Storytelling G-o-d, who speaks to us in
myths and legends and parables, may we find ourselves
in those stories and grow through them.

May our hearts be touched with wonder
so we can see ourselves more clearly
in our fullness and complexity.
(Silence)

A new church year has begun.  Life goes on.

Babies are born and we dedicate ourselves to them.
People die and we memorialise their lives, laughing and crying as we grieve our loss.
Marriages and partnerships are formed and blessed.

Life goes on.

And our time in this sacred place tries to hold it all together:
the joys and the sorrows,
the pleasure and the pain,
the fullness and the emptiness.

May our coming together bear witness to the power of love,
and the possibility of community.
(Silence)

This week once again our illusions of security, and our sense of safety shattered.
How many times in the last few days have we heard or said:
Not war again…  Not Bali again,
as if by saying those words, we could somehow control
the reality of shock, grief, loss, anger and fear.

In our increasingly divided world, many people see others differently.
And some strike out against that difference.

So we lament...  And we pray…
For the world, for all places of conflict and strife.
For all people, for the persecuted and for those without food.
For all people who live without dignity, or who have no hope.
For all who suffer, for the sick in body or spirit.
For the sad, the lonely, and for all who mourn.
(Silence)

May we be stirred to ‘stay awake’ during this Advent
and look at all beings with eyes of compassion.

This is our prayer.
Amen.