Advent has been a story of ordinary people in overwhelming times. Powerless people in a “power-over” world. Characters caught up in a story of destruction and oppression. And they each said “Yes!” to God’s call to change the world, to trust the vision of a new Creation, to love strongly, and to courageously celebrate.
Like the characters of old, we are ordinary people in overwhelming times. And like the angels of old, the holy still keeps breaking in, challenging us to remake the story of our times into one of love and justice. To resist the efforts of the Status Quo, Business as Usual, the powerful and fearful – the Empire of our times. One step at a time. In large and small ways. So that with the angel chorus, we, too, might all proclaim, “Peace on earth, goodwill to all!”
Christmas is about a power that can transform individual lives and whole systems, and it calls us to participate in that transformation. “Christmas Eve for Ordinary People…” celebrates the fact that each of us has something to offer to help build up a new world. And it reminds us we are not alone. It offers joy in the midst of this hard work. It offers celebration of community and connection. We are truly all in this together!
Since Christmas Eve is unique in each unique congregation, this resource does not offer a complete “one size fits all” service. It consists instead of several pieces of liturgy that can fit into your own service, including a complete Lighting of the Christ Candle ritual, and a short song that recaps the previous four weeks of Advent.
It also includes an additional, optional reading that you may use wherever you see fit. These resources may be found in PDF format.