STORIED CHURCH SABBATH SUNDAY | DECEMBER 28

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A couple of times, we intentionally choose a different rhythm. We still gathered around the table but in a new setting. This Sunday December 28, we invite you to join us in one of two ways...

 

We hope to see you on a hike or around the table as we connect with God and one another in a different and meaningful way. 

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1. MINDFULNESS PRACTICE

**Before You Begin:**

Take a moment to practice being present in this moment. After each practice, recite this prayer: “Draw us into your love, Christ Jesus, deliver us from fear.” Reflect on the following:

 

1. Name five things you see.

2. Name four things you hear.

3. Name three things you feel.

4. Name two things you smell.

5. Name one thing you taste.

 

2. PRAYER

Healing God,
remove the hopelessness that blinds us;
cleanse us of the hurts
that divide us from others;
restore us to hope,
that we may work for the gifts
we wish for those we love.
May the grace of your Christ
who comes to shepherd us
help us to care for one another;
may the good news we hear
in our struggles bring joy and
hope to all our mornings;
may your coming to us as
one of us inspire us to lift up
one another to the dignity of being
your daughters and sons.

 

3. READING

I will recount the gracious deeds of the LORD, the praiseworthy acts of the LORD, because of all that the LORD has done for us and the great favor to the house of Israel that he has shown them according to his mercy, according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

-Isaiah 63:7

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When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with their flocks,
the work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal the broken,
to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among the people,
to make music in the heart. 

-Howard Thurman

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4. REFLECTING

Where have you experienced God's tenacious love for your life? Where do you see the work of Christmas beginning in you?

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Guiding Prayer: God, guide me in the days ahead. Amen

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5. PRAYER

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

 

O Divine Master,

Grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console;

To be understood, as to understand;

To be loved, as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive,

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen.