Advent 1: The Candle of Hope

I noticed from my hit counter that quite a few people have been rootling around in the VM archives to find an appropriate Candle-Lighting Liturgy for this year... Some even trying to find something for tomorrow, proving that I am not, contrary to popular opinion, the worst organised person in the western world... I haven't published anything in advance for Advent this year because I have been a bit distracted over recent months (hence the lack of posts in general), and am largely making use of someone else's hard work this year, namely Rev. Mary Whitson, who produced them for the Canadian Presbyterian Church's World Service & Development Department... You can find the original here (and leave a donation as a thankyou)... But below is the adapted version we are going to be using tomorrow morning:

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.
"The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."
The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

Lamentations 3:22-26 (RSV)

Hope is a light given by God at the beginning of creation.

Hope is the gift of God.

Hope is a light given by God in the teaching of the prophets.

Hope is the gift of God.

Hope is the gift of God revealed in the life of Christ.

Hope is the gift of God.

Hope is a light given by God, the Son of God, the Son of Mary.

(The candle is lit.)

Let us pray:

Source of light, shine in our lives and in your world

with your renewing hope.

In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Shalom

Comments

A Woman of no Distinction

Don't often post other people's stuff here... But I found this so powerful that I thought I should. It's a performance poem based on John 4: 4-30, and I have attached the original YouTube video below. A word for women, and men, everywhere... "to be known is to be loved, and to be loved is to be known." I am a woman of no distinction of little importance. I am a women of no reputation save that which is bad. You whisper as I pass by and cast judgmental glances, Though you don’t really take the time to look at me, Or even get to know me. For to be known is to be loved, And to be loved is to be known. Otherwise what’s the point in doing either one of them in the first place? I WANT TO BE KNOWN. I want someone to look at my face And not just see two eyes, a nose, a mouth and two ears; But to see all that I am, and could be all my hopes, loves and fears. But that’s too much to hope for, to wish for, or pray for So I don’t, not anymore. Now I keep to myself And by that

Psalm for Harvest Sunday

A short responsive psalm for us as a call to worship on Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday, and given that it was pouring with rain as I headed into church this morning the first line is an important remembrance that the rain we moan about is an important component of the fruitfulness of the land we live in: You tend the land and water it And the earth produces its abundance. You crown each year with your bounty, and our storehouses overflow with your goodness. The mountain meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are filled with corn; Your people celebrate your boundless grace They shout for joy and sing. from Psalm 65

Living under the Empire... (2) Where is Babylon?

We were driving back from school last week, talking about books that we had been reading and my younger son, Ciaran, asked me "Where is Babylon?" I have to confess that my history is better than my geography, and I said that it no longer exists as an inhabited city, but its ruins were to the north west of the current capital of Iraq, Baghdad. When I checked however, I discovered that it is actually about 50 miles south of Baghdad and the modern town is the administrative centre of the province of Babil... But just as the modern city is but a shadow of the historic capital of 2 ancient empires, first under Hammurabi in the 18th century BCE and then the "Neo-Babylonian" empire (under Nebuchadnezzar etc) in the 6th century BCE, so the earthly Babylonian empire/s was/were fleeting in comparison to the enduring metaphorical idea of Babylon. The original Empire under Hammurabi was probably the ultimate origin of some of the early Biblical stories, including the &quo

Virtual Methodist

Search This Blog