Candle Lighting Liturgy

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.