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Christmas Pack 1993

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Christmas Pack #14
Gifts of Peace

Welcoming the Prince of Peace
Models for Prayer and Worship

Index for this Section

Welcoming the Prince of Peace
Models for Prayer and Worship

Introduction

Advent and Christmastime offer us unique opportunities to foster peace in a troubled, chaotic world. Pastors, worship committees and others involved in planning services and special events can lead people to prepare for and receive the Prince of Peace, and to share that peace with others. Through worship, the community of faith can become empowered with a vision of Jesus' peace.

These prayers, litanies, readings, and other worship elements can be used to incorporate a theme of peace in worship services, prayer services or other special gatherings during the Advent/Christmas season. You can use them as is or use them as inspiration to create your own.

Furthermore, pastors can incorporate peace issues into sermons. Congregations or other groups can light candles for peace. They can also follow the custom of "passing the peace" where the pastor bestows peace on one or several members of the congregation with a handshake and greeting; then the person(s) extends the greeting to others who share it until all have been greeted. And don't forget that times of silence during worship can promote reflection and offer a peaceful, calming atmosphere.

When considering worship elements, take the needs of your particular church into account. Choose those elements and settings that work best for your congregation. Check your denominational prayer book or lectionary texts for other ideas.

Call to Worship

LEADER: Rejoice, people of God! In Christ there is hope and peace.

PEOPLE: But how can we rejoice? The world is full of hunger, agony, conflict, pain.

LEADER: Rejoice, people of God! The victory is won in Christ.

PEOPLE: But how? Our brothers and sisters cry out for justice, for love, for food.

LEADER: Rejoice, people of God! For in God there is justice and love. God is the source of everything.

PEOPLE: But how? The problems are big and the injustice overwhelming.

LEADER: Rejoice, people of God! For in you Christ lives and all things are possible.

UNISON: Rejoice! We are God's tools of justice and love. Through God we can work for peace and feed one another. 1

Advent Litany I

LEADER: O Gracious God, as we recount the story of Jesus' birth, with innkeepers slamming doors . . . angels trumpeting . . . Herod's army on the march,

PEOPLE: Help us to remember the peace in Christmas.

LEADER: Much like that first Christmas, our celebration of Christ's birth is filled with disarray.

PEOPLE: Help us to remember the peace in Christmas.

LEADER: When we feel overwhelmed by pressures to shop, decorate, bake and cook,

PEOPLE: Help us to find the peace in Christmas.

LEADER: When money dwindles and expectations increase,

PEOPLE: Help us to find the peace in Christmas.

LEADER: When our calendars fill up and our patience runs down,

PEOPLE: Help us to find the peace in Christmas.

ALL: O God, this Advent let us embrace the peace promised by the birth of a tiny baby in a manger. Help us to experience a Christmas that is peace-filled and peaceful.

Advent Litany II

ALL: O God, in the fullness of time you sent your son Jesus in a manner that confounded kings yet moved shepherds and magi. Guide us now as we prepare to celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace.

LEADER: When we make our family plans for Advent and Christmas,

PEOPLE: Help us to make time for the one whose birth we celebrate.

LEADER: When we feel the pressure to buy and buy and buy,

PEOPLE: Help us to resist our temptations to find you in material things.

LEADER: When we consider all of the waste generated in our celebrations,

PEOPLE: Help us to set limits on what we will consume and throw away.

LEADER: When our plans do not include those who are hungry, sick, lonely and imprisoned,

PEOPLE: Help us to look for you in the right places.

LEADER: When we make our Christmas lists for family and friends,

PEOPLE: Help us to remember whose birthday it is.

ALL: O God, forgive us when we forget who you are and why you have come. As we prepare for the Prince of Peace to be born in our midst, help us to bring peace to a troubled world and people. As the shepherds and magi looked for you in a stable, let us look for you among those you came to serve. Amen.

An Advent Prayer

O God, whose will is justice for the poor and peace for the afflicted,
let your herald's urgent voice
pierce our hardened hearts
and announce the dawn of your kingdom.
Before the advent of the One who baptizes with the fire of the Holy Spirit,
let our complacency give way to conversion, oppression to justice,
and conflict to acceptance of one another in Christ.
We ask this through the One whose coming is certain,
whose day draws near:
your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 2

An Advent Reading

Some day,
the Lord's house will be there,
on that highest mountain.
And people will climb the mountain
and learn, from the Lord, how to live.
And they will spread the word to others,
so that everyone will know
how to act in the right way.
No nation shall invade another nation.
No, never again shall anyone be trained for war.
Swords shall be hammered into plows for the farm,
and spears recycled into tools for the garden.
Come,
let us all walk in the light of the Lord. 3

adapted from Isaiah 2:1-5

A Christmas Litany

based on Isaiah 2:4, 9:6 and Luke 1:78-79

LEADER: This Christmas season let us renew our visions of peace for our world.

PEOPLE: For unto us a child is born,

LEADER: To give us hope for a world without violence,
A world where children are no longer sacrificed in wars,
A world without guns, warheads and tanks,
A world where the streets are safe, day and night.

PEOPLE: For unto us a child is born,

LEADER: To be a judge between the nations and an arbiter for many peoples:
So that countries will direct their resources into farms, education and health care,
So that weapons-making plants are converted to factories for peaceful endeavors,
So that all streets are places where communities gather in harmony.

PEOPLE: For unto us a child is born!

LEADER: A world without famine, a world without war, streets that are safe and homes that are secure - this is our dream!

PEOPLE: For unto us a child is born!

LEADER: For unto us a child is born: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God and Prince of Peace!

ALL: By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us,
To give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.

A Christmas or Epiphany Reading

The people who walked in darkness,
now see a great light -
a light which sweeps away all gloom.
God gives his people great, great joy.
Their happiness is over
the birth of a child,
whom people call the Prince of Peace,
Wonderful Friend, God's Own.
His kingdom is for all,
and is forever peace-full. 4

adapted from Isaiah 9:1-6

An Epiphany Litany

LEADER: Holy Child of Bethlehem, whose parents found no room in the inn,

PEOPLE: We pray for all who are homeless.

LEADER: Holy Child of Bethlehem, born in a stable,

PEOPLE: We pray for all who live in poverty.

LEADER: Holy Child of Bethlehem, rejected stranger,

PEOPLE: We pray for all who are lost, alone, all who cry for loved ones.

LEADER: Holy Child of Bethlehem, whom Herod sought to kill,

PEOPLE: We pray for all who live with danger, all who are persecuted.

LEADER: Holy Child of Bethlehem, a refugee in Egypt,

PEOPLE: We pray for all who are far from their homes.

LEADER: Holy Child of Bethlehem, in you God was pleased to dwell,

PEOPLE: Help us, we pray, to see the divine image in people everywhere. 5

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make us instruments of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
Oh, Divine Master,
grant that we may not so much seek
to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:

1. Reprinted with permission from Banquet of Praise (Bread for the World, copyright © 1990). All rights reserved. For a copy of the book, contact Bread for the World, 802 Rhode Island Ave., NE, Washington, DC 20018. (202) 269-0200.

2. Text © 1991, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.

3. Reprinted with permission from Advent/Christmas '80: Family Prayers and Activities (Franciscan Communications, copyright © 1980). All rights reserved.

4. See number 3.

5. By David Blanchflower. Reprinted with permission from Bread of Tomorrow, edited by Janet Morley (Orbis Books, copyright © 1992). All rights reserved. For a copy of the book, contact Orbis Books, Maryknoll, NY 10545, (914) 941-7590.

I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day

Henry W. Longfellow, 1807 - 1882
J. Baptiste Calkin, 1827 - 1905

1. I heard the bells on Christ - mas Day, Their old fa - mil - iar car - ols play, And wild and sweet words re - peat Of peace on earth, good will to [all].

2. I thought how, as the day had come, The bel - fries of all Chris - ten - dom Had rolled a - long th' un- bro - ke song Of peace on earth, good will to [all].

3. And in de - spair I bowed my head: "There is no peace on earth," I said. "For hate is strong, and mocks the song Of peace on earth, good will to [all].

4. Then pealed the bells more loud and deep; "God is not dead, nor doth [God] sleep; The wrong shall fail, the right pre-vail, With peace on earth, good will to [all]."

5.  'Til, ring-ing, sing-ing on its way, The world re-volved from night to day, A voice, a chime, a chant sub - lime, Of peace on earth, good will to [all]!

Make copies of this resource under the Creative Commons attribution, not-for-profit license.

Page updated 11 Sept. 2013

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