Category Archives: Advent prayers

A Prayer When Delighting in Hope

30 Wednesday Nov 2022

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Holy Cultivator of Visions and Dreams-

As the sun rises on this new season, we seek your presence in the ordinary and extraordinary.
We gaze to the light growing in the east, knowing that hope is beaming in our world.
We look for the warm rays of hope to thaw our frost-glazed hearts.

So we celebrate cautious optimism-
Even when the chills of winter have slowed our souls,
Even when the disappointments of frigidness have turned us against the hope of the Holy Winds.

Warm us to your visions, God.
Kindle the spark of your dreams in our hearts.
May your presence refresh our weary spirits again.

Amen.

Advent Candle Lighting Prayer for Love

15 Wednesday Dec 2021

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Tensions rise between neighbors. Hate lurks in stores and on roads, in school hallways and political discussions. Humanity focuses more on its own individual well being instead of the well being of all.

Yet animosity isn’t the last word, and hate will never win because God’s love endures forever. Divine love dissipates all venom and sweetens all bitterness.

Even as we walk in the shadow filled valleys of toxic interactions, God’s love is lighting the path to the future. Through the Spirit of the Christ in our world, the vapors of hate will not last in our world. Love will spread from person to person, lifting the toxic fogs that linger between people.

We light the candle of love to clear the cloud of hate in our world and dissolve the mists of gloom as the Christ enters our world and brightness continues to grow. Amen.

(c)2021 Rev. Michelle L. Torigian. Permission to use in a worship service (including a streamed service) with attribution.

Under the Night Sky – A Christmas Poem

15 Wednesday Dec 2021

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Under the night sky
We abide the beauty of God’s darkness.
Beyond midnight- where miracles fill the earth and magic fill the skies.
Where stars and planets twinkle, delighting both the greatest skeptics and believers.

Under the night sky
In the chilly winds of nighttime,
A young woman met her son,
And light came into her world.
This illumination spread beyond time and space,
Expanding beyond human limitations into our world.

Under the night sky
Humans saw the alignment of planets birthing an extraordinary light-
The greatest star declaring a birth.
And as human and divine aligned that night, the world shifted to a new realm.

(c)2021 Rev. Michelle L. Torigian. Permission to use in a worship service (including a streamed service) with attribution.

What It Was – A Christmas Poem

09 Thursday Dec 2021

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It wasn’t a night full of familiar carols
But a melody crafted from surrounded creation.

It wasn’t an eve fashioned with trees and tinsel
But a stable of simplicity adorned with hay and dirt.

It was a cow rejoicing with a smoothened moo
And a sheep baa-ing in jubilation.
A woman sobbing with relief and great joy
And words of love from her beloved.

Stillness and motion danced in the twilight
Allowing room for Divine Light to pierce reality’s realm
And ushering in a new era of warmth, love, and hope
On top of the chilly earth below.

(c) Rev. Michelle L. Torigian. Permission to use in a worship service (including a streamed service) with attribution.

Blue Christmas Prayer Service

16 Monday Dec 2019

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Here is the latest Blue Christmas prayer service I wrote for this year.  Feel free to use with attribution!

Call to Worship
One: As we move through the shadows where light finds no home,
Many: God is sauntering with us.
One: As we journey through the desert without direction or goal,
Many: God is wandering with us.
One: As we endure life in the space between grief and joy,
Many: God is trekking with us.
One: Whether we abide in the wilderness or promised land,
Many: God escorts us.

Prayer
Loving God, Divine Sojourner, in our minds we know you are always our partner and you are forever present. Yet in the depths of despair, we can’t always sense your presence.  We move about this earth with the desire that you see us. We cry in our grief, hoping that you will hear the lament of our hearts. As you hold us in the palm of your hand, open our souls in order for us to know the extent of your care in our lives.  Amen.

Hymn Suggestion            “In the Bleak Midwinter”

Scripture              Psalm 88:3-7

Prayer
Some of us are in the depths of the Pit, God of Deliverance.  Our hearts are swallowed by grief, and our souls overflowing with despair.  As the shadows hide your presence, call us with a different voice and reach to us with different hands.  May our seasons of despair evolve from times of loneliness to times of comfort. Amen.

Scripture                Psalm 130

Prayer
Divine Heart of Mercy, in your steadfast love you call us along the journey from despair to hope.  Allow us to see the trickles of light trespassing on shadow’s spaces. May slivers of expectation move us into places filled with your warm promises.  Amen.

Scripture                  Psalm 91

Reflection/Sermon

Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer

Poem Suggestion            Howard Thurman’s “I Will Light Candles This Christmas”

Lighting of the Candles

Suggested Closing Hymn              “Silent Night”

Benediction
One: Even when lights have been dimmed
And shadows have lengthened,
God is near.
May the fragments of light and slivers of hope
Nudge all of us to take small steps into Divine anticipation!
Amen.

A Blessing of the Mason Jars

30 Saturday Nov 2019

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November 30 is National Mason Jar Day

God of creativity-

As we take a hold of the Mason Jars we have
we share our gratitude with you for the gifts they contain…

from the homemade jars of jam
and the pickles and pickles veggies,
to hot chocolate mixes
and candies.

Thank you for your delicious world and the hands which handed us these gifts.

We give you thanks for the creative possibilities each jar provides…

From being a container for soap
to displaying candles and flowers
and live plants which thrive in these jars.

God, the opportunities are endless!
(And Pinterest inspires us more…)

So bless our pint-sized vessels and quart-sized containers filled with possibilities.

May they help us grow closer to you and our neighbors. May they nudge us to use our gifts to create a beautiful, tasty world.

Amen.

Christmas Eve – Lighting the Christ Candle

24 Monday Dec 2018

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A warm glow spreads throughout our world declaring that God is with us. The light which extends from the farthest reaches of our earth to the neighbor next door alerts us that we are not alone throughout these long winter nights.

Tonight we proclaim the hope that inspires us to keep moving forward on our journeys. We recognize the peace that extends from our souls into the world. We celebrate the joy that fills our spirits with excitement. And we herald the love passed between the Christ and us and between our neighbors and us.

As the Christ Candle is kindled, we celebrate the compassion which will overcome hatred and the kindness which will overcome isolation.

May the light seen tonight fill our souls throughout the new year and beyond, enlivening our spirits throughout eternity.

Amen.

A Prayer on International Migrants Day

18 Tuesday Dec 2018

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Wandering Spirit- as we speak aloud or quietly remember migrants in our world, may we seek the stories of those who yearn to survive.

Your children hope for homes in which they can thrive.  May they find a permanent place to rest – if they so choose.  May they have abundant food, healthcare, and housing.  May possibilities for employment be plentiful. May love surround their homes, and may love walk with them on their journeys.

Spirit of Safety, shine on our sojourner siblings.  As they cross borders and walk on arid ground, give them the light they need to find smooth pathways.

As our neighbors walk miles, allow them the strength they need.  When food is insufficient and water is lacking, connect them with the resources they need for survival.

We pray for the families who have lost loved ones on their journeys, in exile, and imprisoned.  May Divine peace which extends beyond time and space comfort our friends who continue to lament.

May the powers that be see all migrants with the dignity they deserve.  May those with authority acknowledge our common humanity yet differing stories.  May we all open our souls to the narratives of neighbors who are unlike us, and may we advocate for the migrants who have been robbed of dignity.

Nudge us to recall the stories of our ancestors who risked everything to migrate to distant lands.  With thanksgiving, we celebrate the bravery of our kin, and pray for the courage of our siblings around this world.

During this season of Advent, may we connect with neighbors near and far, knowing that you, God, are calling us to radically love on our journeys.

Amen.

*****

You can find more information on International Migrants Day here.

Advent Candle Lighting Prayer for Joy

16 Sunday Dec 2018

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In the midst of our exiles, Spirit of Anticipation, your light is eclipsed by cynicism and despair. The wilderness continues beyond our expectations, and the probability of hope lasting in our souls seems unlikely.

The peace to which we seek is covered by the fog of hopelessness.

And yet, occasionally, even in the nighttime of our spiritual deserts, a small light can be seen in the distance.

Even when hope is small and the light is dim, we celebrate the moments that we detect possibilities ahead.

We light the candle of joy to optimistically announce the glow in life’s murkiness and the mirth that grows as we grow closer to the birth of the Christ.

Amen.

Advent Prayers – A Prayer on Premature Nights

13 Thursday Dec 2018

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God who thrives in the shadows-
The frigid winds drive us back into our winter abodes
Nearly isolating us from our neighbors
And capturing our uplifted spirits until Spring.

As night arrives earlier than yesterday’s appearance,
We ask that this season refuses to keep us from spiritual seclusion
As we fight against our natural tendency to hibernate.

May this season of long nights
Be ones filled with warm memories,
Inviting conversations,
Cozy dwellings,
And rooms of mirth.

When the shadows grow long
And hope escapes,
May our spirits find breath to endure until tomorrow.

Amen.