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 “No longer slaves”
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 78
When He killed them, then they sought Him,
And they returned and searched diligently for God;
35 And they remembered that God was their rock,
And the Most High God their Redeemer.
36 But they flattered Him with their mouth
And lied to Him with their tongue.
37 For their heart was not steadfast toward Him,
Nor were they faithful with His covenant.
38 But He, being compassionate,
forgave their wrongdoing and did not destroy them;
And often He [t]restrained His anger
And did not stir up all His wrath.
39 So He remembered that they were only flesh,
A wind that passes and does not return.
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 Myanmar, for people in lockdown, the roll out of the vaccine programme, Hong Kong, Belarus, Russia, for the war torn in Syria, for people in Nigeria and Ethiopia, for the Uighurs and Rohingas, 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
