Sources
The Book of Alternative Service
NRSV Bible
A Wee Worship Book (Wild Goose Worship Group)
Website: www.rexaehuntprogressive.com/liturgy_collection
New Zealand Prayer Book (Baptism Liturgy)
Acknowledgement of Land (An act towards reconciliation)
For thousands of years Indigenous people have walked in this land, on their own country.Their relationship with the land is at the centre of their lives.
We acknowledge the Indigenous People of Canada and their stewardship
of this land and its resources throughout the ages.
St. Paul’s is a safe place for all people to worship regardless of race, creed, age, cultural background or sexual orientation
Welcome
A warm welcome is extended to all.
Especially those who are worshipping with us virtually at St. Paul for the first time, have returned after an absence or are here weekly. Your presence both enriches us, and this time of celebration together
So let us celebrate the richness and diversity of life in the presence of God
Gathering Song Nothing but a Child – Trish Steadman
Once upon a time in a far off land,
Wisemen saw a sign and set out cross the sand.
Songs of praise to sing they travelled day and night
Precious gifts to bring, they were guided by the light.
They chased a brand new star ever towards the West.
Across the mountains far but when it came to rest,
They scarce believed their eyes. They’d come so many miles.
The miracle they prized was nothing but a child.
Chorus
Nothing but a child could wash those tears away
Or guide a weary world into the light of day.
Nothing but a child could help erase those miles
So once again we all can be children for a while.
Now all around the world in every little town
Every day is heard a precious little sound.
And every mother, kind, and every father, proud,
Looks down in awe to find another chance allowed.
Chorus
Nothing but a little baby.
Nothing but a little baby. Nothing but a child.
The Gathering
We are called to worship, not just by words spoken, but also by miracles recalled:
a baby's first cry, the petals of a rose, mist-covered hills, the restless tides of the seas, human love, human hope.
We respond:
with gratitude, with joy, with wonder, at life's boundless possibilities.
Prayer of the day together:
As we gather in this place of worship, challenge us, O God, with your truth and inspire us with your love. Then as we return to our worlds of work and learning and living, enlighten us with your wisdom, and empower us with your strength. Amen.
Collect of the Day together:
Eternal Father, who at the baptism of Jesus revealed him to be your Son, anointing him with the Holy Spirit, keep your children, born of water and the Spirit, faithful to their calling; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. (1:1-5)
Praise to God who kindles our faith.
Blessed be God, our strength, our hope.
Let us, the baptised, affirm that we renounce evil and commit our lives to Christ.
Blessed be God, JESUS IS LORD!
What is your faith?
I believe and trust in
God the Creator,
maker and sustainer
of all things;
and in God the Son,
my Saviour Jesus Christ;
and in God the Holy Spirit,
giver of life and truth.
This is my faith.
Those who are baptised are called to worship and serve God. From the beginning, believers have continued in the apostles teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers.
Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?
I will, with God’s help.
Will you persevere in resisting evil and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?
I will, with God’s help.
Will you proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ?
I will, with God’s help.
Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbour as yourself?
I will, with God’s help.
Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
I will, with God’s help.
Will you strive to safeguard the integrity of God’s creation, and respect, sustain and renew the life of the Earth?
I will, with God’s help.
Let us rejoice, commit ourselves to Christ, and celebrate the faith of our baptism.
Do you believe in God the Father?
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the woman Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Creator Spirit, rekindle in us your gifts of grace, renew our lives in Christ and bring to completion all that your calling has begun. Amen.
Living God, empower your disciples to bring life to the world
Amen! May we and they together be found in Christ and Christ in us.
Offertory Hymn VU 17 O Ancient Love
O ancient love, processing through the ages;
O hidden love, revealed in human form;
O promised love, the dream of seers and sages;
O living Love, within our hearts be born.
O living Love, within our hearts be borne.
O homeless love, that dwells among the stranger;
O lowly love, that knows the mighty’s scorn;
O hungry love, that lay within a manger:
O living Love, within our hearts be born,
O living Love, within our hearts be borne.
O gentle love, caressing those in sorrow;
O tender love, that comforts those forlorn;
O hopeful love, that promises tomorrow:
O living Love, within our hearts be born,
O living Love, within our hearts be borne.
O suffering love, that bears our human weakness;
O boundless love, that rises with the morn;
O mighty love, concealed in infant meekness:
O living Love, within our hearts be born,
O living Love, within our hearts be borne.
Prayer over the Gifts
God of life and freedom, we celebrate the revelation of Jesus as the Christ who makes all creation new. Accept all we offer you this day and make us new in him, who is Lord for ever and ever. Amen
The Great Thanksgiving (from Wee Worship Book)
The Invitation
He was always the guest. In the homes of Peter and Jarius, Martha and Mary, Joanna and Susanna, he was always the guest.
At the meal tables of the wealthy where he pled the case of the poor, he was always the guest.
Upsetting polite company, befriending isolated people, welcoming the stranger, he was always the guest.
But here, at our tables, he is the host.
Those who wish to serve him must first be served by him, those who want to follow him must first be fed by him, those who would wash his feet must first let him make them clean.
For this is the table where God intends us to be nourished; this is the time when Christ can make us new.
So come, you who hunger and thirst for a deeper faith, for a better life, for a fairer world.
Jesus Christ sits at our tables
Song as the gifts of bread and wine are prepared 572 Let there be light
The Story
What we do here, we do in imitation of what Christ did. To his followers in every age Jesus gave us an example and command rooted in the experience he shared with his disciples in an upstairs room in Jerusalem.
Reader:
On the night on which we he was betrayed, and as they were sitting at a meal, Jesus took a piece of bread and broke it. He gave it to his disciples saying, “This is my body. It is broken for you. Do this to remember me.” Later, after they had eaten, he took a cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new relationship with God made possible because of my death. Drink this all of you, to remember me.”
So, now we do as Jesus did. We take this bread and this wine, the produce of the earth and fruit of human labour.
In these, Jesus has promised to be present; through these, Christ can make us whole.
Eucharistic Prayer
Let us Pray
The Lord be with you
And also with you
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
It is right to give our thanks and praise
It is indeed right, for you made us, and before us, you made the world we inhabit, and before the world, you made the eternal home in which, through Christ, we have a place.
All that is spectacular, all that is plain have their origin in you; all that is lovely, all who are loving point to you as their fulfillment.
And grateful as we are for the world we know and the universe beyond our ken, we particularly praise you, whom eternity cannot contain, for coming to earth and entering time in Jesus.
For his life which informs our living, for his compassion which changes our hearts, for his clear speaking which contradicts our harmless generalities, for his disturbing presence, his innocent suffering, his fearless dying, his rising to life breathing forgiveness. We praise you and we worship him.
Here too our gratitude rises for the promise of the Holy Spirit, who even yet, even now, confronts us with your claims and attracts us to your goodness.
Therefore we gladly join our voices to the son of the church on earth and in heaven:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might, Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest
And now, lest we believe that our praise alone fulfils your purpose we fall silent and remember him who came because words weren’t enough.
Setting our wisdom, our will, our words aside, emptying our hearts, and bringing nothing in our hands, we yearn for the healing, the holding, the accepting, the forgiving which Christ alone can offer
Silence
Merciful God, send now, in kindness, your Holy Spirit to settle on this bread and wine and fill them with the fullness of Jesus.
And let that same Spirit rest on us, converting us from the patterns of this passing world, until we conform to the shape of him whose food we now share. Amen
Among friends gathered around a table, Jesus took bread, and broke it, and said, “This is my body – broken for you.”
Later he took a cup of wine and said “This is the new relationship with God made possible because of my death. Take it, all of you, to remember me.”
Jesus , firstborn of Mary
Have mercy on us
Jesus Saviour of the world
Have mercy on us
Jesus, monarch of heaven
Have mercy on us
He who has suffered for our injustices is now present in this bread. He whose body was hung on a cross is now offered to us in this cup.
So take this bread and this wine. In them God comes to us so that we may come to God.
The sharing of the bread and the wine
We are called to worship, not just by words spoken, but also by miracles recalled:
a baby's first cry, the petals of a rose, mist-covered hills, the restless tides of the seas, human love, human hope.
We respond:
with gratitude, with joy, with wonder, at life's boundless possibilities.
Prayer of the day together:
As we gather in this place of worship, challenge us, O God, with your truth and inspire us with your love. Then as we return to our worlds of work and learning and living, enlighten us with your wisdom, and empower us with your strength. Amen.
Collect of the Day together:
Eternal Father, who at the baptism of Jesus revealed him to be your Son, anointing him with the Holy Spirit, keep your children, born of water and the Spirit, faithful to their calling; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
Proclamation of the Word
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. (1:1-5)
Listen for the Leading of the Spirit R: Thanks be to God
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark (1:4-11)
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’
The Gospel of Christ R: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ
The Homily
The Renewal of Baptismal Vows (New Zealand Prayer Book and BAS)
God is love; God gives us life.
We love because God first loves us.
In baptism God declares that love; in Christ God calls us to respond.
Welcome as you come to reaffirm your faith.
At your baptism you were made a disciple of Christ, and we signed you with the cross.
Come now for prayer, to strengthen you for the work of God’s kingdom.
The Affirmation
Praise to God who has given us life.
Blessed be God for the gift of love.
Praise to God who forgives our sin.
Blessed be God who sets us free.
Psalm 29
Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; worship the Lord in holy splendour.
The Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace
The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over mighty waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
The Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace
The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl, and strips the forest bare; and in his temple all say, ‘Glory!’
The Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king for ever.
May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!
The Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the inland regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?’ They replied, ‘No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.’ Then he said, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ They answered, ‘Into John’s baptism.’ Paul said, ‘John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.’ On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied— altogether there were about twelve of them. (19:1-7)
Listen for the Leading of the Spirit R: Thanks be to God
Gradual Hymn 45 Down Galilee’s Slow Roadways
Down Galilee’s slow roadways, a stranger travelled on
From Nazareth to Jordan to be baptized by John.
He went down to the waters with solider, scribe and slave,
But there within the river the sign was birth and grave.
Arising from the river, he saw the heavens torn;
It seemed the sky was open to show the Spirit’s form.
The holy dove descended; he heard a glorious voice:
“You are my own beloved – my child, my heart, my choice.”
We too have found a roadway; it led us to this place.
We all have had to travel in search of hope and grace.
But now beside this water again a voice is heard:
“You are my own, my chosen, beloved of your Lord.”
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark (1:4-11)
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’
The Gospel of Christ R: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ
The Homily
The Renewal of Baptismal Vows (New Zealand Prayer Book and BAS)
God is love; God gives us life.
We love because God first loves us.
In baptism God declares that love; in Christ God calls us to respond.
Welcome as you come to reaffirm your faith.
At your baptism you were made a disciple of Christ, and we signed you with the cross.
Come now for prayer, to strengthen you for the work of God’s kingdom.
The Affirmation
Praise to God who has given us life.
Blessed be God for the gift of love.
Praise to God who forgives our sin.
Blessed be God who sets us free.
Praise to God who kindles our faith.
Blessed be God, our strength, our hope.
Let us, the baptised, affirm that we renounce evil and commit our lives to Christ.
Blessed be God, JESUS IS LORD!
What is your faith?
I believe and trust in
God the Creator,
maker and sustainer
of all things;
and in God the Son,
my Saviour Jesus Christ;
and in God the Holy Spirit,
giver of life and truth.
This is my faith.
Those who are baptised are called to worship and serve God. From the beginning, believers have continued in the apostles teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers.
Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?
I will, with God’s help.
Will you persevere in resisting evil and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?
I will, with God’s help.
Will you proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ?
I will, with God’s help.
Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbour as yourself?
I will, with God’s help.
Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
I will, with God’s help.
Will you strive to safeguard the integrity of God’s creation, and respect, sustain and renew the life of the Earth?
I will, with God’s help.
Let us rejoice, commit ourselves to Christ, and celebrate the faith of our baptism.
Do you believe in God the Father?
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the woman Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Creator Spirit, rekindle in us your gifts of grace, renew our lives in Christ and bring to completion all that your calling has begun. Amen.
Living God, empower your disciples to bring life to the world
Amen! May we and they together be found in Christ and Christ in us.
Offertory Hymn VU 17 O Ancient Love
O ancient love, processing through the ages;
O hidden love, revealed in human form;
O promised love, the dream of seers and sages;
O living Love, within our hearts be born.
O living Love, within our hearts be borne.
O homeless love, that dwells among the stranger;
O lowly love, that knows the mighty’s scorn;
O hungry love, that lay within a manger:
O living Love, within our hearts be born,
O living Love, within our hearts be borne.
O gentle love, caressing those in sorrow;
O tender love, that comforts those forlorn;
O hopeful love, that promises tomorrow:
O living Love, within our hearts be born,
O living Love, within our hearts be borne.
O suffering love, that bears our human weakness;
O boundless love, that rises with the morn;
O mighty love, concealed in infant meekness:
O living Love, within our hearts be born,
O living Love, within our hearts be borne.
Prayer over the Gifts
God of life and freedom, we celebrate the revelation of Jesus as the Christ who makes all creation new. Accept all we offer you this day and make us new in him, who is Lord for ever and ever. Amen
The Great Thanksgiving (from Wee Worship Book)
The Invitation
He was always the guest. In the homes of Peter and Jarius, Martha and Mary, Joanna and Susanna, he was always the guest.
At the meal tables of the wealthy where he pled the case of the poor, he was always the guest.
Upsetting polite company, befriending isolated people, welcoming the stranger, he was always the guest.
But here, at our tables, he is the host.
Those who wish to serve him must first be served by him, those who want to follow him must first be fed by him, those who would wash his feet must first let him make them clean.
For this is the table where God intends us to be nourished; this is the time when Christ can make us new.
So come, you who hunger and thirst for a deeper faith, for a better life, for a fairer world.
Jesus Christ sits at our tables
Song as the gifts of bread and wine are prepared 572 Let there be light
The Story
What we do here, we do in imitation of what Christ did. To his followers in every age Jesus gave us an example and command rooted in the experience he shared with his disciples in an upstairs room in Jerusalem.
Reader:
On the night on which we he was betrayed, and as they were sitting at a meal, Jesus took a piece of bread and broke it. He gave it to his disciples saying, “This is my body. It is broken for you. Do this to remember me.” Later, after they had eaten, he took a cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new relationship with God made possible because of my death. Drink this all of you, to remember me.”
So, now we do as Jesus did. We take this bread and this wine, the produce of the earth and fruit of human labour.
In these, Jesus has promised to be present; through these, Christ can make us whole.
Eucharistic Prayer
Let us Pray
The Lord be with you
And also with you
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
It is right to give our thanks and praise
It is indeed right, for you made us, and before us, you made the world we inhabit, and before the world, you made the eternal home in which, through Christ, we have a place.
All that is spectacular, all that is plain have their origin in you; all that is lovely, all who are loving point to you as their fulfillment.
And grateful as we are for the world we know and the universe beyond our ken, we particularly praise you, whom eternity cannot contain, for coming to earth and entering time in Jesus.
For his life which informs our living, for his compassion which changes our hearts, for his clear speaking which contradicts our harmless generalities, for his disturbing presence, his innocent suffering, his fearless dying, his rising to life breathing forgiveness. We praise you and we worship him.
Here too our gratitude rises for the promise of the Holy Spirit, who even yet, even now, confronts us with your claims and attracts us to your goodness.
Therefore we gladly join our voices to the son of the church on earth and in heaven:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might, Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest
And now, lest we believe that our praise alone fulfils your purpose we fall silent and remember him who came because words weren’t enough.
Setting our wisdom, our will, our words aside, emptying our hearts, and bringing nothing in our hands, we yearn for the healing, the holding, the accepting, the forgiving which Christ alone can offer
Silence
Merciful God, send now, in kindness, your Holy Spirit to settle on this bread and wine and fill them with the fullness of Jesus.
And let that same Spirit rest on us, converting us from the patterns of this passing world, until we conform to the shape of him whose food we now share. Amen
Among friends gathered around a table, Jesus took bread, and broke it, and said, “This is my body – broken for you.”
Later he took a cup of wine and said “This is the new relationship with God made possible because of my death. Take it, all of you, to remember me.”
Jesus , firstborn of Mary
Have mercy on us
Jesus Saviour of the world
Have mercy on us
Jesus, monarch of heaven
Have mercy on us
He who has suffered for our injustices is now present in this bread. He whose body was hung on a cross is now offered to us in this cup.
So take this bread and this wine. In them God comes to us so that we may come to God.
The sharing of the bread and the wine
Communion: 635 Like the Murmur of the Dove’s Song
The Peace
Christ who has nourished us, is our peace.
Strangers and friends, male and female, old and young, he has broken down the barriers to bind us to him and to each other. Having tasted his goodness, let us share his peace.
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And Also with you
Concluding Prayer
Let us pray
In gratitude, in deep gratitude for this moment, this meal, these people, we give ourselves to you. Take us out to live as changed people because we have shared the Living Bread and cannot remain the same.
Ask much of us, expect much from us, enable much by us, encourage many through us.
So, Lord, may we live to your glory, both as inhabitants of earth and citizens of the commonwealth of heaven. Amen
Closing Hymn I Am the Light of the World
Chorus
I am the light of the world!
You people come and follow me!
If you follow and love,
You’ll learn the mystery of what you were meant to do and be.
When the song of the angels is stilled
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and the shepherds have found their way home
The work of Christmas is begun:
Chorus
To find the lost and lonely one,
To heal the broken soul with love,
To feed hungry children with warmth and good food,
To feel the earth below the sky above!
Chorus
To free the prisoners from their chains,
To make the powerful care,
To rebuild the nations with strength of good will,
To call a man your brother everywhere!
Chorus
To bring hope to every task you do,
To dance at a baby’s new birth,
To make music in an old woman’s heart,
And sing to the colours of the earth!
Chorus
The Blessing
May God’s wisdom guide you wherever you walk in this world.
May God’s wisdom encourage you in your daily work.
May God’s wisdom work in you like yeast, and rise in you like hope!
May you taste and see God’s goodness and may God’s wisdom be your delight now, this day, and for evermore. Amen.
Words of Mission
Time has now come for us to leave this sacred place.
As we do, may we embrace the challenges of our lives and our world...
As we prepare to leave this sacred place of celebration, may we live lives of hope, be nurturers of a vision of wholeness, and serve as healers in a wounded world.
Grant us wisdom.
Grant us courage.
Grant us peace. (Adapt. Leland-Mayer UUA worship web)
Christ who has nourished us, is our peace.
Strangers and friends, male and female, old and young, he has broken down the barriers to bind us to him and to each other. Having tasted his goodness, let us share his peace.
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And Also with you
Concluding Prayer
Let us pray
In gratitude, in deep gratitude for this moment, this meal, these people, we give ourselves to you. Take us out to live as changed people because we have shared the Living Bread and cannot remain the same.
Ask much of us, expect much from us, enable much by us, encourage many through us.
So, Lord, may we live to your glory, both as inhabitants of earth and citizens of the commonwealth of heaven. Amen
Closing Hymn I Am the Light of the World
Chorus
I am the light of the world!
You people come and follow me!
If you follow and love,
You’ll learn the mystery of what you were meant to do and be.
When the song of the angels is stilled
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and the shepherds have found their way home
The work of Christmas is begun:
Chorus
To find the lost and lonely one,
To heal the broken soul with love,
To feed hungry children with warmth and good food,
To feel the earth below the sky above!
Chorus
To free the prisoners from their chains,
To make the powerful care,
To rebuild the nations with strength of good will,
To call a man your brother everywhere!
Chorus
To bring hope to every task you do,
To dance at a baby’s new birth,
To make music in an old woman’s heart,
And sing to the colours of the earth!
Chorus
The Blessing
May God’s wisdom guide you wherever you walk in this world.
May God’s wisdom encourage you in your daily work.
May God’s wisdom work in you like yeast, and rise in you like hope!
May you taste and see God’s goodness and may God’s wisdom be your delight now, this day, and for evermore. Amen.
Words of Mission
Time has now come for us to leave this sacred place.
As we do, may we embrace the challenges of our lives and our world...
As we prepare to leave this sacred place of celebration, may we live lives of hope, be nurturers of a vision of wholeness, and serve as healers in a wounded world.
Grant us wisdom.
Grant us courage.
Grant us peace. (Adapt. Leland-Mayer UUA worship web)
