invocation

Lord of the weary traveller,
Our feet are stained with the dust of the roads we have traveled
This past week,
this past year,
Every day of our lives.

We are following your star in search of a ray of hope.
And now, after a long journey, we put our luggage down.
We have arrived.
We are here, and we are on sacred ground.

You may not come where we expect you,
But we believe you are still here.
let us know
In hope of stars,
The peace of the child crouching in the manger,
joy of arrival,
And the love that couldn’t stay away.

We are here. You are here.
And we are very grateful.
so be it.

people’s prayer

Lord of heaven and earth,
God who twinkles among the stars
Still born in a manger,
You are here among us.
You are God with us, Emmanuel.

You know the complexities of human life,
fatigue and joy,
laughter and heartbreak,
Tired body and small victories and worries about what is to come.

You knew the grief of losing a loved one.
You knew the feeling of not having your own bed.
You knew the pain of betrayal and ache and being misunderstood.
And so with the confidence that nothing is too big, too small, too complicated for you,
We ask for your hand for those in our community who are hurting.
[You might insert particular prayers of intercession for your community here.]

Yet within the weariness of human life, you also knew joy.
you knew the company of close friends
And the joy of dancing while the wine flows at a wedding.
You knew laughter and deep love and how a field of flowers could take your breath away.
We know that you are present in every happiness of our lives,
And you’re celebrating with us this morning.
[You might insert particular prayers of celebration for your community here.]

You bear all this, Lord, so we lay it all at Your feet.
We put it before you so that we can return home lighter,
Rejoicing over the miracles we have encountered in this place.

With gratitude and joy we pray, Amen.

offering prayer

Holy God,
We have brought our gifts before you this morning.
We have neither gold, nor frankincense, nor myrrh—
But whatever we have we give you.

Like foreign dignitaries paying homage to a king,
We present these gifts to you for the benefit of your kingdom
For we know that your kingdom is not limited to heaven.
you came into our tired world
And there’s still plenty of joy left to bring.

Use our gift of wealth to meet the needs of our community
Both inside and outside these walls.
The gold we bring will bring tangible change
In the lives of our people.

Bless our gifts of worship.
May our offering of sunshine change our hearts
And kindle the religious fire within us,
Inspiring us to take action.

Enhance our gifts of caring for one another
As we anoint the sick,
sit alone with,
And listen to the voices that are silent.

God incarnate,
you came into our tired world
And there’s still plenty of joy left to bring.

So be it, Amen.

Credit Information:

You are welcome to use or adapt these prayers, including attribution. When using these prayers for worship, please use the following credit line: “Prayer by Rev. Anna Strickland |”. A Sacred Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org.” If you adapt the prayers, please include the following credit line: “Adapted from the prayers by Rev. Anna Strickland | A Sacred Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org.” See our licensing guidelines for more information: sanctifiedart.org/licensing-terms,