Closing responses in a service of light

God of the sunlight: of love and laughter, adventure and risk:
We will live in your light.

God of the starlight: of dancing and dreaming, music and beauty:
We will live in your light.

God of moonlight: of sorrow and longing, pain and heartache:
We will live in your light.

God of the small flame and the roaring fire:
Take our small seeds of faith and turn them into lives that honour you.

Everything

God in my living
There in my breathing
God in my waking
God in my sleeping

God in my resting
There in my working
God in my thinking
God in my speaking

Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything

God in my hoping
There in my dreaming
God in my watching
God in my waiting

God in my laughing
There in my weeping
God in my hurting
God in my healing

Christ in me
Christ in me
Christ in me the hope of glory
You are everything

Christ in me
Christ in me
Christ in me the hope of glory
Be my everything

(Tim Hughes)

thanksgiving for a child

God our creator: life-giver, love-maker, world-changer – we thank you for the gift of Cian.

Today, at the beginning of his Christian journey, we affirm your faithfulness and your commitment to his life in You:

For we know that at this present time, and far down along the path:
You will be there.

Along the parts bright with sunshine, and the parts hidden in shadow:
You will be there.

When the path is uphill and steep, when it is smooth and comfortable:
You will be there.

When the way is clear and wide, when it is complicated with twists and turns:
You will be there.

You will be there:
- In love and laughter, adventure and risk
- In sorrow and longing, pain and heartache:
- In dancing and dreaming, music and beauty
- In sunlight and starlight, on wind and in rain
- In the words of others, spoken and written
- In the big and the small moments of all his days
You will be there.

God of love,
who planted your image deep within each of us,
we thank you for who you have made us
and who we are growing to be.

Do not be afraid

But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel:
Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name;
you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.

For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour...
You are precious and honoured in my sight, and I love you.

(Isaiah 43)

"Hope" is the thing with feathers—
That perches in the soul—
And sings the tune without the words—
And never stops—at all—

And sweetest—in the Gale—is heard—
And sore must be the storm—
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm—

I've heard it in the chillest land—
And on the strangest Sea—
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb—of Me.

(Emily Dickinson)

Prayers of thanksgiving

(to a God of diversity)

For your wide and inclusive love,
And for your personal and intimate love,
We give you thanks.

For your revealing of yourself in ancient words,
And for the little glimpses of you all around us,
We give you thanks.

For the small miracles in the everyday,
And for the gift of Jesus: redeeming the world.
We give you thanks.

For the many blessings we enjoy here on earth,
And for the eternal banquet to which you invite us:
We give you thanks.

(Jen Ryder)

Prayers of Confession

(to a God of diversity)

For times when we have limited your love to people and places with which we are comfortable:
Forgive us Lord

For times when we have ignored your call to love our neighbour – whoever they are:
Forgive us Lord

For times when we have stopped at the stereotype and failed to look deeper and see your face:
Forgive us Lord

For times when we have failed to value the contribution each person can bring to our communities:
Forgive us Lord

(Jen Ryder)

Prayers of Adoration

(to a God of diversity)

God of the East and the West,
God of all peoples, all nations, all creatures:
We give you praise tonight

God in the church and on the street-corner,
God in the classroom, in the synagogue, on the hospital ward:
We give you praise tonight

God in story and in song,
God in wind and fire, ritual and fresh expression:
We give you praise tonight

God of the organ and of the bells,
God of the sitah and the tabla, of the lute and the harp:
We give you praise tonight

God in fine wine and in broken bread,
God in meat-pies, in vindaloo and in jerk chicken:
We give you praise tonight

God beside us and within us,
God of the ordinary and of the remarkable,
God of clarity and of mystery,

God in our joys and in our sorrows,
God in our understanding and in our doubts,
God of diversity and abundant life:

Be with us as we meet in your name tonight.

(Jen Ryder)

A meditation on Love

(for a wedding)

In the beginning there was Love.
And this love brought forth the earth and the seas.
It breathed out sunlight and starlight.
And it created new life.
It formed the giant oak tree and the delicate rose, strong winds and sparkling rain, mighty beasts and shining fish.

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And man and woman were created.
They were filled with this divine, life-giving, star-making Love.
And all was good in the world.
There was light and laughter, music and warmth, and dancing to the beat of the heart of Love.

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Time passed and the Love that had once shone so bright became dulled.
It was drowned out by the noises of greed, of competition, of jealousy…
It was forgotten in a world where possessions are valued more than people, where vulnerability is hidden, where money and status are more important than relationships.
It was squeezed out by selfishness, complacency and fear.

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And so the first Love was reborn into the world.
As a baby. As a man.

And this was not a timid, or a limited, or a Hollywood love.
But a powerful, passionate, world-turning, life-changing Love:
It turned water into wine,
It gave freedom to the oppressed,
It brought sight to the blind.

And it was an intimate, tender, redeeming Love:
It touched untouchables,
It saw beyond failures and regrets,
It brought hope.

It was constant and faithful.
And it could not be defeated, even by death.

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Time has passed and yet this Love is still present today.
We can see it if we look carefully into the stories of our lives.
If we listen for its whisper and feel for its touch.

It is there in the kindness of a stranger or in the touch of a reassuring hand.
It is there in the delight of children, in a face bright with joy.
It is there in the wide seas or in the wonder of the night sky.
It is there in the struggle for justice, in the hope of a new dawn.
It is there in the crossing of paths….

And it is here today
In the joining of these two lives.

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(Jen Ryder)

"Look to the rock from which you were hewn,
And to the quarry from which you were dug"

(Isaiah 51)

"Found a message in the sand,
it read 'just do the best you can'"

('Stranger' - James)

"Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
If I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
If I settle on the far side of the sea,
Even there your hand will guide me,
Your right hand will hold me fast."

(from Psalm 139)

Fully Alive

I will not die an unlived life.
I will not live in fear
Of falling or catching fire.
I choose to inhabit my days,
To allow my living to open me,
To make me less afraid,
More accessible,
To loosen my heart
Until it becomes a wing,
A torch, a promise.
I choose to risk my significance;
To live so that which came to me as seed
Goes to the next as blossom
And that which came to me as blossom,
Goes on as fruit.

(Dawna Markova)