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BIDDING PRAYER (adapted from Henry Van Dyke)
PASTOR:
Merciful God, we gather tonight to celebrate the gift of your dear Son Jesus Christ.
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We bless you for the peace He brings to human homes, for the good-will He teaches to everyone, for the glory of your goodness shinning in His face, for His lowly birth and His rest in the manger, for the pure tenderness of His mother Mary, for the fatherly care that protected Him, for the divine grace that sent the Holy Child to be the Saviour of the world.
In praying and praising, in giving and receiving, in eating and drinking, in singing and making merry, in parents' gladness and in children's mirth, in dear memories of those who have departed, in precious friendships with those who are here, in kind wishes for those who are far away, by welcoming strangers, by keeping the music of the angel's song here in this place, God help us everyone, to share the blessing of Jesus; in whose name we keep Christmas, and whose words we pray together:
Read by all: (The Lord's Prayer) CELEBRATION OF CAROLS - SATB
