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Carol Service Prayers - Making Dark Places Sparkly

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Opening prayers or Call to worship

The stars above us follow a course, flickering and dancing.
Our breath hangs in chilled air
and our thoughts fragment and drift around us
like a flurry of snow.
Have I bought the right presents?
Are there enough beds?
How many Wise Men were there?
What is it actually like in Bethlehem tonight?

Accept our tumbling thoughts Lord
as you accept us,
as you accepted shepherds,
as you have welcomed generations
of ill-assorted seekers.

There are so many answers we don’t know
but we want to enjoy the wonder with you.

Amen.


Intercession

Lord Jesus,
What a wonderful time Christmas is.

The days are short and the wind cold,
and in our houses there are dark, shadowy corners
and chilling draughts that we can’t seem to stop.

But with tinsel and shiny baubles
and the help of a small, slightly damaged tree (possibly plastic)
finally found in dusty boxes in an attic or garage,
we defy the drabness and transform the unloved corners
and with a string of fairy lights bought many years ago
we bathe our world in sparkle and twinkle and magic.

If only we could be transformed that easily Lord.

But you are the God who came to change everything,
starting in a dingy shed in the middle of nowhere
(with a gleaming star somewhere around).
So take the dark and unlovely parts of who we are
and make us sparkle and twinkle and glow.
Not just tonight or this Christmas, but all the time.

Oh, and help us to transform our relationships too.
Take away doubt and mistrust, antagonism and anger
and let our lights shine together,
different but harmonious

Then let us change this world.

Admittedly a big task.

It’s not an altogether cheery place to be,
with horrific wars, devastated economies and huge environmental problems.
[especially… or brief pause]
Perhaps we can start by cheering up where we are,
tonight,
smiling instead of scowling,
really meaning it when we ask, “how are you?”
Tomorrow we can think about changing it for the other seven billion people.

The days are short and the wind cold,
and in our houses there are dark, shadowy corners
and chilling draughts that we can’t seem to stop.
But with love and hope and the help of all the other slightly damaged people
that we call church
help us, please, to bathe our world in sparkle and twinkle and wonder.

Amen.

© Rod Belt 2014, 2021
You will get a PDF (96KB) file

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