Monthly Archives: December 2023

Advent Peace: A Candle-lighting Liturgy

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Open the heavens and come down, O God of peace.

Bring Your peace so near we can feel it

like floating weightless,

effortlessly buoyed by still waters.

..

We have seen glimpses of Your peace

when we reach the point in our quarrels

where we can remember again that we’re on the same side.

When we can admit our faults and hug it out, 

we know Your presence.

Teach us to be still before You and with You

in every situation—even the least serene.

.. 

We have heard Your promises:

That you offer respite from our burdens

and that Your peace prevails in chaos and uncertainty.

Every person will be valued as the work of Your hand.

Wars will cease.

Anxiety will no longer consume our thoughts and bodies.

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Jesus, Prince of Peace, violence wastes our lands

and precious lives, and no end is in sight.

Give us peace with justice and imagination

for a world beyond tooth and nail and suppressed hostilities.

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Anoint us with Your Spirit so we may be

makers of a peace on earth that begins with You, not us. 

Re-create us as we rest in You

beneath starry skies. 

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We are God’s people.

We light this candle as a sign of God’s peace,

that bids us lay our grievances down

and quiet our sharp tongues and elbows

to trust a Savior so right and reliable

we have no need to jostle for power.

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O come, Immanuel. 

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This year’s liturgies written with collaborative input from parishioners of Bethany Presbyterian, Seattle

Advent Joy: A Candle-lighting Liturgy

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Open the heavens and come down, O God of joy.

Bring Your joy so near we can taste it—

like eating French fries!

in Mexico!

on Christmas!

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We have seen glimpses of Your joy

not only when we visit our favorite places and people

but in some wildly unexpected places and people as well.

Whenever a child is born to us, 

we know Your presence.

Where our pleasures now are partial and fleeting,

give us energy to keep up with a joy that endures.

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We have heard Your promises:

that You came to bring the great joy of reconciliation

to absolutely everyone

and that none of our faults can separate us from God.

When we bring you our grief, you collect our tears

to water orchards producing perfect fruit.

Forgiveness flowers wherever You walk.

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Jesus, You come to make our joy chock-full,

complete, whole, limit-bursting, and exuberant.

Enlarge our capacity for unbounded delight

in Your world and in each other.

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Anoint us with your dancing Spirit

to bring good news of your continued favor

to everyone muddling through the rough places.

Reconnect us to the Source of all joy.

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We are God’s people.

We light this candle as a sign of God’s joy,

that calls us out of our corners to play along,

harmonizing with an ecstatic angel chorus

jamming to the music of the spheres.

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O come, Immanuel. 

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This year’s liturgies composed with contributions from the wreath-lighters of Bethany Presbyterian, Seattle. There may or may not have been a five-year-old involved this week.

Advent Love: A Candle-lighting Liturgy

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Open the heavens and come down, O God of love.

Bring Your love so near we can feel it

not just in our hearts, but on our skin,

like the sun on our upturned faces.

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We have seen glimpses of Your love in communities 

that surrounded us with care, stood by our sides, and had our backs.

When we heard confidence and optimism in our children’s voices, 

we knew Your presence.

Give us eyes keen enough to catch Your love in action,

and spirits quick enough to reflect Your grace,

as water catches and reflects the light.

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We have heard Your promises:

that You love us no matter what,

with a love greater even than faith and hope.

Where Your love rules, everything changes.

The stranger will be met with a smile.

The hurt will find a healer.

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Jesus, lover of our souls, come soothe where hate burns. 

Help us to love one another as You have loved us,

with an untamed love that is not safe, but it is good—

a love that spends its life for others.

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Anoint us with your Spirit to bring good news

to all in need of Your healing touch.

Restore what has been broken in rage.

Make us crafters of beauty from ashes.

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We are God’s people.

We light this candle as a sign of God’s love

that sets up camp among us,

tending the displaced and the wounded,

then sends us out to do the same.

O come, Immanuel. 

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(This year’s Advent candle-lighting liturgies are crafted around the 2023 lectionary texts and input from congregants of Bethany Presbyterian Church of Seattle)

Advent Hope 2023: A Candle-lighting Liturgy

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Open the heavens and come down, O God of hope.

Bring your hope so near we can taste it—

Crisp and refreshing as apples,

Warm and tingly as a spiked hot chocolate.

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We have seen glimpses of your hope in communities of solidarity and recovery

and in rich conversations with our brothers and sisters in the faith.

When the local whale watchers protected the humpback calf from harm,

we knew your presence.

Give us hope to trust you are at work in ways we cannot see,

like an ambient melody

that elevates and alters a space.

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We have heard your promises:

that you have good plans for each of us

and that you will be with us wherever we go,

in heaven, on earth, and in every place they meet in You.

Every child shall have vision for a future beyond politicking and conflict.

The young shall teach us to build one another up in mutual respect.

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Christ, our hope, make a way through the desert of despair.

Lead us to campsites in lush meadows by hidden pools.

Comfort us and give us hope,

that we may comfort others in your name.

“Hope” by Sliman Mansour

Anoint us with your Spirit to bring good news

to those sleeping outside and suffering in war zones.

Inspire our leaders.

Restore our humanity.

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We are God’s people.

We light this candle as a sign of God’s hope

that brightens grey skies

like the rosy brushstrokes of dawn

and the glow of the turning leaves

O come, Immanuel.

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(This year’s Advent candle-lighting liturgies are crafted around the 2023 lectionary texts and input from congregants of Bethany Presbyterian Church of Seattle)