A communion liturgy designed for use in an all age setting for the Christmas season.
I share the PDF and PowerPoint versions here so that it can be freely used by others. I simply ask that if used, attribution to its source is made.
If a word file, rather than PDF, would be more helpful to you, please contact me.
Come Holy Spirit.
One of the shortest and simplest prayers in all history.
Yet a prayer with power and breath and depth beyond measure.
For in praying Come Holy Spirit,
We invite you, God, to come to us.
We know you’re already here.
Already with us.
But we forget, sometimes.
Sometimes we go about our lives, our discipleship, our worship,
Forgetting, that Spirit, you’re with us.
So we pray,
Come Holy Spirit.
We open ourselves to your already present presence.
Come Holy Spirit.
Come and encourage us.
Come and inspire us.
Come and heal us.
Come and strengthen us.
Come and empower us.
Come and hold us.
Come, Holy Spirit.
Originally written for an ecumenical Pentecost service in Effingham and Little Bookham, Surrey, 19th May 2024.
The prayer ‘Come Holy Spirit’ was inspired by the work of Rabanus Maurus, a 9th Century Frankish Monk, who wrote a song ‘Veni Creator Spiritus’, (Come, Creator Spirit). in the 13th Century it developed into a familair prayer across the Western Church, ‘Veni Sancte Spiritus’ (Come Holy Spirit).
“So the soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound him.”
“Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.”
John 18:14 & 24
Over the season of Lent 2024 I’ve been journeying with the theme ‘Unbounded Love’, a phrase that appears within Charles Wesley’s Hymn ‘Love Divine’, and the title of the 2024 lent resources from The Methodist Church.
So as I began to prepare worship for Holy Week, I have been struck by the way John 18 refers to how Jesus was bound by those who arrested him, leading me to write this meditative reflection.
It could be used on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday, as a tool to reflect on the arrest of Jesus, and the uncertainty this would have left his followers with.
They bound him,
After they arrested him,
After the betrayer had kissed him,
After he had told Judas to do what he had to do.
What now?
They bound him.
The one who said come to me and I will give you rest.
The one who said he had come to give us life in all its fulness.
The one who said he would quench our thirst.
What now?
They bound him.
The one who showed compassion to the marginalised.
The one who offered release to those bound by evil.
The one who healed the sick and brought hope to so many.
What now?
Jesus – the one who came and showed us what real love looks like,
Compassionate, caring, nurturing, welcoming,
Love unconditional,
Love unlimited,
Love unbounded,
And his unbounded love angered them.
And so they bound him.
Unbounded love, bound up.
What now?
The 3rd in a 3 part series for the start of Advent
Advent.
A time of wanting.
What do you want for Christmas?
A new bike, a new microwave,
A box of chocolates, but not one with the minty ones in…
This world is filled with wants.
Adverts, telling us what we want.
Watching the news and desperately wanting peace where there is conflict.
Business Enticing us with wants.
Hearing of friends suffering, and longing for them to be freed of their pain.
Supermarkets tempting us with treats and tantalizing tastes.
Wanting to live in a world where the most basic of human needs are met by all in this world.
But how do we distinguish our desires between selfishness and selflessness.
How do we keep our wanting in check with God’s wanting for us?
And in that moment,
advent connects with the climax of the story.
Christs words in Gethsemane echo in our ears:
“Father, not what I want, but what you want.”
Advent.
A time of wanting.
Wanting as Jonah did, inside the belly of a fish, for 3 nights praying, re-orientating himself from his own wants and desires.
Not what I want, but what you want Lord.
Wanting as Mary did, as she accepted the angel’s word: “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Luke 1:38
Not what I want, but what you want Lord.
Advent.
A time of wanting.
Yet – what are we wanting?
A time of watching.
Yet – what are we watching for?
A time of waiting.
Yet – What are we waiting for?
The 2nd of a 3 part series for the start of advent.
Advent.
A time of watching.
Watching the news.
Watching the world go by
Watching children, and grandchildren play.
Watching the sun rise and set,
Watching the seas roll and break on the shore,
Watching the trees bend under the weight of the wind
Yes watching, it seems, is not merely seeing.
Watching goes deeper than simply observing and acknowledging what we see.
Watching involves interpreting, it involves foreseeing,
Looking at both the now, and the not yet,
The present and the yet to be.
Advent.
A time of watching.
Watching, as Noah did, for the waters to recede.
Watching as All Israel did,
watching for the Messiah,
But when messiah came, they rejected, ignored, dismissed.
The Messiah that came was not what they had been watching for.
Advent.
A time of watching.
What are we watching for?
Watching for what we want God to do?
Or watching for God’s voice, God’s action in this world?
Advent.
A time of watching.
A time of waiting.
The first of a 3 part reflection for Advent.
Advent.
A time of waiting.
Waiting for the bus,
the TV programme to start,
waiting for test results,
for an appointment,
for a child to be born,
for dinner to cook
still waiting for the bus.
Waiting inhabits most areas of our lives, in one way or another.
Sometimes waiting passes by unnoticed.
At others, waiting is a heavy millstone around our necks.
Sometimes waiting can be a joyous and uplifting time,
At others, it can be draining of life.
Advent.
A time of waiting.
Waiting as Abraham and Sarah did, waiting for God’s unexpected and seemingly impossible promise to come true, that in their old age, they would bear a child.
Waiting as Joseph did, rejected by his brothers, imprisoned for years, yet when all hope seemed lost, his liberation comes as he interprets dreams, and finds purpose.
Waiting as the Israelites did, time and time again, for 40 years, to reach the promised land. Waiting for God’s promise to be fulfilled.
Waiting as Mary did, having been visited by an angel, and told she would conceive, waiting for this Christ-child to be born.
Advent.
A time of waiting.
I originally put together for use during Christmas 2021 at Felpham Methodist Church, and Bognor Regis Methodist Church West Sussex.
Please feel free to use this as a resource, and adapt it as appropriate. If you do use it, let me know, and tell me how it went!
Rev Dan, January 2022
Downloadable PDF
Some notes for use
It takes about 7-10 minutes to perform, depending how you do it.
I delivered it with a large table in front of me, and all the chocolates & Sweets in a basket, bringing them out and holding them up as I referred to them (in red), the placing on the table. The times there is a product in green means you’ve used it once already, so you’ve got to find it on the table – which adds to the entertainment factor!
Alternatively, you could do it with pictures on a screen, or with congregation having to shout out when they hear a chocolate reference.
In this advent season,
waiting & watching,
Known & unknown,
Certainty & uncertainty,
Hopeful & hopeless,
Stability & instability,
in the now & yet to be,
We pray for peace & love,
Grace & wisdom,
Justice & hope,
For all those who make decisions now, which impact what will be.
Originally written on 12th December 2018, in light of the Brexit ‘meaningful vote’
Rev Dan shares a prayer form Remembrance Sunday, as we stand together in remembrance of our past and seek God’s hope for our future.
Life-giving God,
Who breathed life into this world,
and breathed the beauty of our diversity into humanity.
On this day of remembrance,
we remember today, the perils of prejudice and violence,
and the cost of war and conflict.
Peace-giving God,
we remember Jesus,
Who lived a life of peace and justice.
Help us to live our lives as a reflection of the character of Jesus.
Hope-giving God,
Help us learn from humanity’s past,
Stir us to action to stand against injustice,
to boldly strive for peace in our communities and our world.
And show infinite love towards our neighbour.
As we strive towards a world overflowing with justice, hope, peace and love.
Amen.
God of all time, all space, all creation,
We Thank you for the lives of people around us,
Past and present,
Friends, family, colleagues.
People to nurture us and help us,
Challenge us and inspire us.
May their living and loving,
Serving and caring,
Reveal to us your love and grace,
And inspire us to live and love, serve and care for others,
To the best we can,
In all the ways we can,
To all the people we can,
As long as we ever can.
Amen
by Rev Dan Balsdon, first published 1st November 2020
Some words based on words of John Wesley
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