The video can be watched here
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY & WELCOME
If a cattle trough in a small village can become a sacred place then all of this land carries the footprint of God’s engagement with humanity for just as the Dharawal people saw the Creator at work in all places; we long for God to be present and alive where we live and work too. As we acknowledge their elders past and present we join with the Dharawal people in working for reconciliation and justice making.
In that spirit of reconciliation you are invited and welcome here. For the story of God discovered at Bethlehem is more inclusive, affirming and welcoming than we can ever imagine. In that place there was room for the Christ, in this place there is room for you and me, so welcome! You too are loved.
INTRODUCTION TO ADVENT As we make our way towards Bethlehem, we are invited to prepare the way for the birth of Jesus. Each week, we will look at a different way of preparing for this journey. Today, we will focus on keeping vigil. Keeping vigil is an active form of waiting, filled with hope, expectation and anticipation. It is a time to tune into our heart’s desires and listen for God’s guidance. We hold in tension the hoped-for promise the future holds & the gifts available to us in the present moment. Today, we embody the spirit of keeping vigil in our worship service. How can we stay awake and alert as we journey together towards Bethlehem and all that is waiting to be born inside us.
ADVENT CANDLE LITURGY
(For this ceremony, Paul chose 4 sets of readers from the congregation, picking those who lived furthest to the east, west, south and north of the premises where we worship)
Reader 1: We come from the east. Reader 2: We come from the west.
Reader 3: We come from the north. Reader 4: We come from the south.
R1 & 2: Giver of Light, come be among us.
R3 & 4: Join us in this journey of waiting and of listening. We light this candle of hope.
Let us pray
R 1 God of hope, who brought love into this world, be the love that dwells between us.
R 2 God of hope, who brought peace into this world, be the peace that dwells between us.
R 3 God of hope, who brought joy into this world, be the joy that dwells between us.
R 4 God of hope, the rock we stand upon, be the centre and the focus of our lives today and always.
HYMN ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MD-jBLZSZNU
WELCOME & ANNOUNCEMENTS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Peter & Ross
Isaiah 2:1 – 5 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: In the last days the mountain of the LORD’S temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob. God will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. God will judge between the nations & will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into ploughshares & their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD.
Matthew 24:36–44 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
In this we hear God’s Word of Life. Thanks be to God.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
God of this moment and every moment, we confess that there are times we live as if time does not exist. We sometimes go from day to day and month to month as if the way things are is the way they have always been and always will be. We sing and say, ‘this is the day that the Lord has made,’ but we often live as if this day will never be a new day – it is just like all the others.
Forgive us, God, for our lack of trust in you to do & be that ‘new thing’ in our lives which the Prophet Isaiah spoke of. Forgive us for not living in the joy, hope, grace, and wonder that this day and every day truly is. Forgive us for wandering aimlessly through life when we could be walking gratefully in life. Forgive us and help us to see what it means that this is the new day which God has gifted to us. Amen.
Dear friends, be assured that God is in this moment and in every moment, sustaining all life and offering us new life. No one is beyond his care and life enriching love. Today is a new day. Thanks be to God.
HYMN – All Together OK 313 vs 1 – 4 ‘Longing for light we wait in darkness’ Judy
Longing for light, we wait in darkness.
Longing for truth, we turn to you.
Make us your own, your holy people,
light for the world to see.
Christ, be our light! Shine in our hearts.
Shine through the darkness.
Christ, be our light! Shine in your church gathered today.
Longing for peace, our world is troubled.
Longing for hope, many despair.
Your word alone has power to save us.
Make us your living voice.
Chorus
Longing for food, many are hungry.
Longing for water, many still thirst.
Make us your bread, broken for others,
shared until all are fed.
Chorus
Longing for shelter, many are homeless.
Longing for warmth, many are cold.
Make us your building, sheltering others,
walls made of living stone.
Chorus
Words and music ©1983 Bernadette Farrell. Published by OCP Publications. Portland Oregon.
All Rights reserved. Used with permission. www.ccli.com CCLI Licence # 31951
MESSAGE
HYMN vs 1, 3 – 5
Jesus the Lord said I am the Bread
The Bread of Life for the world am I
Jesus the Lord said I am the Light
The one true Light of the world am I
Jesus the Lord said I am the Shepherd
The one Good Shepherd of the sheep am I
Jesus the Lord said I am the Life
The Resurrection and the Life am I
CCLI Song # 2647999 Dermott Monahan © Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes (Admin. by Methodist Publishing) For use solely with the SongSelect® All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI Licence # 31951
OFFERATORY PRAYER
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE Leanne
HOLY COMMUNION Elder – Sue
As we come to this table, we are reminded that this is the table of Jesus Christ, a banquet prepared for everyone. All who seek to be nourished and sustained in the journey of faith, all who long to love the Lord a little more deeply and seek compassionate paths to peace and justice, are welcome here.
God be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift our hearts in prayer.
Let us give thanks to God.
It is good to give God thanks and praise.
A PRAYER OF GREAT THANKSGIVING
Blessed are you, Breath of peace, Giver of all life, Source of love that knows no boundaries. Your song of wisdom rang out before the world began; throughout the ages, your song of liberation has impregnated us with your hope for a world where violence is overcome by the power of your ancient love; and all work together for peace.
You bring our longings to birth, and send prophets to awaken us to your approaching Advent among us. We thank you for those who, like Mary, have the strength and courage to give birth to your love in the world; for those who, like the shepherds, dare to seek out the Child of Bethlehem; for those who, like the wise ones, actively challenge violent and oppressive powers.
We praise you that your everlasting light is shown to us in womb and tomb, in cradle and cross, in tenderness and compassion as heard in the Advent song & prayer: “O come, O come Emmanuel…”
God of hope, make this bread the means of our rebuilding, this wine the medium of our transformation, this table the foundation of our renewal, and this community the place of our rebirth.
WORDS OF INSTITUTION & INVOCATION
Make us, while many, one.
Make us, though broken, whole.
Make us, despite death, alive.
And so we pray: Come, Holy Spirit, come.
DISTRIBUTION Eat the bread as you receive it & hold the glass so we can drink together
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
We thank you, God, for breaking into our world & pouring into our lives and our experiences.
We thank you, God, for this meal of thanksgiving & the stories of love, grace & hope that it tells.
Adapted from an Advent Communion Service written by Dr Alydia Smith, United Church of Canada, Toronto.
HYMN
Community of Christ
Who make the Cross your own
Live out your creed and risk your life
For God alone
The God who wears your face
To whom all worlds belong
Whose children are of every race
And every song.
Community of Christ
Look past the Church’s door
And see the refugee the hungry
And the poor
Take hands with the oppressed
The jobless in your street
Take towel and water that you wash
Your neighbour’s feet.
Community of Christ
Through whom the word must sound
Cry out for justice and for peace
The whole world round
Disarm the powers that war
And all that can destroy
Turn bombs to bread and tears of anguish into joy.
When menace melts away
So shall God’s will be done
The climate of the world be peace
And Christ its sun
Our currency be love
And kindliness our law
Our food and faith be shared as one
For evermore.
CCLI Song # 3755392 Shirley Erena Murray © 1992 Murray, Shirley Erena (Admin. by Hope Publishing Company) For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI Licence # 31951
BLESSING & BENEDICTION
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