Month: December 2024

Holy God, carrier of our hearts, illuminator of our minds, knitter of our lives, we praise you. We lift our voices and our silences to you.

This morning we pray to you with mixed-bag emotions – some of us brimming with happiness, some of us weeping inside, some of us carrying a jumble of this and that. Thank you for loving us in our jumble. Thank you for remaining with us all along the way.

This morning we come to the end of a calendar year and so reflect: What has this last year been for us? For you? How has the journey been? Great Historian, what can we learn from 2024?

This morning we pray for members of our church family.

We pray for our Households of Faith.

We pray for our world. God, break into the world of politics. Rattle the systems, shake up the politicians, bewilder the bureaucrats, and inspire us as citizens to grab hold of the levers of power that are available to us. Break into the world of culture, and make it so that some of the greed and apathy fizzle away. Make it so that some of the scorn is brushed away by compassion. Break into the world of economics and make it so that the value our precious planet is accounted for. Make it so that more and more people think that it’s exciting and worthwhile to safeguard our ecological home.

Holy God, maker and carrier of this world. We lift our voices and our silences to you. Amen.

Isaiah 9:6-7 For unto us a child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus at this this time of the year we hear again the prophecy of the impending birth in Isaiah. Wow such a large gift in one package! So many titles for one person but many times in our lives we have experienced each on of these titles. We have seen the Wonderful in creation of our families and in times of Joy in our lives. We have relied many times on the title of Counselor in the many challenging times of life health and sickness, surgery troubles at work etc. In the title of Counsellor we have found much support when we needed it most. We have seen Mighty God in Nature whether mountains, seas or storms, etc.; we have seen the Mighty and have been in awe. So much strength can be gleaned in the Everlasting Father title. There is not much in this physical world that lasts forever and yet you are called the “Everlasting Father” , time before us and after us. And finally, Prince of Peace. Wow does this world need Peace both here in North America and around the world Peace is needed. But we also need Peace in our personal Lives. At this time of year when gifts are given and received, we are so blessed in our spiritual lives to know that in one single birth one person could bring all these Titles and Gifts. for this we need to be thankful. Help us to reflect on this at this time of year.

Thank you, God, for this Christmas time when we can slow down from normal routine for a bit and spend time with family and friends. We anticipate the magic of the season as we gather close to home and friends. Please help us not to take this for granted. B e with all those who are travelling as well at this time of year.

God, we ask that you be with those of our group who may be experiencing loneliness at this time of year. We have had members of our Church family who have passed on in this past year and for their families it may be a difficult time. Hold those close who are experiencing loss and loneliness of a spouse, father, mother, family member. May the feel your peace and grace at this time of year.

We also ask for Peace at this time of year for our Politicians whether locally, provincially, or nationally . May they govern with integrity, responsibility and good Character. In particular we pray for our federal leaders as they sort out the confusion and unrest that is happening in our National capital. Give them clarity of mind.

We are thankful for answered prayers in health concerns here at WMC.

We want to lift up our Households of Faith this week as well.

Thank-you God for the Prayer requests that have been made known. We also pray that you be with those who have not shared but have concerns. You are all knowing and you know our thoughts even when not shared so we ask that you hear those as well.

As we anticipate Christmas time and all that goes with it may we take time to reflect again on the Birth of Jesus and all that it means both in time past , present and future. In the busyness of the season may we find time to pause, find Joy and Celebrate the Reason for the Season.

In your name we ask it

Amen .

God of grace, Light of the way ahead, Source of love,

We come together to pray. We give deep thanks for your presence in our lives – individually, as a community, and in the bigger scheme of things.

We pray for your dawn to keep breaking, to keep surprising us, to keep blessing us.

Today we pray for our Households of Faith.

Today we pray for our children – all those who were part of today’s Christmas presentation, and many more who are part of our lives in so many ways. We pray for your special blessing upon ALL our children. Bless them and keep them in your embrace. Make your Advent face to shine upon them and give them so much joy!

God of grace, we praise you. We lift up our prayers to you. How will your dawn break into our lives today? How will your Light surprise us this week? We put our trust in you. We love you. AMEN.

Good morning God

As we head for and anticipate the Christmas Season, we are excited about the time we have with family and friends. For some it will be a very festive time and for some it is tough as they celebrate without a loved one. In the Christmas season, beyond the excitement of gatherings, parades, festivities and social times, we recognize that there is a part of the season that is mystical , enchanting and unpredictable. When we review the Birth of Jesus where the Christmas season began we recognize there was some enchanting and unforeseen events that happened there as well. Events like Mary being a virgin Mother, Jesus being born in a stable because there was no room in the Inn. How about Wise men and shepherds deviating from their duties and schedules to come and see this baby born in a manger. A bright star leading them directly to the manger. I am not sure even sure the best script writers could have put all this together. Perhaps this is where the “magic” of Christmas began. Maybe this is where the excitement and anticipation for the season began. Events like this in the Birth of Jesus truly were life changing for Mary and Joseph but I believe all this drama and the way things unfolded allow for us to truly enjoy the excitement, pageantry, unforeseen and magic of the season. It can be truly as magical time of the year. And it all began with a carpenter, a virgin mother and unfolded in the unlikeliest places …..a Stable. Thank you God for allowing this to happen this way. We are blessed.

God we pray for those in our church family and beyond that may be grieving during this festive time of the season. for those who are grieving God we ask that you hold them especially close during this time. Allow them to feel your grace and love and may they be able join some way celebrate the season as if their loved ones were still here. God hold them close.

For those experiencing health concerns Lord we ask that you be near them. It can be a trying time of the year if one is not feeling well. Give those who may be experiencing discomfort or pain some relief. Hold them close to you. And for those that have experienced healing and or relief from pain may they be grateful. We rejoice with them. We are thankful for the Doctors, nurses, specialist and health care practitioners that help us thru our tough times. Bless them for their support and care.

Even though we live in a country that sometimes has issues we must be thankful for a peaceful existence. We pray for our national leaders that run our country. It is not an easy task by any means. Help us to pray more than grumble about our politicians whether nationally, provincially or locally. Help us to be careful in our words. We lift up our politicians in prayer.

We pray for those of our numbers in long term care or extra care living . may they somehow be able to experience the festive time of the year as well. we thank you for those of our families who have gone on before. Be close to those in LTC.

We also pray for HOF at EMC this week

Lord help us in our busyness of the season to take time to really understand the reason for the season. The reason why we celebrate. We anticipate time with family and friends and that is good and expected. May we spend time in an and enjoy the magic of the season as we reflect on the birth of Jesus – the stable birth, the virgin Mary and the visit form shepherds and wisemen .

Thank You God for this time of year.

In your name we ask it

Amen

(Adapted from Voices Together #985)

Gracious God, we bring our prayers to you as acts of love for you and for our neighbours. God of mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for ourselves and those dear to us: We pray for your Advent power to flourish inside of our congregation. We pray for your Advent hope to befriend the members of our Households of Faith for this week. We give thanks for our connections with them. We hold them in your light.

We pray for our friends who are contending with sickness, with pain, with uncertainty of diagnosis, with lack of diagnosis. We pray for your inexplicable, healing strength to course through their veins. We pray for your Advent hope to become their physical hope, their mental hope, their emotional hope.

We pray for our community, and for our neighbours. We pray for your welcoming hope to swirl up and down these country roads and the streets of this town, and then to fortify those who are striving to be at home along these country roads and streets.

We pray for the world. We pray for your mysterious and real-life peace to quake in the community of nations, to cause noticeable change. We pray for your ancient heart to buzz inside of political leaders, organizational leaders, and cultural leaders.

Gracious God, we bring our prayers to you as acts of love for you and for our neighbours. God of mercy, hear our prayer. Amen.