Evening Prayer Christmas Eve, 24 December 2020
Evening Prayer – Christmas Eve
24 DECEMBER 2020 – 8.00pm
Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga
The House of Christmas
by G.K. Chesterton
This world is wild as an old wives’ tale,
And strange the plain things are,
The earth is enough and the air is enough
For our wonder and our war;
But our rest is as far as the fire-drake swings
And our peace is put in impossible things
Where clashed and thundered unthinkable wings
Round an incredible star.
To an open house in the evening
Home shall men come,
To an older place than Eden
And a taller town than Rome.
To the end of the way of the wandering star,
To the things that cannot be and that are,
To the place where God was homeless
And all men are at home.
We meet in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Good evening and welcome to our Evening Prayer on Christmas Eve.
Behold, I bring you good news of a great joy
which will come to all the people;
for to you is born this night in the city
of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:10-11
Silence…
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be forever.
Amen.
You may wish to light a candle here…
Alleluia.
To us a child is born:
Come let us adore him.
Alleluia.
O gracious Light,
pure brightness of the everliving
Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God:
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to
be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.
Presence
Dear Lord as I come to you today
Fill my heart and my whole being
with the wonder of your presence.
Freedom
I try to let go of any prejudices and narrow mindedness
That may be clouding my vision at this present moment.
I hand them over to God’s merciful care,
So I can pray in freedom at this time.
Consciousness
Knowing that God loves me unconditionally,
I look honestly over the last day, its events and my feelings.
Do I have something to be grateful for? Then I give thanks.
Is there something I am sorry for? Then I ask forgiveness.
THE SONG OF MARY
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour;
for he has looked with favour on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel,
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever.
Amen.
THE WORD OF GOD
LUKE 2:1-7
The Birth of Jesus
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.
She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
MEDITATION
Revd George Mwaura
PRAYERS AND INTERCESSIONS
Show us your mercy, O Lord;
And grant us your salvation.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
Let your people sing with joy.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
For only in you can we live in safety.
Lord, keep this nation under your care
In the middle of this global pandemic;
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Let your way be known upon earth;
Your saving health among all nations.
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.
For our LIVING STONES WhatsApp and Web Visitors
Lord, people come here to our LIVING STONE gathering
at all hours of the day and night, looking for solace and strength,
holiness and transcendence, and a chance meeting with their Creator
and your selfless loving Son:
Bless those of us who pray here,
that held in your embrace,
we may comfort and nurture others who are cold,
hungry, sick, imprisoned, oppressed or addicted,
welcoming them into the joy of your community.
Tonight we remember, Joy O, Barbara, Rachel, Josephine, Robin, June and Brian
And all those we are not aware of…
O Lord, under your direction, teach us to love
our neighbours as ourselves, judging not lest we also be judged;
through Jesus Christ, our Messiah, High Priest and Deliverer.
Amen.
CHRISTMAS APPEAL
THE BLESSING
May God who call us out of darkness
Into his marvellous light
Bless us and fill us with peace.
Today and every day.
Amen
Thank you for join us!
Adrian and the Cornerstone Choir have recorded some music for Christmas Eve
Choral reflection – A spotless Rose
Words “Es ist ein’ Ros’ entsprungen” inspired by Isaiah 11:1, translated by Catherine Winkworth. Composed by Herbert Norman Howells.
Hymn – It came upon the midnight clear
Poem written by Edmund Sears, set to NOËL adapted from an English melody by Arthur Sullivan, arranged by David Willcocks.
