Prayer or meditation
Vestry prayer
Divine spirit, be with us in this hour of worship,
that as we sing, listen, and pray,
we may know that we are in the presence of
light and love. Amen.
This prayer can be amended to include musicians by changing the word “pray” to “play”
Candles for sorrows and celebration
I invite you to join in a time for prayerful reflection together.
We have two candles which will be lit from our single chalice flame.
We will use the first candle to reflect on the sorrows of a troubled world.
I’ll ask (………name member of congregation) to come forward to light this candle from the
This Christmas, may we…
This Christmas, may we…
Glimpse the promise of the future, as did Mary
Know our duty, and resist judgement, as did Joseph
Honour new life and praise new creation, as did the shepherds and angels
May we seek wisdom beyond our tradition as did the Magi
Offer hospitality as did the Innkeeper
And in so doing, may
A solstice ritual, as darkness falls on 21 December
This originally appeared in The Inquirer, Issue 8001
https://www.inquirer.org.uk/pages/
We gather at the winter solstice
We extinguish the old candle
There is darkness – the days of light are shorter, the night
is longer, the trees are bare, and the cold bites into us.
We have reached the low point, the midwinter point, the
longest night
When the world hurts, a prayer
This originally appeared in The Inquirer, Issue 8041
https://www.inquirer.org.uk/pages/
Let us join together in a time of prayer and reflection.
Let us turn our minds and our hearts to that which is, for us, sacred, and let us draw ourselves into the
presence of that spirit which some of us call God.
And let us
My mind’s eye Christmas
My mind’s eye
Holds tears and fears
Angers and resentments
Past and present .
My mind’s eye
Feels hope and acceptance
Acceptance of all this
Hope in experience
A past and present future.
My mind’s eye
Is no longer blind, I
Can see my role in the laughter in the pain
My mind’s eye is
Christmas eve blessing
May your higher self be with you even in the blue moments
May all that you are willing to be, be with you
May guidance be sought
May you be willing to engage in all that this guidance shows
May you recognise the birth of new light
May the Spirit of Love come to your
Solstice sunset blessing
May I be open in my heart before the shortest day
May I welcome this night
May I bow forwards
May I receive all that came before me
May I be shown renewal in order to renew
May I connect to All That Is
May I give thanks
May I be willing to be a