leadinginworship

Strange Epiphany Prayer

It has been a strange epiphany this year, God.
We’ve had sudden insight into how fragile democracy can be.
Many of us are disturbed and shocked by the violence and mayhem
that filled the halls of power in Washington DC this week.
Spaces sacred to government were violated by intruders
carrying weapons and symbols of racism.
We see the injustice of how government responds to protests;
when black people marched peacefully last year
they were met with a massive show of force.
We worry about a president who both refuses to concede
and fans flames of violent protest,
and the many who support him unconditionally.
We pray for peace, we pray for democracy,
we pray for an orderly transfer of power.
And on top of this, God, we are in the middle of a pandemic.
So many people around the world are in lockdown.
As hospitals reach capacity,
and health care professionals are stretched to the limit,
we are desperately waiting for vaccines to be rolled out.
Give wisdom and speed to those working on this problem.
Help us to comfort the grieving,
support those who are financially strapped,
and reach out to those who are isolated and alone.
Thank you for illumination…for moments where we see you working.
Thank you for the resiliency of politicians,
who continued their work even after violent disruption.
Thank you for the courage of all who care for the sick.
Thank you that our congregation continues to function
even when we can’t meet in person right now.
Together this week, in this cold winter season,
we hold onto the promise of a Saviour born to us,
who comes to bring peace on earth,
good news to all people.  Amen.

Advent Pandemic Prayer

Thank you, God, for thick, warm socks on crisp winter days.
Thank you for the smell of pine needles,
for the taste of a juicy orange,
for packages delivered in trucks,
and colourful lights dancing in the dark.
Thank you for the poignant pleasures
of unpacking Christmas ornaments,
and looking at photos from years gone by.
We are hanging on to thankfulness so tight this year,
because there are too many griefs that keep us up at night.
Will you be with us through this season of waiting?
Keep us safe as we wait for a vaccine,
and give godspeed to those who are rolling it out.
Bring comfort to all the homes who will celebrate Christmas
in a bittersweet way because there are too many empty chairs.
This season is particularly hard for those families touched by death.
We wonder about this world of yours,
and this cycle of life and loss…sometimes it is too hard.
Be near to those who struggle with depression and anxiety,
because loneliness is more lonely at Christmas
and grief is more grievous.
We want this Christmas to be memorably generous.
As we open our wallets to support food banks and shelters,
as we call or write relatives we haven’t seen in ages,
as we drop off soup or cookies for neighbours and friends,
we are so thankful that we have the means to give.
Even if our smiles are masked, we can give a kind word in the grocery line.
This advent, help us to let go of old grudges that clog up our lives.
Yes, people have been mean, and they’ve hurt us dreadfully.
Give us a glimpse of what it would look like to loosen our fingers
from the pain we clutch so tightly. Can you bring healing even here?
We want to experience new birth this Christmas,
your presence newborn in us. 
Immanuel, God with us.
We  are waiting.
Amen.

Stumbling Towards Thanksgiving: Congregational Pandemic Prayer

God, in this hard year, we’re stumbling towards Thanksgiving.
There has been lots to trip us up;
a pandemic, economic meltdowns, social isolation,
injustice on so many fronts: #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo,
and the ongoing call for justice for indigenous peoples.
Not to mention hurricanes, forest fires and climate change…
and this is not even including the everyday sorrows
that haven’t let up for one minute!
We wouldn’t wish this year on anyone!
And so on this Thanksgiving, we stumble on the words,
and we need to take some deep breaths now to pause
and consider what we are thankful for…  [ pause ]
We do have things to be thankful for.
Thank you for life, for bringing us here this far.
Thank you for those who have sacrificed to help others;
health care and essential workers, teachers,
and everyone who has toiled overtime to make a difference.
Thank you for your provision;
the good earth has yielded up its bounty,
and there is food in grocery stores,
even if we sometimes do have to line up for it.
Thank you that this fall season still delights:
the taste of the crisp delicious apple,
the gold of grain pouring out of the combine,
the fragrance of the damp leaves,
the sound of geese honking their way south,
the feel of cool wind and the sun still warm on our skin.
God of hope, we need your help to get through the coming year.
Help us find a vaccine:
we need it soon,
we need it for everyone,
and we need it to work.
In the meantime, help our communities pull together;
forgive us when we are irritated and judgmental
of the choices other people are making.
Give us all patience as we wash our hands for the millionth time,
as we mask up, as we make hard choices not to mingle and socialize in person.
On this Thanksgiving day, we set our eyes on Christmas,
The world is waiting desperately for an angelic message
of good tidings of great joy for all people.
We are waiting for you to be born again,
born again in this pandemic year, born again in our hearts, in our world.
We know you are coming, and so on Thanksgiving
we pray with thanksgiving, in Jesus’s name, Amen

Glory to God for Autumn Congregational Prayer

Glory be to God for autumn things!
For the green world changing colour;
golden, crimson, amber, rust.
For baskets of glorious apples:
delicious, ambrosia, russet, spy.
For the grain tumbling out of the combine,
the pumpkins filling the field,
for round bales of hay weighing down wagons.
And then the crisp fall breezes bringing clouds
heavy with rain, hinting of snows to come.
We come with thanksgiving for the rich blessing of the harvest,
and the work of the farmers who produced it.
God, this is a year where we take nothing for granted;
thank you for food on the table, secure food supply lines
and stable governments, for universal health-care
and a medical system that mostly works.
In this pandemic year, life has been hard for everyone,
but for some it’s harder than others.
We lift prayers for people who are grieving;
grieving the loss of loved ones, or the loss of jobs or businesses,
the loss of freedom to be with family or to travel.
We pray for health and an end to this pandemic.
God, we pray for a vaccine!  We need it soon,
we need it for everyone, and we need it to work.
In the meantime, help us look carefully at who we are.
We want to hold onto your values of love and justice;
watching to see where our own actions are racist,
where our own structures perpetuate inequality and injustice.
We thank you for the freedom we have to choose our government.
Guide our leaders who are making big decisions about the pandemic,
big decisions about our changing climate, and about our use of fossil fuels,
decisions that will have implications for generations.
As a community of faith, we put our trust in you.
You oversaw the ice ages, and the great move of continental plates.
Creatures came and went with time, known only by you.
Who are we, for you to notice us?
And yet, you hear our prayer. Your love is all around us.
Creation pours forth beauty every day.
You sent a saviour with a special delivery salvation message,
and a spirit who breathes hope into us even in times like these.
In the power of the Spirit, and in the name of Jesus,
our community praises you, now and always. Amen

Living with a Pandemic Congregational Prayer

Gracious God:
We are the church united as we pray from different locations,
connected through something more marvellous than technology--
your Spirit filling us with hope and vision.
We come first of all with thanksgiving.
Thank you for the many kindnesses we have experienced
in this time of social distancing: old friends reconnecting,
some households learning about togetherness,
others learning new quieter rhythms.
Thank you for the joy of food and the beauty of music.
Thank you for this spring-time season
which is lifting us with its promise of new life.
Even as there is much to be thankful for,
we come together with lament;
this virus has caused so much loss of life around the world.
So many suffer, so many families grieve,
and we don’t know when it will end.
We lament the financial burdens of this pandemic,
and that it has fallen heavily on the poorest,
with inequalities standing out more sharply than usual.
We know that racism is one of the roots of injustice,
and that the death of George Floyd is just an example
of the everyday violence people of colour face.
There are those among us who suffer because of racism,
and there are those among us who haven't thought about racism
because it is the privileged air we breathe.
As we work on solving health problems,
help us build a society that addresses injustice.
We continue to pray for a vaccine for this virus.
Give insight to researchers, and co-operation among nations,
so that all can benefit from scientific breakthroughs.
Give wisdom to our politicians making difficult decisions
about how and when to modify social distancing.
Help them find that fine balance between opening our economy
and safeguarding public health.
Keep us healthy and help us care for each other.
As we all make choices about who to see,
and how many we should see at a time,
help us refrain from judging each other,
just as we do not want to be judged by others.
Jesus, walk with us this week.
We trust in you, because you have been with us,
showing us the faithful path in good times and bad,
and you will be with us, come what may. Amen.

Congregational Prayer in a Pandemic

Great God: our community gathers in spirit
through the marvels of technology to give thanks together.
Thank you for medical professionals and staff
who work so faithfully in hospitals, clinics and nursing homes…
give them strength, courage and personal protective equipment.
Thank you for the diligence of scientists working on a vaccine,
and the way so many have ramped up the production of essential supplies.
Thank you for storekeepers and clerks,
farmers and truck drivers,
police officers, firefighters
and all who show up to work every day in essential services.
Thank you for those who care for children in close quarters,
and all the creativity and patience they are showing.
There is so much to be thankful for,
we pause here to lift up our own silent prayer of thanks….

We come to you with many needs today.
Hear our prayer for those who are sick with this virus…
ease their suffering and restore them to health.
Hear our prayer for those who are grieving,
who bury their loved ones without the comfort of funerals,
or the physical presence of family and friends.
Hear our prayer for the unemployed
and business owners in this time of financial insecurity…
help them survive this economic downturn.
Hear our prayer for children whose routines are disrupted
and who long to play sports and visit playgrounds…
show them how to have fun inside.
We pray for vulnerable people everywhere,
especially refugees, and people in war-torn countries
who have no access to medical care….
we need a miracle to spare them from this virus.
Finally, hear our prayer for public health officials around the world--
give them wisdom as they make decisions to reduce fatalities.
This week, when we are tempted
to dwell only on our own loneliness,
help us reach out to others,
being the community we long to have.
Thank you for showing us new ways to be the church,
the church alive, vibrant and witnessing to the risen Christ
in times like these.
Amen

Easter Pandemic Prayer

Jesus died.
He was buried.
On the third day
he rose.
Thank you, God,
for hope
when hope was lost
and for life
when death had won.
In these pandemic times
when so many
are suffering and dying
resurrect within our world
the faith and hope and love
we need to survive.
This Easter,
accept our humble hosannas,
which are linked
with our deepest prayers
for relief from this virus.
Healer of our every ill,
we need you now.
With Christians around the world
and the angels in heaven
we proclaim the mystery of our faith;
Christ has died,
Christ is risen,
Christ will come again.

Big Picture Congregational Prayer

Thank you God for everything under us;
for these chairs on which we sit,
for this church’s firm foundation,
for the soil with its burrowing animals and insects,
for the rock down under that, layered by the sea in ancient times,
for the water that flows in subterranean channels far beneath us,
and for the miles upon miles of bedrock,
(unknown and unexplored by all but you),
all the way down to the living heat of our planet,
the molten rock deep in the heart of the earth.

Thank you God for everything above us;
for this solid roof which shelters us,
for the wind swirling and birds soaring skyward,
for the airplanes and clouds high above,
for the upper atmosphere and the stratosphere,
for satellites orbiting, for meteors whizzing,
for the moon and the planets  of our solar system,
for asteroids and comets and supernovae and black holes,
for galaxy upon galaxy stretching away into the vastness of space.

The wide span of your work is a mystery we cannot fathom.
You are above us, you are beneath us, God of creation!
We pause now in silence as you hear our confessions and concerns:
           [silence]
Thank you that even though we are so small in the scheme of things,
you hear our prayers, you answer our prayers.
Bless our church, and help us to be people who point others to you,
help us to be a faithful part of your big picture.  Amen.

Congregational Prayer for Joys and Fears

Thank you, God, for the joy of today.
It is still morning, and yet so many good things have come our way:
the joy of shelter, the joy of clean water coming out of taps,
the joy of food on the table.
Thank you for friends who understand us,
and the joy of meeting new friends.
Thank you that we are here in church, body and spirit,
thank you for the joy of worshipping you, our Creator.
And in the midst of joys, in all honesty
we admit that we come with fears.
Some of us have fears about new beginnings;
new schools, new relationships, new jobs.
We don’t know how we’ll do or how we’ll feel—
we are nervous and want things to go well.
There are fears about health:
aches and pains that won’t go away,
symptoms that are unexplained,
treatments that we hope will be effective.
Some of us have financial fears:
will we find work, or is our work secure,
how will we pay these bills,
have we saved enough for the future?
And then there is the fear of loneliness
that strikes us all at some points--
we fear that we won’t find people to love,
or that we’ll lose the people we do love.
God of hope, thank you that you are with us in all our fears,
and that you bring joy even in the midst of them.
Thank you for your faithfulness through time,
for the ways you have been there for us in the past,
and that nothing can separate us from your love.

Help us this week to have compassion for those who fear:
for those who are fleeing bombs and bullets,
for those who face governments that are oppressive,
for those who cannot worship openly, but must meet in secret.
In our own community, there are people who live with the fear of violence.
Help us to be people of refuge, who offer help and support,
and who go the extra mile when we see people in need.
Forgive us for the times we have been too wrapped up
in our own fears and joys to truly see our neighbour.
Help us this week to embrace joyful living,
being mindful of the gift of each day,
remembering our Saviour Jesus Christ
who lives in us and through us.  Amen

Pentecost Congregational Prayer

Lord you give life to life!
From Day One, your Spirit brooding over the deep,
your wind rushing, your breath filling.
As creatures of the earth,  we inhale your grace
rejoicing in life abundant.
We use our breath, our being
to raise this hymn of praise:
for Jesus Christ, our Saviour,
and for the mission you give us
to spread your love to the world.

Our Pentecost petitions are many—
you know the prayers of our hearts.
Some of us are sick and tired, some of us are worried,
we fear for those we love, we fear the future.
Some of us are grieving, we don’t know how to go on.
We need your help!
We pray for the places in our world
where poverty has an iron grip…
whether that is close to home, or across the oceans.
We need  your Spirit to confront powers and principalities,
tyrants and governments and corporations
that feed off of and perpetuate poverty.

Today we pray especially for those
who are thinking of taking their own lives.
Guard and protect, showing that there can be good days
after this very bad day.
And for those whose lives have been shattered
by the death of a loved one to suicide,
hold them close, and give your comfort.
Thank you that you can reach even the most lifeless places.

This week, enliven us to be ambassadors of life divine,
to our neighbours, to our co-workers, to our family--
breathing out  the harmonies of your song,
melodies of the Holy Spirit--
unending, ageless, eternal and ever new.

Windy Day Congregational Prayer

Thank you for the wind!
Thank you for the way it sweeps across our great country,
over the Pacific ocean, up the mountains,
flying across the plains and the great lakes
till it arrives in Ontario in great gusts, [adjust to fit your geography]
making everything alive and lively,
blowing our hair and clothes into tangles,
filling our lungs and then blowing away
all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.
Fill us with your Spirit this morning like this wind,
blow across our country and into our congregation,
enlivening us, moving us, stirring us.

Thank you for our congregation, for every person;
thank you for the differences of age and varieties of experience,
thank you even that we don’t always get along.
Thank you for the challenges you give us to live as your church,
giving us exercise in breaking down dividing walls
exercises in forgiveness and tolerance,
learning to love each other truly.
Your spirit blowing us in loving directions!
Today we pray for those we know who feel storm-tossed,
who feel they have lost a solid foundation.
Unsettled because of family arguments,
shaky because of financial insecurity,
rattled because of depression,  or a crisis of faith or meaning;
help us to be people who can reach out a hand of solidarity,
a steadying hand that points to you.

There is a wind blowing today in our country
and people are discontent with many things;
we pray for Canada,  and for our government leaders.
Help us to be a country that cares for all its citizens,
a country that listens to the people on the edge,
a country that is fair and just.
We especially pray that racist thoughts,
even our own, would be exposed and challenged.
Give us courage to speak loving words to each other,
to both live and give the love you've shown us 
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blow into our lives with your freshening spirit,
the Breath of Life for all the world.
Amen

Open Us Congregational Prayer

God of great gifts,
for the world as we know it, we give you thanks!
The world in all its nearness,
our own special corners, our own dearest vistas,
the way it meets us each morning when we open our eyes.
For the food you provide, we give thanks,
the shape and feel of it in our hands,
the taste of it in our mouths,
a rich harvest produced by your rain, your sun, your soil.
We open ourselves to this bounty. 
We give thanks for the way you people the world,
the particularity of each special person we know and love,
the shape of their smiles, the way they tilt their heads,
the warmth of their embrace, the quality of their company.
We open ourselves to love. 
We give thanks for all this world in its immense beauty,
its staggering strength, its heights and depths,
the breadth of it, beyond our knowing.
And yet you know it, you know us,
you have made yourself known.
We thank you for the contours of your love
in the form of a son who is bread and wine and water and truth.
We are eager to be like him, to be born again in his likeness.
Open us to the Holy Spirit:
thank you for the possibilities that await us this week,
that love can win, that hope can blossom,
that faith can find a way in this world even in hard places.
We pray for all who need comfort and peace and help,
especially those near to us; fill them with your goodness.
We long for your healing power for those we know who are sick.
God of the great wide world and ourselves in this corner of it,
make us into a community that is open
cratered by the splendor of your creation
and filled to the brink with thankfulness.
Amen.

 

Canada Day Congregational Prayer

God of all the earth,
we pray today from the piece of the world we call Canada,
land of mountains and prairie, boreal forest and tundra,
a land of beauty from coast to coast to coast.
Thank you for peace in our time,
for democratic government, for health care,
for social safety nets and municipal services
delivering reliable electricity and clean, drinkable water.
In a country with so many blessings
we confess that these are not distributed equally;
there are First Nations communities without drinking water,
there are people who are hungry,
and many who are not caught in any safety net.
In this election year, help us call our government to account,
raising issues of inequality and racism.
Help us do better as a country,
addressing historic injustice and systemic abuse.
Even now as we are in a state of climate crisis,
help our government make choices
focussed not only on this generation
but on generations to come,
focussed not only on human welfare,
but on the welfare of all your creatures;
the salmon, the wolf, the snow goose, the monarch butterfly.
Thank you for religious freedom, and freedom of the press
which many countries do not enjoy;
protect us from public discourse steeped in hatred.
We pray for the peace of the world,
and that Canada could be a voice for peace,
using our many resources to help the most marginalized.
Help us here in our congregation,
comfort those among us who are sick or grieving,
and empower us to be a community of caring
in our neighbourhood and workplaces
all in the name of your son Jesus Christ,
and in the power of the Holy Spirit, who sustains us,
Amen

Congregational Prayer for the Little Things

God of grace,
thank you for the little things.
For the gift of this one little day in the great span of time.
For the little beauties;
the sunlight on blankets in the morning,
the fragrance of coffee,
the smile of someone who cares for us,
the texture of the day unfolding as it should.
Thank you for the gift of normal days,
peaceful, pleasant, ordinary.
Open our eyes to the little blessings we so often take for granted.
Thank you for sending a Saviour 
who knew the pleasures of everyday life,
who grew up in a family,
and saw the sky every day just like we do.
Help us learn from the little things he did:
stopping to talk to children,
even when he was being hurried to more important things.
Jesus noticing the woman giving two pennies to God,
or making a barbecue on the beach for his friends.
Presentness, thankfulness, hospitality:
we need these in our lives, in our community.
Thank you for this community,
the simple act of coming together to praise you,
the little offerings we give,
the small ways we try to show we care.
We do care, and we want to care more.
We want a love as deep and rich as someone who died for our sins:
Jesus, you were true to us even in the face of cruelty,
even to your last breath.
Fill us with that spirit of love so much
that it comes out of us in a thousand little ways this week.
Returning kind words for harsh words.
Giving freely when we see a need.
Forgiving easily and daily, and not holding grudges.
There are big needs and big problems in the world,
we trust that you will take our offerings,
our little actions for peace,
and multiply them the way only you can.
We trust in you, together, as your people,
and so we pray together, the prayer you taught us to pray: 

[The Lord's Prayer]

Mothering God Prayer

Mothering God,

thank you for giving us life and breath on this most beautiful of days!

The sun beams out praise!

The leaves unfurl their green hallelujahs!

The nesting birds join the spring song of praise!

Buried in the soil, seeds leap upward at your command!

The glory of your goodness bursts out all around us,

our hearts overflow with your presence!

Today we say thank you for all who are nurturing life.

For those who give birth or adopt,

for those who cook and clean,

for those who change diapers and do laundry,

for those who listen and encourage,

for those who give undivided attention,

for those who provide the necessities of life

willingly, lovingly, consistently.

Be with those who face challenges,

give patience where there is frustration,

stamina where there is weariness,

and wisdom where there are dilemmas.

You walk beside us on long caregiving journeys,

and you won’t leave us.

We think especially today of those in our own community living in poverty

who have trouble putting food on the table and paying the rent;

guide our politicians as they make decisions that affect children.

We pray for places where life is threatened...

for Israel and Gaza where bombs are raining death,

and for Venezuela where political instability keeps continuing--

we long for your intervention in these aching places of the world.

In the news this week, we heard of the thousands

of species that face extinction because of the human footprint.

All of life on earth is your creation;

we repent that we have disregarded and ignored the treasure of diversity.

Help us find the will to change our ways and truly value all you made.

You hovered over the face of the deep in the dark with only your imagination;

you dreamed a world of life and beauty.

We want to dream together with you!

Send your Spirit on this community so that we can be your people of peace 

living life to the fullest on earth as it is in heaven.

In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen

Humble Palm Sunday Congregational Prayer

Holy Jesus,
you come to meet us in humble ways.
You meet us in the lengthening of the light.
You meet us in the fragrance of the earth, melting.
You meet us in the delicate petals of the first yellow crocus blossom.
You meet us in the first bee we see.
This year we will look for little signs of life, not passing them by,
but stopping and giving thanks for your presence in the beauty of our world.
Your holy presence is all around us.
Thank you for this congregation gathered to worship,
and for way you have shaped us into a loving supportive community
reaching out to those in need.
Thank you for showing us the joy of losing ourselves and finding your strength.
We need strength this week to love our families,
to be kind at work even when we are tired,
and to give to our community, even when we feel we have nothing to give.
We come to you in humility because we are not a perfect people.
We know what’s right and we would like to do it,
but we feel that road is too hard, and too costly.
Forgive us for cheering you on your lonely road
while we take the easy way.
We love a humble Saviour riding a donkey,
but we want the best things, and honour without responsibility.
Today we pray for all who are tempted by power:
for our political leaders with many followers who will do anything to stay popular;
for those with great financial resources, who only want to use it for themselves;
for those with power over vulnerable people, who hurt those in their care.
You know how each one of us is being tempted in our own life:
In this moment of silence we meet you at our own crossroads,
we feel your great tender love for us and listen to your voice….[Silence]
Thank you that you don’t just show us the way,
you are the way, and you empower us to follow you.
We follow you together, with hosannas in our hearts.
In Jesus’ holy name we pray, Amen.

St Patrick’s Remix Congregational Prayer

We bind onto ourselves

the loving power of God our Creator,

the enlivening power of the Spirit of Truth,

and the steadfast faithfulness of Jesus Christ.

We bind onto ourselves the virtues

Of our God, three in one.

We bind onto ourselves 

the glories of the earth, this gift:

The power of Heaven,

The light of the sun,

The brightness of the moon,

The splendour of fire,

The flashing of lightning,

The swiftness of wind,

The depth of sea,

The stability of the earth.

We bind to ourselves today

God's Power to guide us,

God's Might to uphold us,

God's Wisdom to teach us

God's Eye to watch over us,

God's Ear to hear us

God's Word to give us speech.

Against the power of hatred

Against the power of organized hate groups,

Against hatred that is tolerated on social media,

Against the hatred in the hearts of young men who took guns and went to mosques to kill and maim,

Against hatred in our own hearts towards any group,

good Lord, protect us.

For all who are grieving,

and cannot be comforted,

good Lord, hear our prayer.

Against sickness and pain,

good Lord preserve us.

God's Power to guide us,

God's Might to uphold us,

God's Wisdom to teach us

God's Eye to watch over us,

God's Ear to hear us

God's Word to give us speech,

God's Hand to guide us.

Christ with us, Christ before us,

Christ behind us,Christ within us, 

Christ beneath us, Christ above us. 

We bind to ourselves the love of Christ that will not let us go,
and the strength to share that love with everyone we meet. Amen.

Snowy Congregational Prayer

God, we have come to worship stomping snow off our boots,
our eyes watering and cheeks stinging from the cold.
Some of us have had to shovel our way out of our homes,
others have picked our way carefully on slippery sidewalks.
Thank you for bringing us here to worship
through this crystal-covered world,
where all the outlines are softer, and the night is bright.
Thank you for the mysterious beauty of this winter season. 
We pray today for all who face hardship because of winter;
for those who can’t afford heating, or who can’t afford heat and food,
and for those who are living outside, or are walking the streets
until the shelters open their doors.
This weather binds us together;
open our hearts to reach out to those in need,
checking on people who need help because they can’t get out,
or lending a helping hand with clearing cars and sidewalks.
We pray for travellers, and those who operate ambulances
and public transit, who work hard to get people where they need to go.
Thank you for the perspective of children, who love the snow,
and find it magical, a change from the routine,
a dazzling playground made just for them.
This week give us the eyes of children to see the gifts all around us;
the pleasures of each other’s company,
the delight of good food, and good games,
and the contagiousness of a good belly laugh.
Even as some find joy and beauty this week,
we know that others feel frozen with grief.
We pray for those who are sorrowing over the loss of loved ones,
especially the ____________ family.
Others in our community feel the heavy weight of sickness,
or they’re coping with pain or the anxiety of waiting for test results.
There is the anxiety for our world, of economic troubles in Venezuela,
of wars that won’t end in Syria, and insurmountable walls in Israel Palestine.
We need your Spirit hovering over the earth like snowclouds,
dropping peace upon us one small flake at a time,
blanketing us with your love, transforming our bleak landscape
into something that can sparkle in the light of your Son.
We long for this with all our hearts, and so we pray,
let it be so, Amen.

Candle of Love Second Advent Prayer

Thank you that your love falls down like snow, covering everything.
We need your love now, more than ever.
We confess that we hate some people:
people who have hurt us,
people who think differently than us,
people who look differently than us.
And we are careless enough to let hatred grow,
underestimating its power in our world.
God, we need a Saviour who can save us from ourselves.
Thank you for your love that covers our world like oceans.
Thank you for deep love that will help us care for those who are sick,
and be faithful companions to those who are grieving.
We think especially of....
Forgive us when we make idols of screens,
turning to them instead of to you,
neglecting those we are called to love truly and deeply.
Thank you for your love that moves us, like the wind,
pushing us to where your love is needed, giving us energy to be generous.
Thank you that love is a natural resource, all around us every day.
Thank you for the gift of an ordered society, clean water, health care:
These come to us from people who cared,
who worked to make the world a better place.
We pray today for societies that are breaking down,
like Venezuela, or where people are oppressed, like Gaza and North Korea.
Thank you for the gift of the Prince of Peace
who is born again in the hearts of all who work for peace.
You slip into our world in mysterious ways.
This Christmas we want our church community and our homes
to be filled with love,
we want to be opening our doors not just to those who are dear to us,
but to those who are on the edges.
Behold you stand at the door and knock.
Lord Jesus, come in!
Amen.

Advent Peace Prayer for Marriages

Mary and Joseph were making an uneasy journey in advent.
Hugely pregnant, and with bills to pay,
they were barely through a conflict that nearly divided them.
God of grace, hear our advent prayer
for people whose marriages are in trouble.
Thank you for romantic love, and the rush of desire:
help couples who feel empty when that fades or disappears,
show them that love is deeper than romance.
Thank you for harmony and partnership:
help couples that have lost their way,
who wallow in conflict rather than pulling through to the other side.
Thank you for lovers who honour and delight:
help couples whose lovemaking has become selfish
and totally devoid of tenderness.
Thank you for unity of purpose and shared pursuits:
help couples who have grown apart
and want different things from life.
Thank you for partners who cherish each other as companions:
help couples who live with walls between them
and have forgotten how to enjoy each other’s company.
Thank you for the sacred gift of intimacy:
help us when we idolize marriage and forget
that friendship in community is the core of Christian life.
Jesus, be with all who are re-learning how to be together
as they walk the long marriage road.
Holy Spirit, you know when there is hope for a marriage
and when partners cannot rally.
Give insight, especially when safety has been shattered by violence.
Help us as a community to support married people,
and to offer unconditional love to everyone,
even when we are broken.