This call to worship originally appeared in "Be Not Afraid—Longest Night Service Based on Psalm 80: Fear of Darkness."
Call to Worship
[This call to worship was designed for an evening service, but the language could be adapted for a worship service at any time of the day.]
Responsive Reading
Jesus said, “Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). And so we invite each other to this time of peaceful worship. Tonight we come looking for the Christ child.
We bring in our hearts the hopes and fears of all the years.
We come seeking relief from pain, anxiety, loneliness, and despair. With the psalmist of the Scriptures we say, “I cry to you, Lord; I say, ‘You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.’ Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need” (Psalm 142:5–6).
We bring in our hearts the need and desire to rest in God.
We come to worship, to sing, to pray, to be silent before our God. In the busyness of this season, in a countercultural way, we chose this evening to slow down, to remember, and to wait.
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.
I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning (Psalm 13:5–6).
Song
“Wait for the Lord” Taizé
