Tag Archives: Advent

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.

An Advent Communion Liturgy

25 Monday Nov 2019

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Invitation

One: May you know that the God of comfort is with you.
Many: And may you see the God of hope with you.
One: Open wide our anxious hearts!
Many: We open them to God’s peace.
One: Let us give thanks and share our joy.
Many: In this space and time, we offer God our love and praise.

Prayer

One: The dawn of hope rests on the horizon
And beams of love reach our doubting hearts.
We celebrate the newness of this season-
Waiting to see how the Christ will appear in our world.
Even in our despair, a glimmer of hope reaches into our twilight
Beckoning us to breathe and wait…

Our story tells us that the Christ child whose birth we anticipate
Will one day sit at tables with strangers and friends,
Building relationships filled with love and grace.

We see this as he fed the multitude,
Turned water into wine,
And ate with dear ones the night before his death.

He took the bread, blessed it, and broke it.
Eat in remembrance of me, he said.

He took the cup, and in his blessing
Reminded them that when they sipped from the fruit of the vine
To drink in remembrance of him.

Jesus.  The Christ.  Emmanuel – God with us.
Light of the World.  The Word of Life.
No matter how we know him
Or what name we call him,
He is our hope, our peace, our joy, and our love.
May the Spirit bless us and these elements as we commune to remember him.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

For the nourishment of spirit, mind, and body,
For hope that we begin to see,
And for comfort from the Prince of Peace,
We share our gratitude, Gracious God.
Encourage us in these shortened days.
Through the long nights of this season,
May your hope carry us until dawn arrives again.

Amen.

*****

(c) Michelle L. Torigian, 2019. Permission to use with attribution.

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.

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.

Advent Prayers – A Prayer for Focus

05 Wednesday Dec 2018

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Spirit of Strength who abides with us in the sparkles and shadows-
In the midst of this glitzy season
Filled with every distraction known to people,
Give us the focus to finish what we’ve started.

May Advent draw our attention to the sweetness of the journey-
Not the saccharine superficial sentiments of cultural expectation.

May Advent enliven our spirits and energize our tired minds.

May Advent drive us away from disturbances
And give us the gall to reach into the caverns of injustice
to aid in the delivery of God’s holy righteousness.

Amen.

Advent Candle Lighting Prayer for Peace

07 Thursday Dec 2017

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One: Uneasiness stems from the unrest in our world.  News echoes from our TVs and phones alerting us of turmoil around the globe. From what happens in our communities, schools, and world, it’s often tough to find harmony.

Words between neighbors reflect a dismal connection with fellow children of God.  Bullies in schools, workplaces, and other institutions cloud our once happy souls.

Yet even as we stand in the midst of commotion and even when anxiety stirs within our hearts, God is with us. The buzzing of hatred will not be the final noises we hear as God’s song of serenity will rise above the clamor.

Today we light the candle of peace to remember that harmony will abide.  The turmoil of the outside world and the unrest in our souls will convert to peace that goes beyond all understanding.  The light of peace and hope will transform our world to holy tranquility.

And you will be with us in the peaks and valleys of our journeys, God of Placidness.

Amen.

Advent Candle Lighting Prayer for Hope

02 Saturday Dec 2017

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One: All around us are signs of endings, of limitations, and even of death.
Grief and sadness grasp our souls like never before
And many of us stumble around wondering “What’s next?”

…If there will be a next.

Our path is void of light
Yet while we abide in the shadows
God is with us.
And as we gaze towards the pre-dawn sky-
Towards the birth of a newborn baby, the promised land, and a return from exile-
We see the initial flicker of hope.

Today we light the first advent candle to remember that light will appear in our shadows.  This light will illuminate our way through the wilderness, and we will find renewal on our journeys.  Hope is no longer an illusion but a faint glow of what waits for us.

Amen.

Cranky Christmas: The Return of the “Bah Humbugs”

20 Tuesday Dec 2016

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pexels-photo-249209Much like living with a high pitch noise that won’t go away, I feel as if I am experiencing this Advent/Christmas season with a humming irritation swirling inside of me more than I’ve experienced in other years.

Maybe it’s due to the amount of work I wish I could do but haven’t gotten done.  Maybe it’s due to the things I haven’t gotten accomplished – like Christmas cards (for the billionth year in a row) and how many more extracurricular tasks have to complete before December 25.  Maybe it’s due to all of the failures of this past year or what isn’t going right in my life – according to the world’s expectations.  Maybe it’s due to my endometriosis flaring up a bit (not enough to stop me from getting things accomplished but enough to make me slightly grouchier than the norm).  Maybe it’s due to disastrous political and heartbreaking world events of the past few months.

Now, I won’t describe this as melancholy, because I wouldn’t categorize this as sadness or depression.  Sure, there are moments of sorrow due to the shortened days and lack of peace in our world.  But my Blue Christmas is not a traditional lament.  Rather, I’m irritated.  And this lingering frustration will not subside no matter how many episodes of Modern Family and Parks and Recreation I watch, how many times I view Love Actually or how many peanut butter and chocolate candies I eat.

And all I want to say… or scream…is BAH HUMBUG!

My annoyance at the circumstances of 2016 has placed a filter for the joy of the season.  It’s drowned hope.  It’s robbed my soul of peace, and loving one’s neighbor tends to suffer as a result of my irritations.

And while the presence of the Christ is in my midst, there is a veil between my eyes and Christ’s presence.

So I’m praying that when the Christ candle is lit on Saturday evening, it will be the light I need to see hope, peace, joy, and love that’s been a bit absent in recent weeks.  I pray that it will soothe my soul throughout these shallow-filled days.  I pray that I will not allow this light that is coming into our world to diminish and that it continues to remain strong as time gives birth to 2017.