Many Protestant congregations adopted an Advent Candle Lighting ritual several decades ago. I don’t recall having one in our church when I was a child, but I do remember it feeling like a special part of the December services when I would return from university for the holidays in the late 70s. Perhaps they became popular as we entered a more liturgical moment in the life of the church, during the conversations with the Anglican Church of Canada which took place in the late 1960s. I amuse myself by believing those talks ground to a halt with the publication of the red Hymnbook in 1971. United Church members rolled their eyes at the pomposity of the Anglican tunes and Anglicans scoffed at the pedestrian singalong-songs the United Church presented with. And ne’er the twain shall meet, as the saying goes. I like to think that we in the UCC up-browed our music after that and the Anglicans made theirs a bit more accessible, but I’m sure neither thing happened in any coordinated way.
One of my favourite tunes in that collection is the powerful The King’s Majesty, written by Graham George, our next door neighbour in my growing up years, and published in the Hymnbook to accompany the words of Ride On! Ride On! In Majesty. It is so beautifully powerful. When Michael George performed a concert at West Hill to raise funds for our refugee sponsorship, I wrote new words to the tune and we struggled through it the next morning in the service. It’s a challenge to sing, I must say, so I don’t think I’ve shared the words yet.
The United Church did get more liturgical, however, in what is sometimes referred to as the liturgical renewal movement. Like most renewals, it took place because we believed we weren’t having enough impact. Beginning in 1964, church attendance began to drop off in Canada and that trend has never reversed. Perhaps emphasizing the liturgy – or creating one in a denomination that was pretty informal up until then – was a way to remind ourselves that we were distinct and different from the culture around us. Rather than look just like them, we felt we needed to do something a little different, something that felt special, meaningful, sacred, even. So lighting the Advent Wreath crept into the relatively non-liturgical spaces like the United Church and became a favourite element both there and in many other Protestant denominations around the world.
This is a resource written many years ago. Please feel free to adapt it in any manner that makes it work in your situation.
Advent Candle Lighting Readings
© 2008 gretta vosper
Hope
As this season of “sparkle and bright”
unfolds before us,
the glimmering promises of hope
lie like boxed jewels awaiting an adoring light.
May we hold fast to hope’s patient possibilities.
May we lift them high
that they might catch the light of our dreams
and shine bright in our broken world.
And may we instil hope’s challenge
in the hearts of our children
that they, too, will live it into meaning –
pouring their lives, as we do ours,
into making it real –
for themselves, for each other, for the world.
Light candle, then:
May Hope light the world this Christmas.
Peace
As this season of “sparkle and bright”
unfolds around us,
the silent prayers of peace
lie like stars hidden in a clouded night,.
May we inspire the world with peace.
May we touch it to our lives
that in every place of stress, frustration, or fear,
we might feel the presence of peace
easing our hearts
and transforming our lives.
And may we share the its healing power
with our children,
that they might become the inspiration
through which peace makes its way
to a new yet-dreamt-of world.
Light candle, then:
May Peace light the world this Christmas.
Joy
As this season of “sparkle and bright”
unfolds around us
the transforming wonders of joy await discovery
like shimmering sugar crystals on a favourite treat.
May we create joy
in all our surroundings
as we share gifts, meals, and simple pleasures
with family and friends.
May the easy gift of a smile
bring the power of joy’s touch
to those we meet through these busy days.
And may we experience the joy of this season
as through with the eyes and hearts of children
that we might be transfixed
by the power of what could be.
Light candle, then:
May Joy light the world this Christmas.
Love
As this season of sparkle and bright
unfolds around us,
the welcome beauty of love is found,
woven into the simplicity and complexity of every moment.
May love flow from our hearts
with abundance
filling every moment
with the season’s gifts of hope and peace and joy.
May it be shared truly and deeply
that all who encounter it
be charged with its message
and become, themselves,
the agents of love.
And may our children,
who love without reckoning,
teach us the truth of this most precious gift:
we are nothing without each other.
Let us live, then, in the blessing of love.
Light candle, then:
May Love light the world this Christmas.
Celebration
As we find ourselves wrapped
in the season of wonder and light,
the astonishment that is life ignites our spirits,
and we feel,
if merely for a moment,
that we are as we were meant to be.
May we hold fast to this sliver of mystery,
this truth upon which we set the whole of who we are.
May we call ourselves back to it
time and again,
until we are filled with the wonder that is our life–
its hope, its peace, its joy, its love.
Infused, then, with all that we are,
may our energies be given
to the transformation of this world–
from despair into hope;
from darkness into light;
from fear into love.
May we be bold .
May we be daring.
May we be love.
Light candle, then:
Love lights the world this Christmas!
Greta,
You refer to Hope, Peace, Joy and Love without one reference of Who is the source of these four reminders of what Christmas is all about! How empty your Christmas message must be without any reference why we celebrate it! Your comments please
Hi Bruce and thank you for your comment and request for mine. The work I do is aimed at distilling the values I learned within the embrace of the Christian church and message and presenting them for use in a manner that does not use words normally heard in church. The reason I do that is because those words often exclude people as they are most often interpreted literally by those who are new to church. I am not an evangelical; nor have I ever believed in a divine being in which I must believe; I grew up with god and the life of Jesus being understood as metaphors. When I realized how exclusive the language was when heard by those who didn’t filter it as metaphor, I realized that the gift of church that I feel is so crucial – falling in love with being together – deserved a better chance. There are lots of places where the traditional words of faith are heard but few where people are invited to embrace beauty, wonder, wisdom, and people who are different so that they can meet the world with courage, compassion, love, and dignity.
Oh! Another important point that I forgot to mention. At West Hill, those who believe in the god called God hear me talking about that god all the time. People who do not believe in that or any god, simply hear me talking about values in colloquial language.
I will post my Longest Night service soon. Once we instituted that service, my worship committee cancelled the rest of our traditional Christmas services feeling that the Longest Night brought all of the elements of those services into language that included everyone.
Thanks, again!
Oh, this is such a keeper…ever at the ready of reveal to our neighbours, near and far!
Thanx Gretta
Thank you, Jules!
Greta,
Thank you for your quick response. Yes, I am an evangelical. While I grew up in the church, I did not surrender my life to God until I was 14 years old – the greatest decision I have ever made. I am now 83 and have experienced the blessing of God all these years. I am saddened when I meet people who have a pseudo religion that is more philosophical than a spiritual reality. I know a person can only have a personal relationship with God and His Son as a result of the Holy Spirit’s influence. I do not know if you have ever heard the Holy Spirit’s voice speak to you, but I hope your spiritual ear will one day hear His voice. The Hope, Joy, Peace and Love that you have written about have their source in a loving God, not in academia or the philosophy of men. I have found that true hope, peace
(tranquility of soul) joy, and love in a personal relationship with my Savior. I trust one day you will experience this as well.
Bruce
The divine, for me, is not a singular spirit in some faraway place!
If we see the divine in ourselves, it will allow us to see that same quality in the people that surround us!
May the peace, the plenty and the passion be found in each other’s humanity!
Thank so much for these transforming words of the Advent Season. They ring so true to my heart.
Gretta,
I agree with your comment “There are lots of places where the traditional words of faith are heard but few where people are invited to embrace beauty, wonder, wisdom, and people who are different so that they can meet the world with courage, compassion, love, and dignity.” I embrace all of these, but I cannot replace my personal relationship with God with them. Gnosticism of the first century sought to do much of this, trying to replace the Gospel of Peace with their ‘knowledge.’ Knowledge has never brought real HOPE – PEACE – JOY or agape’ LOVE into the life of an unbeliever. All four have their source in God –
Hope – Romans 15:13 “God of hope”
Peace- John 14:27 “My peace” (Tranquility of spirit)
Joy – John 15:11 – “My joy”
Love – John 3:16-17, Romans 5:8 “God of love”
My supreme authority is the Word of God – not the philosophy of men. “Knowledge” is good and helps us enjoy life, however, ‘knowledge’ never saved a depraved soul. The redemption of my soul is found only in Christ. Last Sunday I shared a message on HOPE – here are the verses of Scripture I shared with them.
“CHRISTMAS IS FOR GIVING – HOPE”
‘For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you HOPE and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
“But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose HOPE is in his unfailing love,” Psalm 33:18
“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your HOPE in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior, and my God.” Psalm 42:11
“You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my HOPE in your word.” Psalm 119:14
“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word, I put my HOPE.” Psalm 130:5
“The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their HOPE in his unfailing love.” Psalm 147:11
“May the God of HOPE fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with HOPE by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
“Let us hold unswervingly to the HOPE we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3
“Christ in you, the HOPE of glory” Colossians 1:27
“Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the HOPE that is in you.”
“Looking for the blessed HOPE and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:13
Thank you for your responses. Have a blessed Christmas season.
Bruce
Psalm 34:3