O Sovereign God of hope,
Be with us on our Advent journey
to the stable and beyond.
Be with us in our pandemic restrictions,
Be with us as we mourn our losses,
Be with us as we miss the enfleshed coming together
of our families and church families,
Be with us as we proclaim your Incarnation
into the lens of a camera.
Please make manifest your holy presence
to us and through us.
O Sovereign God of hope,
Take us to the manger in humility.
Take us to the mountainside, where beatitudes were pronounced and embodied in Jesus, and change us from the inside.
Take us to Caesarea Philippi to declare that ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God’.
Take us to the leper and the Samaritan woman and the blind man and the Roman centurion and empower us to serve each one wisely.
Take us to the cross where comfort zones disappear, and where we learn to die so that we may live.
Take us to the empty tomb and implant within us the fiery conviction that Jesus is Victor!
Take us to the outskirts of Bethany, where you ascended to your Father and ours, and teach us to live and serve in light of your sure return.
Our district office team joins me in affirming our love for you all, our regular intercession over you during these unusual times, our esteem for each one, and our prayer that your Advent season be filled with hope for the future as you recall God’s past faithfulness.
Errol, for the team.