2011 Christmas Fund Advent Candle Liturgy The Fourth Sunday of Advent December 18, 2011

We gather this morning around our Advent wreath We gather this morning around our Advent wreath. Three of these candles have burnt down, (and one, or more, has been restored). Because we use them so much in living the Christian life. We always have hope in our voices, peace in our hands, joy in our hearts. Hope and peace and joy have shined on us and through us this month. Let us relight these candles and pause in their glow. Reader 1: We gather this morning around our Advent wreath. Three of these candles have burnt down, (and one, or more, has been restored). Because we use them so much in living the Christian life. We always have hope in our voices, peace in our hands, joy in our hearts. Hope and peace and joy have shines on us and through us this month. Let us relight these candles and pause in their glow.

Light the Candle of Hope, the Candle of Peace, and the Candle of Joy. Lighter: (Light the first three previously lit candles, the rose candle last.)

The psalmist pleads the case of God’s people, “Turn again, O God of hosts; look down from heaven and see…Restore us, O God, let your face shine, that we may be saved.” (Ps80) And God responded with love, love in a manger, love on the Sea of Galilee, love on a hillside, love in an open tomb. Today we light the Candle of Love. Reader 2: The psalmist pleads the case of God’s people, “Turn again, O God of hosts; look down from heaven and see…Restore us, O God, let your face shine, that we may be saved.” (Ps80) And God responded with love, love in a manger, love on the Sea of Galilee, love on a hillside, love in an open tomb. Today we light the Candle of Love.

Light the Candle of Love Lighter: (Light the fourth candle)

Love is the light that shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. It is the beginning and the end of all our Advent preparations and our Christmas celebrations. Posada-love, pageant-love, fir tree-love, even fruitcake-love, all love finds its birth in God. Reader 1: Love is the light that shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. It is the beginning and the end of all our Advent preparations and our Christmas celebrations. Posada-love, pageant-love, fir tree-love, even fruitcake-love, all love finds its birth in God.

Let us pray… Emmanuel, let us this morning and all this week long be fully open to receive your love for ourselves and to offer love to others. Some are here every Sunday but need your love to keep their Christmas from being “blue.” Others are ill or lonely or undocumented in this land. Still others simply wander in because they saw a Christmas Eve service in some holiday movie and need a little white candle. Because your face shines upon us, we promise to love every friend and stranger you draw to your manger. Amen. Reader 2: Let us pray… Emmanuel, let us this morning and all this week long be fully open to receive your love for ourselves and to offer love to others. Some are here every Sunday but need your love to keep their Christmas from being “blue.” Others are ill or lonely or undocumented in this land. Still others simply wander in because they saw a Christmas Eve service in some holiday movie and need a little white candle. Because your face shines upon us, we promise to love every friend and stranger you draw to your manger. Amen.

Both active and retired clergy and lay employees experience love as emergency assistance in time of need from the annual Christmas Fund. Lighter: Both active and retired clergy and lay employees experience love as emergency assistance in time of need from the annual Christmas Fund.

The psalmist remembers the relationship of love between God and God’s people. “Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.” Reader 1: The psalmist remembers the relationship of love between God and God’s people. “Restore us, O God; let your face shine , that we may be saved.”

Emmanuel, your face shines on our lives and they are filled with love Emmanuel, your face shines on our lives and they are filled with love. As your star leads to the stable where God’s love is born, we call upon you to light our manger-paths. Shine on the person in the hospice and the volunteer who visits in spite of the holiday rush. Shine on newborns and their parents, neonatal nurses and foster families, long adoption processes and those coping with unexpected pregnancies. Shine on preachers who want to say something new and politicians who try to say something true. Because we know you have first loved us, and because we continually experience the Holy Spirit’s love through this church and your precious world, let our faces reflect to others this final week of Advent the love you shine in us. Amen. Reader 2: Emmanuel, your face shines on our lives and they are filled with love. As your star leads to the stable where God’s love is born, we call upon you to light our manger-paths. Shine on the person in the hospice and the volunteer who visits in spite of the holiday rush. Shine on newborns and their parents, neonatal nurses and foster families, long adoption processes and those coping with unexpected pregnancies. Shine on preachers who want to say something new and politicians who try to say something true. Because we know you have first loved us, and because we continually experience the Holy Spirit’s love through this church and your precious world, let our faces reflect to others this final week of Advent the love you shine in us. Amen.