Christ Candle (on Christmas Eve)
Reader One: Because injustice and despair threaten to overwhelm us, we pray for hope…
(Light the first candle in your Advent wreath; or, if it’s already lit, gesture toward it.)
Reader Two: Because so many swords have not yet been remade into ploughshares, we pray for peace…
(Light the second candle in your Advent wreath; or, if it’s already lit, gesture toward it.)
Reader One: Because grief and loss weigh so heavily, we pray for joy...
(Light the third candle in your Advent wreath; or, if it’s already lit, gesture toward it.)
Reader Two: Because hatred is still so strong, and because people all over the world are suffering, we pray for love.
(Light the fourth candle in your Advent wreath; or, if it’s already lit, gesture toward it.)
Reader One: God has come to us as a child, to dwell with us, and to walk with us.
(Light the Christ Candle in your Advent wreath, often a candle in the center.)
Reader Two: May the light and the fire from these candles burn away whatever would prevent the God of hope and peace and joy and love from being born among us.
Reader One: Friends, be not afraid, even now — even now — the light of Christ is illuminating the world, on earth as it is in heaven!
From Salt