Peace on earth and goodwill to everyone!
I had the pleasure to go to a Christmas eve service at the local episcopal church yesterday. I enjoyed singing the old Christmas carols, beautiful old hymns, which sung in a small sanctuary with a high ceiling that echoes the tunes is something to always be enjoyed and savored. The little place was packed and dh and I got to attend along with my precious friend K. who was in town and her mother. Several scriptures were read and we joined in the chorus of Amen, Peace be with you and Hear Our Christmas Prayer. There is something in the repetition, in the kneeling and standing, in the readings that engages not only my mind but it does indeed engage my heart and my senses. And I love the way their prayers, simple and beautiful prose, seem to encompass all that we truly should be about and stand for:
"Oh Lord, we pray for the needs of your whole world, for peace and justice on earth, for the mission and unity of the Church for which your Son gave his life. (...) O Lord, because you particularly love them, we remember in your Name the poor and helpless, the cold, the hungry, and the oppressed, the sick and those who mourn, the lonely and unloved, the aged, and little children, as well as all those who do not know and love the Lord Jesus Christ."
We took communion (which is always the highlight of the services generally) and at the end we prayed this prayer:
"Grant, we beseech you, Almighty God, that the words which we have heard this night with our out-ward ears, May, through your Grace, be so grafted in our hearts, that they may bring forth in us the fruit of good living to the honor and praise of your Name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
Tidings of Comfort and Joy to you! May peace reign in your hearts!
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
