Take me to Bethlehem
House of bread
Where the empty are filled
The poor find riches
And the rich recognise their poverty
Where all kneel and worship
And all are fed.
Song “There is a hope”
A candle is lit.
I light a candle for light, sending
prayers high into the inky heavens and
dreams deep into our human soul.
We light a candle for light. May it light our way.
Psalm 73
If I had said, “I will speak this way,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.
16 When I thought of understanding this,
It was troublesome in my sight
17 Until I entered the sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their end.
18 You indeed put them on slippery ground;
You dropped them into ruin.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!
20 Like a dream when one awakes,
Lord, when stirred, You will despise their image.
The Lord’s Prayer in our own language
Our Prayers
I pray for people and situations that are on my heart today ...
We pray for the US, for Hong Kong, for Syria, Nigeria and Ethipia, for people in lockdown again, for people sick with Covid, for people who are lonely, for people who are hungry, for people working in hospitals and care homes, for people suffering from war particularly the children, for people imprisoned for protesting about the abuse of human rights, for people suffering of climate change, for the vulnerable and those sick and dying, for the homeless, for over 60 million asylum seekers and refugees wherever they are, for our governments to make the right decisions, and for our children and grandchildren who we must give a better future.
May we not fail you though we face great dangers.
Give us your peace, your wisdom and your strength. Amen
Closing Responses
When the star in the sky has gone
And the wise men have gone back to their homes
The real work of Christmas begins
To find the lost,
heal the broken,
feed the hungry
and release the prisoner. Amen
Pat Nimmo with thanks to © Janet Morley adapted
