Meditation for Gathering

Watch Night Memories

I remember as a little girl we would go to church about ten o’clock at night. People would pray, testify, sing, cry, shout, and dance. The preacher would preach. There would be lots of men, women, boys and girls. As midnight neared, some older member/elder would start praying. We would all get down on our knees, thanking God and asking for mercy. Then someone would ring the church bell. We heard the church bells, fireworks, and guns going off. Slowly we would get off our knees, and choruses of “Thank you, Lord, for letting me see another year” would go out. We’d look around and wonder where all the men had gone. The women would whisper, “They’re out shooting those ‘ole guns.” Lord have mercy.

Written by Darlene A. Moore, The Africana Worship Book, Year B (Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 2007), 27.

Call to Worship

We have welcomed the Christ child and declared the glory of God’s salvation that comes to live among us. And yet, still, we wait.
We watch and work for God’s kin-dom on earth as it is in heaven.

We prepare to welcome a new year, thankful for how God has brought us through the past year and anxious to discover what the new year might bring.
We watch and work for God’s kin-dom on earth as it is in heaven.

We join generations of Simeons and Annas who learned and taught us how to listen, notice, and discern divine love at work in the world.
We watch and work for God’s kin-dom on earth as it is in heaven.

Come, let us worship God, whose love endures from generation to generation, guiding us from one year to the next.
Come, let us worship as we live in anticipation of God’s kin-dom on earth as it is heaven. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, June 2023.

Prayer for the Day

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

Written by John Wesley, The United Methodist Hymnal (Nashville: The United Methodist Publishing House, 1989), 607.

Prayer of Confession

INVITATION

Friends, let us prepare to enter the new year with hearts that have been unburdened, and let us make our confession before God and one another, first in silent prayer.

SILENT PRAYER

COMMUNAL PRAYER
God of stars and angels, God of sheep and lambs,
God of abundance and grace:
You know us well, better than we know ourselves.
You hear us cry “Gloria!” and “Praise!”
And you watch us tear things apart with our words and deeds.
You hear us say “Thy will be done” and “Use me, O God”
And you watch us do nothing in response to cries for help.
You know us, and you love us, and you forgive.
Hear us now say, “Help us to change; turn us around,
Make us more loving and courageous and hopeful.”
This we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Written by Beth Merrill Neel on her blog, ‘Hold Fast to What Is Good.’ Used with permission. https://holdfasttowhatisgood.com/liturgy/prayer-of-confession/.

Benediction

Beloved of God, depart now in peace, knowing that you have encountered Christ, our Savior. Go now to watch, to wait, and to spread the light of Christ to the ends of the world, that God’s kin-dom might reign on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, June 2023.