Call to Worship

We gather as people looking for the star, a sign that God is at work in the world.
God, help us find your glory.

We gather as people listening for the whispers of the Spirit, hints of the good news in the least likely places.
God, help us notice your glory.

We gather as people yearning for Love’s presence, the assurance that we are not alone and Love will have the last word.
God, help us encounter your glory.

On this Epiphany Sunday, may the Light of Love shine among us, revealing divine glory through neighbors known and unknown, vulnerable children, and unexpected gifts.
God, reveal to us anew the glory of your expansive Love that gathers us together and sustains us in loving service to one another and all creation. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, July 2025.

Opening Prayer

Light of God, illumine the path that leads us to healing, hope, and salvation. Glory of God, fill this sanctuary and expose the darkness that stalks our souls. Light of God, shine with such brightness that we marvel in awe.

Glory of God, fill each temple of the Holy Spirit present today.

Light of God, Glory of God, we welcome you in this place.

Written by Kwasi I. Kena, The Africana Worship Book, Year A (Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 2006), 53.

Prayer of Confession

Gracious God,
we would like to be among those who saw the coming of the Christ Child,
those who dropped all that they were doing
and traveled to worship the coming of God's love into this world.
We would like to be those who cared for God in infant vulnerability;
who tickled and cuddled and comforted the growing child,
that he might know love and safety.

And yet, merciful God,
we must recognize all the times we are more like Herod.
Whenever we, in our actions or in our inactions,
find our own need for control more compelling
than the needs of others for health and safety.
Whenever we cling to the security of our privilege,
rather than standing up for the rights of the oppressed.
Whenever we are complicit in the harming of innocents
for the sake of profit, or power,
or because we fear to know, and to change,
the injustices of this world.

Loving God,
we confess our sins against you and one another,
and pray that you will fill us with your light,
that we may live our lives as true disciples in your name,
without counting the cost.
In the name of Christ,
the one who showed us the way, we pray. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon

God's light is present in this world.
Present in the Christ child, born to lead us out of darkness.
Present in the star, in all that guides us to love.
God's light is in the world, and the darkness did not overcome it.
God's grace is in the world, and our missteps will not overcome it.
We are loved; we are forgiven. Alleluia! Amen.

Written by Eliza Buchakjian-Tweedy, pastor at First Church Congregational, Rochester, NH. Posted on the re:Worship blog at https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2013/12/prayer-of-confession-matthew-2-1-18.html.

Benediction

Lord of Light—shine on us,
Lord of Peace—dwell in us,
Lord of Mighty—succour us,
Lord of Love—enfold us,
Lord of Wisdom—enlighten us.

Then, Lord, let us go out as your witness, in obedience to your command, to share the Good News of your love for us in the gift of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Written by St. Asaph Mothers’ Union, Wales, in Prayers Encircling the World: An International Anthology (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998), 246.