These liturgical texts are appropriate for use throughout the season of Christmas and may be repeated from week to week.
Sequence of Confession and Lament
God incarnate, who dwells among us,
your life and birth make new worlds possible.
Yet so often we fail
to follow you into them.
Forgive us for the ways we fail
to make room for you.
Lord, have mercy.
Forgive us for monetizing
and sanitizing your birth.
Lord, have mercy.
Forgive us for silencing the prophets
in our midst.
Lord, have mercy.
Forgive us for following the logics of Empire
and the violence of Herod.
Lord, have mercy.
Forgive us for not receiving
or believing your witness.
Lord, have mercy.
Teach us to live as your beloved children,
so that we might recognize
and receive your continual arrival
in our lives and in our world. Amen.
The God who formed us and keeps us in love
has chosen to come close,
has pitched a tent among us.
May you rest in this promise:
nothing in all of creation
can separate you from the love of Christ.
You are already forgiven. Amen.
Invitation to Discipleship
In this season of Christmastide,
we celebrate Christ’s birth
not just for one day but for twelve.
In the same way, let us remember
that Christ’s birth is not just a one-time event;
Christ’s love, life, and salvation
are constantly being born in our midst.
Let us continue to receive Christ’s birth
with joy and hope,
that it may sustain
our faith and worship. Amen.
Eucharist
Invitation to the Table
Siblings in the community of creation,
this is the joyful feast,
the holy feast of the people of Creator God. The bread and wine we’re about to share
joins us to the people throughout history
and across the world
who have come to God’s table
with longing and expectation.
In this Christmas season, we remember that just as Christ’s birth was for the whole world, this bread and wine is for everyone—
for the hungry, for the lost,
for those who search,
for those who question,
for those still waiting,
for those who know peace.
This bread and wine
grants us holy communion
with the God who is always drawing closer
to give us life.
So together let us be filled with good things in the presence of Christ, our newborn king.
Great Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts!
We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to God,
now in flesh appearing.
To the One who welcomes us to the table,
we give thanks and praise.
Blessed are you, most holy God,
for you sent prophets
to call your people back to you.
In the fullness of time, you sent your Son,
Jesus, Emmanuel, Word in flesh appearing.
Born of Mary, he shares our life.
Eating with sinners, he grants us welcome.
Leading his followers,
he shows us the good road.
Dying on the cross,
he models self-giving love.
Risen from the dead,
he grants us new life.
Therefore in thanksgiving, we praise you,
joining the song of the universal church
and the heavenly choir:
Holy, holy, holy one,
God of justice and love,
Word made flesh and born among us!
Heaven and earth
are full of your wonder.
Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us
and upon this bread and cup.
May Christ’s body sustain us
and may Christ’s blood empower us,
that we might live in the reality
of Christ’s arrival. Amen.
Prayer after Communion
Thank you, O Christ, for this feast of life,
made possible through your advent
in our lives,
your arrival into our world.
Remind us today that your love feeds us
and your life strengthens us.
Commission us now
to feed as we have been fed,
to forgive as we have been forgiven,
to love as we have been loved,
and to live as the church
that Christ dreamed of.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
