Longest Night December 21 Knox Bayfield
The Lord be with you … and also with you
Welcome to our Longest Night Service. You may want to take a moment to access the responsive readings, which are available on YouTube and in our website. If you have candles now would be a good time to gather them. There will be a time to light the candles of remembrance during the service. Get comfortable in your space. Settle in.
Tonight we gather with complex emotions … sadness, regret, grief, loneliness, and sorrow in the midst of sparking lights, celebration, and joy in the world around us.
During this service, there will be periods of silence to allow for deeper reflection. Let us take a breath as we have a time of meditation and centering.
Call To Worship
One: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
All: The Word became flesh and lived among us, full of grace and truth.
One: In him was life, and that life was the light of all.
All: The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never been able to extinguish it.
Silence
One: God’s light breaks into the world like the dawning of a new day
All: The dawn arrives both slowly and quickly
One: The Lord will always be with you to save you
All: God’s presence will protect us on every side
One: When you call the Lord will answer
All: When we call for help, God will say, “I am here.”
Hymn* God is love: come heaven, adoring #314
Join with me in the prayer of Adoration and Confession with the Lord’s Prayer
O holy Creator, our souls wait in silence. Truly our hope is in you. God of abundant mercy, you give us grace to pray, even though our hearts are broken and our voices tremble with grief and sorrow.
We have heard your prophets call … comfort, comfort, your people. Comfort those of us who sit in darkness, mourning beneath our sorrow. Speak to us of healing for our weary and wounded souls.
We ask all this, trusting in your promise to hear our prayers. O holy One, we join in the words Jesus taught to His disciples …
Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen
Assurance of pardon
God’s forgiveness shines into the world & the darkness scatters. Jesus knows our every strength & our every weakness & loves us still. We are called to the promise of God’s amazing grace. Thanks be to God. Amen.
May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. And also with you.
Let us pray for illumination of the holy scripture …
God of wisdom, soften our hearts & direct our minds as we discern your holy scripture. May we be like fertile soil in which to plant your living Word. Amen.
Scripture Isaiah 40:1–8
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”
CANDLES OF REMEMBRANCE
We light the first candle to remember those we have loved and lost. We pause to remember their names, their face, their voice, the memories that bind them to us in this season.
… silence
We light this second candle to recognize the pain of loss – the loss of relationships, the loss of jobs, the loss of health, the loss of social connection. We pause to gather up the pain of the past and offer it to God, asking that God will provide us with the gift of peace.
… silence
We light this third candle to remember ‘ourselves’ during this Christmas season. We pause to remember the trials of the past weeks, months, years.
We remember our weakness. We remember the comfort and strength provided by those who have stood with us. We give thanks for all the support we have known.
… silence
We light the fourth candle to remember our faith and the gift of hope offered to all in the Christmas story. We remember the God who shares our life
… silence
We light the Christ candle, light in the darkness. It is a sign of the fulfilment of hopes and dreams, a sign of Christ, the one who bears our burdens. … silence
Hymn* People in darkness #124
Scripture Psalm 121 Responsive
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you— the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
Matthew 11:28-29
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God
MEDITATION WITH MEMORIAL CANDLES
Tonight we have an intentional time for silence as we hold on to the divine promise “Be still and know that I am God.”
Silence can be uncomfortable. We may seek to fill the empty spaces with noise. Tonight our hope is to simply be present in the silence.
This is a time for reflection and for prayer, for openness and for listening. You may choose to light a memorial candle at this time. The light of the candle marks a visible sign of your prayers of remembrance and hope.
Let us enter into this reflection, knowing that God’s presence surrounds us now and always.
Music For Reflection
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Join me in prayer …
God of compassion, you have given Jesus Christ as the great physician. He makes the broken whole. He overcomes the darkness of death and despair with new life and hope. We thank you for the one who touched the untouchable, reached out to the dying, and brought healing and wholeness to those in despair.
Touch our wounds, relieve our hurt, and restore us to wholeness of life, through this same Jesus Christ. Set our troubled souls free, O Holy One. May there be freedom from restlessness and anxiety. Anchor us to your faithfulness. May your peace keep us in all times of trouble and distress. May we know that you hold us close.
You are faithful and trustworthy, O God. You lend us your ear for our comfort. Hear us now as we bring our prayers. Hear again, gracious God, the names of those we love and the places we hold dear… silence…
Grant us, O God, the fullness of your promise. Where we have been weak, grant us your strength. Where we have been confused, guide us to your clarity. Where we have been distraught, grant us your comfort. In all times grant us your peace through Jesus Christ in unity with the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Hymn* Silent night #154
Commissioning and Benediction *
May the Christ who walked on wounded feet walk with you on the road
May the Christ who served with wounded hands stretch out your hands to serve
May the Christ who loved with a wounded heart open your heart to love
May you see the face of Christ in all you meet
May everyone see the face of Christ in you
May the grace of Jesus Christ, the love of God, & the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you…now and forever more. Amen
Postlude Let There Be Peace on Earth
#314 God is love
God is love: come heaven, adoring;
God is love: come earth, rejoice.
Come creation, voices soaring,
Sing exulting with one voice.
God who laid the earth’s foundation,
God who spread the heavens above,
God who breathes through all creation–
God is love, eternal love.
God is love, whose arms enfolding
All the world in one embrace,
With unfailing grasp are holding
Every child of every race,
And when human hearts are breaking
Under sorrow’s iron rod,
All the sorrow, all the aching
Wrings with pain the heart of God.
God is love, and though with blindness
Sin afflicts all human life,
God’s eternal loving-kindness
Guides us through all earthly strife.
Sin and death and hell shall never
O’er us final triumph gain;
God is love: so love forever
O’er the universe must reign.
# 124
People in Darkness
People in darkness are looking for light.
Come, come, come, Jesus Christ.
People with blindness are longing for sight.
Come, Lord Jesus Christ.
These days of adventure when all people wait
are days for the advent of love.
People with sickness are praying for health.
Come, come, come, Jesus Christ.
People in poverty want to have wealth.
Come, Lord Jesus Christ.
These days of adventure when all people wait
are days for the advent of hope.
People in trouble would like to be free.
Come, come, come, Jesus Christ.
People with arguments want to agree.
Come, Lord Jesus Christ.
These days of adventure when all people wait
are days for the advent of peace.
People in sadness are trying to sing.
Come, come, come, Jesus Christ.
Bells in the steeple are waiting to ring.
Come, Lord Jesus Christ.
These days of adventure when all people wait
are days for the advent of joy.
Let There Be Peace on Earth
Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Chet Akins, Michael McDonald
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me
Let There Be Peace on Earth
The peace that was meant to be
With God as our Father
Brothers all are we
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony.
Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.
With ev’ry step I take
Let this be my solemn vow
To take each moment and live
Each moment in peace eternally
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me