Saturday, December 31, 2016

#ChristmasWords A Brief Season with Meaning ! Today's Word is #Vigil






Good Evening Dear Family of Love!

Happy New Year's Eve! We are starting a little bit early because if you'd like a time of prayer and meditation throughout the evening and early morning it is available to you! Today's #ChristmasWord is #Vigil. Tonight we make vigil and let this year end with prayer and a holy time in the presence of God. 

Let us begin with the Be Stills!

Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be.

Inhale:
Exhale.
Pause.
Repeat until you feel peace from with in and your heart home gently expanding.



Light and peace, in Jesus Christ our Lord.

 Thanks be to God


It is not ourselves that we proclaim; we proclaim Christ
Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants, for Jesus’ sake.
For the same God who said, “Out of darkness let light shine,”
has caused his light to shine within us, to give the light of
revelation––the revelation of the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:5-6


Let us pray.

Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of
your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our
hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen




Image result for new year candles


O Gracious Light Phos hilaron

O gracious Light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.



Exodus 23:9-16,20-21 The Hebrew Year

“Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.

Sabbath Laws

10 “For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, 11 but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
12 “Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.
13 “Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.

The Three Annual Festivals

14 “Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.
15 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv, for in that month you came out of Egypt.
“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.
16 “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field.
“Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.

God’s Angel to Prepare the Way

20 “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. 21 Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgiveyour rebellion, since my Name is in him.

 Psalm 111 
Confitebor tibi
1 Hallelujah!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, *
in the assembly of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the deeds of the Lord! *
they are studied by all who delight in them.
3 His work is full of majesty and splendor, *
and his righteousness endures for ever.
4 He makes his marvelous works to be remembered; *
the Lord is gracious and full of compassion.
5 He gives food to those who fear him; *
he is ever mindful of his covenant.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works *
in giving them the lands of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithfulness and justice; *
all his commandments are sure.
8 They stand fast for ever and ever, *
because they are done in truth and equity.
9 He sent redemption to his people;
he commanded his covenant for ever; *
holy and awesome is his Name
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; *
those who act accordingly have a good understanding;
his praise endures for ever.
Let us pray. (Silence)

O God our Creator, you have divided our life into days and
seasons, and called us to acknowledge your providence year
after year: Accept your people who come to offer their
praises, and, in your mercy, receive their prayers; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

A Season for all Things
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

Ecclesiastes 3:1-15New International Version (NIV)

A Time for Everything

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:
    a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
    a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
    a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
    a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
    a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
    a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
    a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.
What do workers gain from their toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet[a] no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.
15 Whatever is has already been,
    and what will be has been before;
    and God will call the past to account.[b]

Psalm 90 
Domine, refugium
1 Lord, you have been our refuge *
from one generation to another.
Psalm 90 717
2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
or the land and the earth were born, *
from age to age you are God.
3 You turn us back to the dust and say, *
“Go back, O child of earth.”
4 For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday
when it is past *
and like a watch in the night.
5 You sweep us away like a dream; *
we fade away suddenly like the grass.
6 In the morning it is green and flourishes; *
in the evening it is dried up and withered.
7 For we consume away in your displeasure; *
we are afraid because of your wrathful indignation.
8 Our iniquities you have set before you, *
and our secret sins in the light of your countenance.
9 When you are angry, all our days are gone; *
we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
10 The span of our life is seventy years,
perhaps in strength even eighty; *
yet the sum of them is but labor and sorrow,
for they pass away quickly and we are gone.
11 Who regards the power of your wrath? *
who rightly fears your indignation?
12 So teach us to number our days *
that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.
13 Return, O Lord; how long will you tarry? *
be gracious to your servants.
14 Satisfy us by your loving-kindness in the morning; *
so shall we rejoice and be glad all the days of our life.
15 Make us glad by the measure of the days that you afflicted us *
and the years in which we suffered adversity.
16 Show your servants your works *
and your splendor to their children.
17 May the graciousness of the Lord our God be upon us; *
prosper the work of our hands;
prosper our handiwork.

Let us pray. (Silence)
In your wisdom, O Lord our God, you have made all things,
and have allotted to each of us the days of our life: Grant
that we may live in your presence, be guided by your Holy
Spirit, and offer all our works to your honor and glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

New Heavens and New Earth
Revelation 21:1-14,22-24

The New Heaven and the New Earth

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“See, the home[a] of God is among mortals.
He will dwell[b] with them;
they will be his peoples,[c]
and God himself will be with them;[d]
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.”
And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But as for the cowardly, the faithless,[e] the polluted, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Vision of the New Jerusalem

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And in the spirit[f] he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It has the glory of God and a radiance like a very rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites; 13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
22 I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it

Canticle 19 
The Song of the Redeemed Magna et mirabilia
Revelation 15:3-4
O ruler of the universe, Lord God,
great deeds are they that you have done, *
surpassing human understanding.
Your ways are ways of righteousness and truth, *
O King of all the ages.
Who can fail to do you homage, Lord,
and sing the praises of your Name? *
for you only are the holy One.
All nations will draw near and fall down before you, *
because your just and holy works have been revealed.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen

Let us pray. (Silence)
Almighty and merciful God, through your well beloved Son
Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, you have
willed to make all things new: Grant that we may be
renewed by your Holy Spirit, and may come at last to that
heavenly country where your people hunger and thirst no
more, and the tears are wiped away from every eye; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

61. A Prayer of Self-Dedication
Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to thee, so
guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our
wills, that we may be wholly thine, utterly dedicated unto
thee; and then use us, we pray thee, as thou wilt, and always
to thy glory and the welfare of thy people; through our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Let us take time to meditate on the new year to come. Here is tonight's meditation and listening music: 

Copeland- The Promise of Living 

Copeland- Fanfare for the Common Man

Paul McCartney -Liverpool Oratorio

Let us tonight pray for this new year to come with lots of love, hope, peace, and joy!

God who set the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Stars in their courses set our feet on the path that you have chosen for us  with love in our heart homes and without fear.

God who set the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Stars in their courses and fixed times and seasons be with all those who are homeless, hungry, and ill clothed who do not have shelter from the cold. We pray that there maybe family members who will lovingly respond to their needs and lead them toward shelter and food.

God who set the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Stars in their courses and became incarnate as Jesus in a manger in Bethlehem or House of Bread, May we like him bring hope and proclaim the Good News in Jesus name with love and tenderness. Help us we pray to be when necessary the only Bible someone ever reads.

God who set the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Stars in their courses, we pray for peace in this fragile and broken world of yours. May we proclaim as in the words of the Prophet Isaiah: 

The Good News of Deliverance
61 The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
    to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and release to the prisoners;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
3 to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
    to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins,
    they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
    the devastations of many generations.
5 Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks,
    foreigners shall till your land and dress your vines;
6 but you shall be called priests of the Lord,
    you shall be named ministers of our God;
you shall enjoy the wealth of the nations,
    and in their riches you shall glory.
7 Because their[a] shame was double,
    and dishonor was proclaimed as their lot,
therefore they shall possess a double portion;
    everlasting joy shall be theirs.
8 For I the Lord love justice,
    I hate robbery and wrongdoing;[b]
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
    and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their descendants shall be known among the nations,
    and their offspring among the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge
    that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
    my whole being shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
    and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
    to spring up before all the nations.

God who set the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Stars in their courses we pray for all those who are mourning losses of any kind, Heal their griefs by the softening of time and space.

God who set the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Stars in their courses, we continue to pray for Baby Sophia,
Those who travel especially on the icy and weather worn roads. and All of our family members who may need our love now more than ever.

God who set the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Stars in their courses, we pray for all who are going through depression , Seasonal Affective Disorder(Sad), and mental illness that they may receive help in a timely manner. We pray for their caregivers and mental health professionals.

God who set the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Stars in their courses, we pray for all who are caregivers especially those who are hospice workers at holiday time.

God who set the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Stars in their courses we pray for all who are dying that they may when it is time they may know your comfort and joy as they enter the Thin Places. We pray for all who have died during this holy season of love, hope, peace, and joy.

God who set the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Stars in their courses may we as we enter this new year sing and dance for joy with love in our heart homes because of  Your Son Jesus the Christ's coming in the world to love us, heal us, teach us and to redeem us.

God who set the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Stars in their courses we offer our prayers and those who have asked us to pray at this time remembering especially_________________

God we pray these our prayers in the Holy Name of  Jesus. Amen.

21 You are God Te Deum laudamus
You are God: we praise you;
You are the Lord: we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you;
Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You, Christ, are the king of glory,
the eternal Son of the Father.
When you became man to set us free
you did not shun the Virgin’s womb.
You overcame the sting of death
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God’s right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come and be our judge.
 Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting.
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
The Collect for Holy Name.
Eternal Father, you gave to your incarnate Son the holy name of Jesus to be the sign of our salvation: Plant in every heart, we pray, the love of him who is the Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

May Christ, who by his Incarnation gathered into one things
earthly and heavenly, fill us  with his joy and peace; and the
blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit, be among us and remain with us always. Amen.

Let us bless God our Creator, Jesus our Reedemer, and The Holy Spirit the Sanctifier.
Thanks Be To God.
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Dear Family of Love!
Happy New Year! Here is a wish and a prayer from me to you!
A Wish for the New Year
I wish for you love filled to the brim to overflowing.
I wish for you Joy that will warm your heart so much that the person next to you will will be able to feel it.
I wish for you peace so that you can be an example of how to be a peacemaker.
I wish for you hope that you never lose faith and have a spirit of optimism and resilience.
I wish for you a big family like ours to enfold you with love, shoulders to cry and lean on and backs to shelter you from the storms of life.
I wish for you a time of daily unplugging and exercise.
I wish for you time with God in God's Cathedral of life.
I wish for you that every time you see a family member, remember a family member is anyone! I hope you remember this phrase "The Light of Christ in Me Recognizes the Light of Christ in You!"
I wish for you time to begin your walking program:
Here are the first steps and prayers:
We prepare ourselves by hydrating with the image of Living Water coursing through our veins, tying our laces securely, wrapping our bodies with God's Warm prayer coat.
We invite God on our walk using these words or your own. God we invite you as you invite us to walk with you on our journey. Enliven our spirits, quicken our steps and open our hearts as we pray and walk.Amen.
*****
A Prayer for the New Year!
Dear God, as we look towards the new year that is upon us help us to remember that you are walking with us on our journey and that we are never alone. Give us nudges from time to time to recognize this and that you have knit us together as family by prayers and that this circle is ever widening and that is because of your love for us and each other. Help us to remember tonight those who are lonely and those who are in new life situations that love is the key. We thank you for the many blessings of the year past and as we look to the year ahead may we remember we walk with you and you walk with us on our journey. Amen.
******
Knit a prayer circle around us Lord
Knit a prayer circle made of love.
Knit a prayer circle around us that is peaceful
Knit a prayer circle that is made of healing balm
Knit a prayer circle of life and hope and joy.
Knit a prayer circle around all the broken world that they may feel the pieces being put back together and made strong with your loving and gentle hands.
Knit us together as your family of love, peace, joy, hope, and those who show your light to the world by their words, deeds and love.
All this we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.
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Good Night Dear Ones and when you wake have a blessed and wonderful New Year. I love you and Give thanks to God for you this night and always.

With love and hope!
Sara



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Resources for tonight's vigil.
BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER
BOOK OF OCCASIONAL SERVICES
Walk with me On our Journey