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Heather Prince Doss

Musings of a multi-cultural, bi-vocational, solo pastor

Archives for November 2016

Light for the World: An Advent Candle Liturgy

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advent-candles-represent_fdfceb390d042274

I have been concerned recently about a kind of racism that is implied when the church celebrates light and white as good and dark as evil. Something like 75% of my congregation are people of color, so I am mindful of language in our hymns and liturgy (and even in our Scripture) that might suggest these members are somehow less because their skin is dark.

Advent candle liturgies seem to be particularly filled with this language of light triumphing over darkness – an image which is Biblical. I wanted a liturgy to celebrate the coming of the light but without such a stark binary where light=good and dark=evil. I used Teri Peterson’s liturgy from LiturgyLink as a starting point to write my own candle liturgy based on the Narrative Lectionary texts for year 3. I hope it will be useful to others as they think about the coming of the Prince of Peace who redeems all people, light and dark alike.

Advent Candle Light Liturgy
Narrative Lectionary, Year 3

First Sunday in Advent (November 27, 2016)

Reader 1:
The Lord is the living God, enduring forever.
God’s kingdom shall never be destroyed,
and God’s dominion has no end.
God delivers and rescues;
The Lord works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth;
for God saved Daniel from the power of the lions. -Daniel 6:26-27

Light one purple candle on the Advent wreath.

Reader 2:
As shadows lengthen and chaos roars,
one candle shines, the hope of God’s kingdom in our midst.

All:
Christ is coming to make all things new!
In prayerful waiting, we prepare him room,
and we are opening to Christ, the light of the world.

All sing first verse of One Candle Is Lit by Mary Anne Parrott.

Second Sunday in Advent (December 4, 2016)

Reader 1:
Even now, says the Lord,
return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. . . .
Return to the Lord, your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. -Joel 2:12-13

Light two purple candles on the Advent wreath.

Reader 2:
In the midst of conflicts near and far,
two candles shine with the peace of God’s mercy for us and our world.

All:
Christ is coming to make all things new!
In heartfelt repentance, we prepare him room,
and we are opening to Christ, the light of the world.

All sing first two verses of One Candle Is Lit by Mary Anne Parrott.

Third Sunday in Advent (December 11, 2016)

Reader 1:
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
my whole being shall praise my God. . . .
For as the earth brings forth it shoots,
as a garden springs up with what has been sown in it,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to sprout and grow before all the nations. -Isaiah 61:10-11

Light three candles (two purple, one pink) on the Advent wreath.

Reader 2:
Three candles shine as God’s promise draws near,
beckoning us to be a living witness of good news and great joy.

All:
Christ is coming to make all things new!
With expansive imagination, we prepare him room,
and we are opening to Christ, the light of the world.

All sing first three verses of One Candle Is Lit by Mary Anne Parrott.

Fourth Sunday in Advent (December 18, 2016)

Reader 1:
The angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you will name him Jesus.
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High.” – Luke 1:30-32

Reader 2:
Blessed is she who believed that there would be fulfillment
of what the Lord said to her. – Luke 1:45

Light four candles (two purple, one pink, one purple) on the Advent wreath.

Reader 1:
Four candles shine as God’s purpose is revealed in word and flesh,
a gift of love for the whole creation.

All:
Christ is coming to make all things new!
With blessed faith, we prepare him room,
and we are opening to Christ, the light of the world.

All sing first four verses of One Candle Is Lit by Mary Anne Parrott.

Christmas Eve (December 24, 2016)

Reader 1:
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the land give praise, and everything in it.
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
for the Lord is coming! -Psalm 96:11-13

Light all five candles (two purple, one pink, one purple, and the white Christ candle last) on the Advent wreath.

Reader 2:
The Christ candle shines,
giving us hope, peace, joy, and love to carry into the world.

All:
Christ comes to make all things new!
We prepare him room,
and we are opening to Christ, the light of the world.

All sing all five verses of One Candle Is Lit by Mary Anne Parrott.

You are welcome to use and adapt this liturgy with appropriate attribution.

Christmas Gifts that Matter

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I love gift-giving. If I see something that my sister will really love, I want to buy it and give it to her right away. But somehow when the holidays roll around, I feel pressured and the joy of giving spontaneously is replaced with stress about finding the right thing at the right time. On top of that, I do not want to contribute to a wasteful consumer culture by buying people things that they do not really want or need.

I also really love receiving thoughtful gifts. There is great joy in knowing that someone paid attention to my interests or needs and gave accordingly. But the truth is, I do not need more stuff, and the things I want most are not things, anyway; they are values and experiences and time spent with loved ones. But how can I ask for these things and still honor the giver? How can I give well to my loved ones without the stress of finding something perfect? What can I give and receive that will be good for our planet and for people with needs far greater than my own?

Today I discovered the SoKind registry, a tool for building a creative “wish list” of gifts including time, services, handmade, secondhand, and charitable gifts. This is a great idea for wedding and baby registries. Here’s a sample Christmas Wish List that I put together for our family:

sokind-registry-christmas-wishes

You can find more information and other sample registries on the SoKind website. I hope you will check it out and consider how to celebrate all of your special occasions with more joy and less stress, more love and less waste. Happy giving!

The Day After the Election: A Pastoral Letter

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Brothers and Sisters:

Today, a difficult election season is behind us. We know now that Donald Trump will be the 45th President of the United States of America. In the circles I frequent, there is a deep sense of sadness that we have elected a person who, in his campaign, promoted bigotry, misogyny, and greed. There is also a deep, if dim, hope that his presidency will not be based on that kind of rhetoric. Trump and his supporters have acknowledged that our nation is deeply divided along lines of race, education, and class. Last night in his acceptance speech, Trump spoke to the need for building trust and serving the common good, even if it is not clear how to do so.

Among you, the members and friends of Eliot Church, I know there are some who are fearful because the Trump campaign has threatened you and the people you love. Many in our congregation are not citizens of the United States, and they are afraid that their immigration status will not be renewed or they will be deported. Some in our congregation belong to the LGBTQ community, or have children who do. They are afraid that their marriages and legal rights will no longer be protected. Some are afraid that an emphasis on law and order will mean that more of our young men (especially young black men) will find themselves imprisoned.

While we need space to acknowledge and give voice to these fears, we also need to remember that people of faith should not be governed by fear. Over and over again, God speaks to God’s people and says “Fear not.” We are a people of faith, and so we will confess (over and against our fears) that God who created us and redeemed us is still with us. If our worst fears materialize, Eliot Church will continue to be safe place for people on the margins – even if that comes at great risk. But we will not assume or fear the worst. Instead we will hope and work for the best. We will look for the best in people, including our President elect. We will continue to pursue goodness and justice in our communities. We will live out Christian unity that transcends political differences, for the sake of building up the whole body – indeed the whole nation.

I recognize that not everyone in our congregation will identify with the feelings I have articulated. There are other kinds of fears that I have not voiced here. Some may be celebrating victory even while others are feeling defeated. I am not asking anyone to deny or denounce their personal political views. I do call on each of us to listen to one another, to make space for a variety of realities and feelings among us, and to commit together to be a people of faith, not a people of fear. Let us not incite fear in others, and let us not give in to the fear that others may be inciting around us. Our God is bigger than our fears, and he offers us faith that is stronger.

God is good, all the time – even now. Let us also be good and do good in the name of a God who is stronger than all our fears. I pray God’s blessing upon America, but even more I pray that America will be a blessing to God.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Heather Prince Doss

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