Christmas

From darkness to light: the Advent procession –Salisbury Cathedral, UK

This annual service, ‘From Darkness to Light’, held in Salisbury Cathedral starts in complete darkness.  A single candle is lit, and the light spreads throughout the cathedral until hundreds of lights burn brightly illuminating the vastness. These words from the programme set the scene: “The darkness is at one and the same time a comforting […]

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Call to Worship, Advent 4 — Thandiwe Dale-Ferguson, USA

A responsive reading Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel and restore us O God: Let your face shine, that we may be saved. From the throngs of city centers to the far-flung wilderness: Let your face shine, that we may be saved. To every nation, race and people: Let your face shine, that we may […]

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Blue Christmas

The Christmas season is not always a happy time. — Mary Oliver (from Thirst, Beacon Press, Boston, 2006) The Advent and Christmas seasons can remind us of loved ones or relationships we have lost. The sights and smells of the weeks approaching Christmas, rather than bring joy and delight, can bring sadness and grief. A “Blue […]

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Advent, time to pray and prune — Angie Brock, USA

Peace be within your walls and quietness within your towers. Psalm 122:7 I think of Advent as a “pray and prune” time –a whole liturgical season in which to weed and prune in order to reset our hearts and souls as we prepare for and make the pilgrimage to the manger. Advent is here. As […]

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Christmas Words of Assurance

As you gather with your loved ones this year, or pause to remember those you are missing most at this time, know that you are surrounded by a wider cloud of witnesses: your wider church family. Held together in God’s arms and encircled by love, may you feel God’s presence in this Holy Season. May […]

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Prayer for the Beginning of Advent — Mary Luti, USA

You give us Advent, Lord, and we are grateful and glad to abide in your time, urgent, yet measured, imagining life. You give us Advent, Lord, and we are grateful and glad to watch by your light, candid, yet hidden, sharp as a truth. You give us Advent, Lord, and we are grateful and glad […]

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