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GATHERING MUSIC<\/strong><\/p>\n Play soft music as people gather. For suggestions and a Spotify playlist, see our <\/em>music suggestions<\/em><\/a> for the \u201cWords for the Beginning\u201d Advent series. You might also choose to use some of the song suggestions included under the opening and closing hymns in this service.<\/em><\/p>\n WELCOME & PASSING THE PEACE<\/strong><\/p>\n Be sure to include in your welcome any instructions for remote worshipers if you are live streaming your service. For example,<\/em><\/p>\n During our service today, we\u2019ll have an opportunity to share prayers by lighting candles and bringing written prayers to the Table. If you are joining us online, I invite you to grab a candle you can light along with us.<\/p>\n Conclude your welcome by inviting worshipers to pass the peace according to your tradition.<\/em><\/p>\n OPENING MEDITATION & CANDLE LIGHTING<\/strong><\/p>\n Read the following communal litany as the Advent candles of hope, peace, joy, and love are lit.<\/em><\/p>\n Even in our endings, Even as our minds race with anxiety, Even in our deepest grief, Even in a world of hate and fear, Come, let us worship Emmanuel, God with us.<\/p>\n OPENING HYMN\/SONG<\/strong><\/p>\n Suggested hymns and songs for this service include:<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cHymn of Promise\u201d by Natalie Sleeth (1986)<\/em> [\u2197<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \u201cO God, Our Help in Ages Past\u201d by Isaac Watts (1719)<\/em> [\u2197<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \u201cGod Moves in a Mysterious Way\u201d by William Cowper (1774)<\/em> [\u2197<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \u201cNow the Day is Over\u201d by Sabine Baring-Gould (1865)<\/em> [\u2197<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \u201cBreak Our Hearts Again\u201d by Paul Demer<\/em> [\u2197<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \u201cBeautiful Things\u201d by Gungor<\/em> [\u2197]<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \u201cGod Will See Us Through\u201d by Emma Ceurvels and Bryan Sirchio<\/em> [\u2197<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \u201cTurn! Turn! Turn!\u201d by The Byrds<\/em> [\u2197<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \u201cLandslide\u201d by Fleetwood Mac<\/em> [\u2197<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \u201cThe Circle Game\u201d by Joni Mitchell<\/em> [\u2197<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \u201cThe Tree Song\u201d by Richard Bruxvoort Colligan<\/em> [\u2197<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n SCRIPTURE READING | ECCLESIASTES 3:1-8<\/strong><\/p>\n TIME OF REFLECTION & SILENT PRAYER<\/strong><\/p>\n I now invite you to spend some time quietly reflecting on the seasons of your life. What seasons feel like they are coming to a close, and what seasons are just beginning? Let us offer the grief and anxiety that comes with the changing seasons of our lives to the God who is with us through it all.<\/p>\n Give a few minutes of silence or soft music for worshipers to reflect on the scripture and prompt.<\/em><\/p>\n SUNG RESPONSE<\/strong><\/p>\n Suggested refrains include:<\/em><\/p>\n Dona Nobis Pacem (any setting)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Kyrie Eleison \/ Lord Have Mercy (any setting)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n \u201cWait for the Lord\u201d (Taiz\u00e9)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE<\/strong><\/p>\n Holy God, we turn to you in each season of our lives.<\/p>\n For the seasons in our past that brought us joy, the seasons we deeply miss with longing in our hearts, God, we offer our gratitude. May our memories be sources of comfort rather than pain.<\/p>\n For the seasons in our past that are tender and painful, we ask your healing, O God. Liberate our hearts, minds, and spirits from trauma, and let us bury what must be buried.<\/p>\n For new beginnings that fill us with excitement, we give you praise. May we step into these new seasons with grace.<\/p>\n For changing seasons that bring anxiety for what the future may hold, we ask your peace. Fill us with hope, and help us navigate the way forward.<\/p>\n God, we come before you now with full hearts, offering you every part of ourselves: our grief, our pain, our joy, our anxiety, our gratitude. God, we bring it all.<\/p>\n As we bring these prayers forward to the Communion Table, in words and in candles lit in honor of the prayers too deep for words, we ask that you receive them, hold them, and answer them in your wisdom.<\/p>\n Gratefully we pray, amen.<\/p>\n I now invite you to bring your prayers to the Table. There are slips of paper and writing utensils in your seat for any prayers you would like to put in words. The ministers will collect these prayers at the end of our service and pray for them this week. If you are joining us online, I invite you to type your prayers into the chat.<\/p>\n For prayers that are too deep for words, or for prayers that you prefer to keep in your heart alone, we invite you to light a candle. We will hold each of these prayers, too, trusting that God knows the depths of our hearts.<\/p>\n Give time for worshipers to write their prayers and bring them forward. You may wish to play soft music during this time. When all worshipers have returned to their seats, close with a brief prayer, such as:<\/em><\/p>\n Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers. Amen.<\/p>\n SUNG RESPONSE<\/strong><\/p>\n Repeat the same refrain as was sung before the Prayers of the People.<\/em><\/p>\n SCRIPTURE READING | ISAIAH 43:16-21<\/strong><\/p>\n WORDS OF COMFORT \/ AFFIRMATION OF FAITH<\/strong><\/p>\n The first words of Genesis tell us that in the beginning, God was creating. CLOSING HYMN\/SONG<\/strong><\/p>\n Suggested hymns and songs for this service include:<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cHymn of Promise\u201d by Natalie Sleeth (1986)<\/em> [\u2197<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \u201cO God, Our Help in Ages Past\u201d by Isaac Watts (1719)<\/em> [\u2197<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \u201cGod Moves in a Mysterious Way\u201d by William Cowper (1774)<\/em> [\u2197<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \u201cNow the Day is Over\u201d by Sabine Baring-Gould (1865)<\/em> [\u2197<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \u201cBreak Our Hearts Again\u201d by Paul Demer<\/em> [\u2197<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \u201cBeautiful Things\u201d by Gungor<\/em> [\u2197]<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \u201cGod Will See Us Through\u201d by Emma Ceurvels and Bryan Sirchio<\/em> [\u2197<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \u201cTurn! Turn! Turn!\u201d by The Byrds<\/em> [\u2197<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \u201cLandslide\u201d by Fleetwood Mac<\/em> [\u2197<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \u201cThe Circle Game\u201d by Joni Mitchell<\/em> [\u2197<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \u201cThe Tree Song\u201d by Richard Bruxvoort Colligan<\/em> [\u2197<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n BENEDICTION<\/strong><\/p>\n This benediction is by Rev. Sarah Speed from the <\/em>Words for the Beginning Words for Worship<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n As you leave this place,
fill us with hope for new beginnings.<\/strong><\/p>\n
fill us with peace that surpasses understanding.<\/strong><\/p>\n
fill us with joy and laughter.<\/strong><\/p>\n
fill us with your love, O God.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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We believe in a God who is at work in all our beginnings.
<\/strong>In Revelation, we hear Jesus proclaim, \u201cI am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.\u201d
We believe in a Savior who is with us through it all,
in every beginning, and in every ending that comes before.
<\/strong>And so from beginning to end, from Genesis to Revelation, from the first day to the last, we are held by our God who knows our name.
Thanks be to God. Amen.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
may you have the wisdom to lean on one other.
May you have the courage to hold onto hope,
the compassion to do the good that is yours to do,
and the confidence to trust that God sees you as a blessing.
For in a world full of dead ends,
Advent invites us to begin again.
So start here.
Start now.
Start with love and begin again.
In the name of Christ,
our new beginning,
go in peace.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n