Liturgies

GATHERING

REFLECTION

The reality of Advent isn’t that we are waiting for the birth of the Christ Child. The Christ Child is here and is waiting for us to come. He is crying out to us from the border. He is calling to us from the voices of the poor. He is shouting to us from prison. He is waiting for us to live out our faith. He is waiting for us to seek justice. He is waiting for us to pursue peace. Let us go, for He is waiting.

– The Rev. Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe,
General Board of Church and Society (GBCS) for the United Methodist Church,
 https://www.umcjustice.org/latest/christ-is-waiting-for-us-796…

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GATHERING

REFLECTION

God never says, you should have come yesterday;
God never says, you must come again tomorrow,
but today if you will hear God’s voice,
today God will hear you. …
God brought light out of darkness,
not out of lesser light.
God can bring summer out of winter,
even if there is no spring.
All occasions invite God’s mercies,
and all times are God’s seasons.

John Donne (1571-1631), (revised with inclusive language)
quoted in Healing After Loss: Daily Meditations for Working Through Grief, by Martha Hickman…

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GATHERING

REFLECTION

The relationship between commitment and doubt is by no means an antagonistic one. Commitment is healthiest when it is not without doubt, but in spite of doubt.

― Rollo May, The Courage to Create, p. 1…

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GATHERING

REFLECTION

The Crucified and Risen Christ uses the mistakes of the past to create a positive future, a future of redemption instead of retribution. He does not eliminate or punish the mistakes. He uses them for transformative purposes. People formed by such love are indestructible. Forgiveness might just be the very best description of what God’s goodness engenders in humanity.

Richard Rohr, The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope For and Believe

LIGHTING THE ALTAR CANDLE

CALL TO WORSHIP         …

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GATHERING

ENTRANCE

REFLECTION

There is the absolute hopelessness we face that everyone we love will die … even as we trust and know that love will give rise to growth, miracles, and resurrection. Love and goodness and the world’s beauty and humanity are the reasons we have hope. Yet no matter how much we recycle, believe in our Priuses, and abide by our local laws, we see that our beauty is being destroyed, crushed by greed and cruel stupidity. And we also see love and tender hearts carry the day. Fear, against all odds, leads to community, to bravery and right action, to hope

(Reflection: Anne Lamotte, Almost Everything: Notes on Hope, p.…

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