Note: this piece may be attached to a copyright; apologies if this is the case. We are still the people walking. We are still people in the dark, and the darkness looms large around us, beset as we are by fear, anxiety, brutality, violence, loss — a dozen alienations that we cannot manage. We are […]
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Epiphany Evening When Mary was really cold, she gave an angry kick to the frankincense jar (flashy gift, but ultimately useless) and then she saw it – ‘Look what the magi really left us! I can start this fire with what fell behind the caravan’s two-toed feet. ‘Something ordinary is the only way to warm […]
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A poem for Christmas and Epiphany This night we steer our paths By lights in holy skies. Like eyes of old, we stare Aloft at certain stars. Pressed hard by cruel tones And ugly, unseemly times, We linger at a star of beauty, A gleaming, affirming fire. To homes and naves we go With children […]
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Loving God, We gather as your people Seeking your presence, your comfort and your love. In this Epiphany Season of light Shine your light upon us – Into the recesses of our spirits, Those places where we experience anxiety, depression, fear and despair. This morning, we lift up in particular all among us who are […]
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Reflection of the Magi A Christmas & Epiphany Poem What wisdom I have Awakens me to my blindness. I cannot see light itself What I know of light Is only an alluring shadow Of what it is and does. From billions of years away in space-time, Through darkness intervening, At its inconceivable speed The light […]
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For Christmas Day or Epiphany Ready-to-print download: Now Comes the Brighter Day. – Bob Hill Now comes the brighter day so wanted, needed now, reminding all that dark is stalled when love comes home to stay. Now comes the brighter ray, a beam for all to show, a flame of fame, no one to shame, […]
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O Love, Like wise ones of old Bend me toward Bethlehem And every place of birth Where You saturate earth And world with joy Surprising sleepy shepherds Of one kind or another. Wake me from slumbers Of every sort Daring to distract me From Your grand gift Poured again and again Through heavens torn Revealing […]
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Post-Christmas correspondence from a shepherd to a traveler from the East Dear Melchior, Greetings from all of us. We trust you made the journey home safely and didn’t run into any of Herod’s lot because terrible things happened after you left! When you and your friends didn’t report back to him after your visit to […]
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God of Illumination, during this Epiphany season we thank you for inviting us on this journey of faith for revealing yourself to us in the love of the Creator, the joy of the Spirit and the peace of the Christ-child. We commit anew, like the wise ones from the East, to seek and serve Christ […]
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Prayers of approach and confession for Epiphany Sunday – Year C God-with-us: This morning we will hear the story Of pilgrims from the east searching for you Rejoicing at their discovery, Kneeling before you in adoration. We confess that we do not seek you with the same hunger. Forgive our comfort. Our settling for easy […]
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Written for Epiphany, Year C Teach your Chosen One, O God, how to rule your people with justice and how to govern with gentleness the people who stagger under heavy loads. May your Chosen One judge fairly and give attention to the people most in need. May your Chosen One be like showers of rain […]
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Words for Epiphany and the New Year Let us look for Christ wherever we go Let us never stop seeking Believing that there is a light that shines in the darkness Which the darkness shall not overcome And may the love of the Creator The joy of the Spirit And the peace of the Christ-child […]
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By faith, Mary let go of fear, and engendered a mothering God. This faith may lead us through labyrinths of doubt, laughing hysterically, shouting in protest, lurching in denial, finally making it to our foundation, our place in the world, our home. By faith, Joseph took comfort from a dream, embracing complex, reconstituted, extended family […]
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Praise from the heart: psalms framed and phrased for church worship For Epiphany Ready-to-download and print: Epiphany Praise Psalm 72 – Duncan Wilson WORD Epiphany Praise Psalm 72 – Duncan Wilson PDF Teach your rulers, O God, how to rule your people with justice and how to govern with gentleness the people who […]
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May the moon that illuminated the night of the shepherds of Bethlehem, embrace your fears and your struggles, renew your yearnings for a good life and your hope in the arrival of peace. May the star that guided those who migrated from distant lands guide your searches and lead you always to the entrust with […]
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Genesis 1 is often included in readings for the Easter vigil, Trinity Sunday and Epiphany. As the stars slid down the beams of the universe in it’s beginning, they burned with love…. so much so that some became vulnerable and exploded. Eons later, in free fall toward our planet many of their parts held us […]
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Use this easy-to-present dramatised version of the Epiphany (Twelfth Night) story to bring the characters to life. The text is adapted from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. Ready-to-print: Epiphany drama Matthew 2.1-12 WORD Epiphany drama Matthew 2.1-12 PDF The Epiphany Story Matthew 2:1-12 Three Readers: Storyteller, 1-3 Magi / Wise ones, Herod […]
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When the song of the angels is stilled when the star in the sky is gone when the kings and princes are home when the shepherds are back with their flocks the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost to heal the broken to feed the hungry to release the prisoner to rebuild the […]
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Originally written for Epiphany Sunday, Year C. Let us look for Christ wherever we go Let us never stop seeking Believing that there is a light that shines in the darkness Which the darkness shall not overcome And may the love of the Creator The joy of the Spirit And the peace of the […]
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This litany was prepared for use by the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America. Click here for a printable copy. Based on Genesis 1 (included in the Sunday lectionary for Epiphany Year B, Trinity Sunday Year A, and Easter Years A,B and C) Using the maternal reference for God, this reading was originally written for Mothering […]
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This responsive Call to Worship might be used at a special New Year’s Day service or on the first Sunday of the new year. Ready-to-print downloads: New Year, Call to Worship PDF New Year, Call to Worship WORD People of the world, it is time to celebrate new beginnings. We step into the new year […]
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Reading and Heeding the signs of the Times Matthew 2.1-12 Note: The “king” or “magi” or “wise one” may be named as appropriate for the congregation. The part may be played by either a woman or a man. The “minister” might be any worship leader. Originally written for Epiphany Sunday, Year A. Script Minister: …This […]
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