer will know your comfort and compassion.

God of life, we give thanks for the love and bravery of all who answer, in many different ways, the call to serve God and neighbour in times of conflict. We think of their commitment, their sense of duty, their willingness to risk all and we honour them.

Gracious God, on this day of memory, when we think of those who went and never returned, and of those who returned wounded in body or in spirit, we also pause to name those from this Legion community who have died since last we gathered in this way (read names).
Now, God who calls us to be peacemakers and peace-bringers, we who have remembered and honoured prepare to return to the world. May we carry with us a renewed commitment to be people of peace. May all who gather in this way today in communities large and small become activists for peace and justice at home and abroad. Help us to remember the importance of seeking peace, true peace, and that this peace will never come from a gun barrel – only from the changed hearts of your children. May we never forget that the cost of peace’s absence has already been far too high.

God of peace the surpasses all our understanding, we pray our remembrances and our hopes in the name of the one called the Prince of Peace, Jesus the Christ, who taught us all to pray by saying together:
Our Father, who art in heaven,