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 75
For not from the east, nor from the west,
Nor from the desert comes exaltation;
7 But God is the Judge;
He puts down one and exalts another.
8 For a cup is in the hand of the Lord, and the wine foams;
It is well mixed, and He pours out of this;
Certainly all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink its dregs.
9 But as for me, I will declare it forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 And He will cut off all the horns of the wicked,
But the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.
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 democracy in the UK, Hong Kong, Belarus and Russia, for the war torn in Syria, for people in Nigeria and Ethiopia, for the Uighurs and Rohingas, for people in lockdown, 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 from climate change, for the vulnerable and those sick and dying, for the homeless, for over 60 million asylum seekers and refugees, 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
