Advent Candle Lighting Liturgies 2026

First Sunday of Advent

November 29, 2026

Reader One: The prophet Isaiah declares, “From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for him” (Isaiah 64:4 NRSV). Today, we continue to wait and call out in hope for God’s restoration to meet us here, believing that God knows our struggles and works even now for the fulfillment of our salvation.

Congregation: When God feels far away, and our lament feels too heavy to bear, we remember God’s steadfast love. May this love empower us to wait and watch in hope for the day when God’s kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven.

Reader Two: We light this candle of hope as a sign of God’s promises, that we might persevere in hope, a hope grounded not in wishes and whims but in the trustworthy and persistent love of God already at work among us to save and restore all creation.

Light the first candle of the Advent wreath.

Second Sunday of Advent 

December 6, 2026

Reader One: The prophet Isaiah calls us to speak comfort to God’s people, because even now God is at work making peace among us, so that “Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken" (Isaiah 40:4-5 NRSV). Today, we wait and work for God’s peace, for a world marked by welcome, belonging, and access for all.

Congregation: Because of God’s goodness to us in the past, we can imagine a future shaped by God’s peace, and we can cooperate with God and one another to speak peace, build peace, and flourish in peace right here and right now.

Reader Two: We light this candle of peace as a sign of God’s peace-making among us, saving us and forming us to build a world where “faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky” (Psalm 85:11 NRSV).

Light the second candle of the Advent wreath.

Third Sunday of Advent

December 13, 2026

Reader One: In a world full of conflict, uncertainty, and suffering, joy is an act of resistance. Joy is an act of hope born out of our belief that God can and will restore us. God is, in fact, already restoring us into a future where God’s people “shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations,” and God “will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations” (Isaiah 61:4, 11 NRSV). Today, we wait and work in joy for God’s restoration among us.

Congregation: Faced with the distress and anxieties of the world, we choose joy. May this joy empower us to pay attention to the pain and hurt of others, inspire us to imagine a world where peace reigns, and enliven us to cooperate with God to restore abundant life and flourishing in our neighborhood, our community, and our world.

Reader Two: We light this candle of joy as a sign of God’s restoring work that turns our weeping into rejoicing and our tears into shouts of joy. May we be witnesses of God’s life-giving, peace-making joy to all creation.

Light the third (pink/rose) candle of the Advent wreath.

Fourth Sunday of Advent

December 20, 2026

Reader One: With Love Incarnate growing in her womb, Mary broke out into prophetic song,

“[God] has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. He has come to the aid of his child Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever" (Luke 1:51-55 NRSV).

Today, we too join in God’s restoration song, believing in the power of God’s love to transform the world.

Congregation: We lift our voices to God, believing that in an uncertain and unstable world, we are not alone. God is with us. God’s steadfast love works in and among us, forming us as agents of life-giving, world-transforming Love that came to us in the vulnerability of a womb and a manger.

Reader Two: We light this candle as a sign of God’s never-ending, never-failing Love—Love that sings over us a song of restoration and hope that cannot be silenced, Love that persists in fulfilling God’s promise of salvation and flourishing for all creation.

Light the fourth candle of the Advent wreath.

Christmas Eve

December 24, 2026

Reader One: Today, like the shepherds, we encounter the glory and wonder of the birth of the Christ Child, Love Incarnate. The prophet Isaiah tells us that “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness-on them light has shined” (Isaiah 9:2 NRSV). Sometimes the light surprises us. Sometimes it sneaks up on us, little by little, like a baby growing in the womb of a young woman in a small town in Galilee.

Congregation: Love Incarnate has come to dwell with us in glory as bright as the angels, as ordinary as the shepherds, and as profound as the promise that this vulnerable child lying in a manger will establish endless peace, justice, and righteousness.

Reader Two: We light this candle as a sign of Christ who comes to dwell with us, shining God’s glory among ordinary people and in unexpected times and places. May we be a people who pay attention and watch for glimmers of glory as we, like the shepherds, share the joy of God’s salvation and restoration wherever we go.

Light the center candle of the Advent wreath.