Advent Candlelighting Prayers and Pastoral Prayer

Four Weeks of Advent Darkness: Hope, Peace, Joy, Love

Advent isn't afraid of the dark.
The four weeks before Christmas, and each one darker than the last.
But Advent doesn't rush to turn on all the lights, chase the dark away –
Advent isn't afraid of the dark.
Advent claims its deepening, week upon week.
Its longer and longer nights.

HOPE

Advent says to us, "Don't rush – you need this rest.
Let yourself pause and be strengthened.
Let yourself breathe and be comforted.
Let yourself wait and be held.
This is the time when God's Spirit arrives under cover of darkness
to guide us gently toward new hope.

PEACE

When the fearful can travel more safely
When a whisper isn't lost in the noise
When our differences can't be seen.
When God's Spirit arrives under cover of darkness
to guide us gently toward hope.
and hear all our prayers for peace.

JOY

When sparkling stars overwhelm us with their beauty
And the first snowfall is perfect
And Christmas lights make us gasp with delight
When God's Spirit arrives under cover of darkness
and guides us gently toward hope.
and hears all our prayers for peace
and reminds us of our capacity for joy.

LOVE

When the cold reminds us that everyone should be warm enough
And treats are made to be shared
And connection transcends distance.
When God's Spirit arrives under cover of darkness
and guides us gently toward hope.
and hears all our prayers for peace
and reminds us of our capacity for joy,
and brings us the gift of love.

(Candle is lit.)
Dear God,
As the nights grow longer
Be with us in the deepening darkness
and make our Advent holy and blessed in your presence. Amen.

Advent Pastoral Prayer

Dear God,
As each morning’s news reminds us, we live in a fragile, uneasy world, where truth and trust do not sit comfortably together, and violence instead of dialogue has become the way to end an argument or dispute. 
May your love be known where we are, breaking in to embrace your world, to wash it in tears of mercy and grace, to bring healing and restoration to its brokenness.
Enter, we pray, into the silence of the lonely, into the fears of the elderly, into the worries of the family, into the anger of the victim, into the misery of the homeless, into the pain of the sufferer, and the grief of the bereaved.
Strengthen your people in the gifts of comfort and healing and peace.
Remind us that the greatest love is not to be found in extravagant gestures or gift-wrapped pleasures that by their very nature are often temporary,
But instead in the ordinariness of simple gestures and acts of kindness,
The warmth of love that abides.
The holy moments we seek and create.
Your love is without beginning and without end.
It encircles us and holds us fast –
Come and fill our hearts this Advent, O God, we pray.
As we gather all our prayers into the prayer that Jesus taught us, saying ...

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 debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil; for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever Amen.