Hope Was Heard Singing , livre ebook

Wild Goose Publications - Sally Foster-Fulton

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118 pages

English

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An Advent collection of prayers, meditations, poems and a few wee plays. A rich resource, from an original voice, for personal reflection and for congregations and small groups searching for material relevant to the 21st century. The author is Associate Minister at Dunblane Cathedral and Convener of the Church and Society Council of the Church of Scotland.

Sujets

Philosophie et théologie

Christian worship

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Publié par	Wild Goose Publications
Date de parution	01 janvier 0001
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781849522823
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0450€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Advent is close, expectation is holding its breath. The angels hover high above. Come, begin your journey …
Hope Was Heard Singing can be used as part of a daily discipline for Advent, or as a book to dip into. It is a collection for personal reflection, and a rich resource, from an original voice, for congregations and small groups searching for material relevant to the 21st century.
There are prayers, meditations, poems, a few wee plays thrown in for good measure and Bible readings on Advent themes. Much of the material was tried and tested at Dunblane Cathedral, where Sally is Associate Minister.
On the hillsides,
hope was heard singing unexpected Hallelujahs.
In a Bethlehem backwater,
hope hovered
and love was born.
And now,
as the wise journey and the powerful start to pace the floor
and mumble into sleepless nights,
we gather –
the light of the world is here.
The job now is to keep it burning.
Sally Foster-Fulton is Convener of the Church and Society Council of the Church of Scotland and is an occasional guest on BBC radio and television.
www.ionabooks.com
H OPE W AS
H EARD S INGING
Resources for Advent

Sally Foster-Fulton
Copyright © 2013 Sally Foster-Fulton
First published 2013 by
Wild Goose Publications,
Fourth Floor, Savoy House,
140 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3DH, UK,
the publishing division of the Iona Community.
Scottish Charity No. SC003794.
Limited Company Reg. No. SC096243.
PDF: 978-1-84952-280-9
Mobi: 978-1-84952-281-6
ePub: 978-1-84952-282-3
Cover design © Wild Goose Publications
Cover image © Roman Dekan 123RF.com
The publishers gratefully acknowledge the support of the Drummond Trust, 3 Pitt Terrace, Stirling FK8 2EY in producing this book.
All rights reserved. Apart from reasonable personal use on the purchaser’s own system and related devices, and the non-commercial use described below, no part of this document or file(s) may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Non-commercial use: The material in this book may be used non-commercially for worship and group work without written permission from the publisher. If copies of sections are made, please make full acknowledgement of the source, and report usage to CCLI or other copyright organisation.
Sally Foster-Fulton has asserted her right in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.
C ONTENTS
Introduction
Welcome to Advent
Bible readings
Come and do your will
What does Advent have to say?
Trespassing God
Turning point
On waiting
Bible readings
I will wait
Remember who we’re waiting for
Guide our waiting
Waiting is part of everything
‘Are you the one who is to come’?
What in the world are we waiting for, God?
What do people wait for?
Waiting in taxing times
On the infant
Bible readings
A prayer for Elin
God in the face of an infant (a mother’s thought)
’I know you …’ (Psalm 139:1–18)
Holy child, born of a singing mother (Luke 1:46–55)
Baby Jesus
What child is this?
Swaddling bands (a play for an all-age service)
A prayer for parents
On Mary and Joseph
Bible readings
The eternal things
Promise to Mary
What have we done to Mary?
Just a girl
I gave him a name (Luke 2:21)
On the star
Bible readings
A beautiful clear night
How far away’s a star?
On the wise men
Bible readings
The wise started early
Time will tell
On shepherds
Bible readings
Sounds so romantic
Seems shepherds always get the worst of it …
On angels
Bible readings
What sweeter music? (an address to Dunblane High School students)
Personal note
How to refuse an angel: most highly favoured lady 1
How to refuse an angel: most highly favoured lady 2
Ready-made angel: a Christmas Eve play
I’ve got a message for you
Prayer to the angels
What are we expecting?
On light
Bible readings
This is the night
The spark (for an Advent service)
Longing for light
Shine
Can you see the light?
The light of the world wants to shine
So, what lies behind darkness?
On gifts
Bible readings
Presents
Where your treasure lies (Matthew 6:21)
What if? (meditation for an Advent service)
On prophets and heralds
Bible readings
The voices crying out – still
There is a voice crying out
On Christmas Eve
Bible readings
Jesus, your birthday’s almost here
A story that quickens the heart
‘Gloria, Gloria, Gloria’
Christmas Eve call to be together
The ‘Come On Inn’
On Christmas morning
Bible readings
On Christmas morning!
On the story
Bible readings
‘I don’t know if it happened exactly this way, but …’
Sources and acknowledgements
Introduction
The story we are waiting for tells itself over and over again – its advent a continuous circle. Love, life, birth …
Rather than offer a chronological countdown to Christmas, this book is a collection of reflections, prayers, poems, and a few wee plays thrown in for good measure. It’s a book for dipping into. The themes gather round those evocative images that have taken up residence in the imagination of the story itself … images so profound as to live in collective memory. But while they do not live only in the Christmas story, they find a resonance there that magnifies them. Advent embodies expectation: that holding-of-the-breath forever-waiting for what has already begun …
There are so many people who helped me find the space to put this collection together. Thanks to my family for letting me type instead of helping with the tea, for listening to the same sentence in twenty different incarnations and for loving me when I wasn’t being particularly likeable. Stuart, Alex and Gracie – thank you! (Mom and Dad did their fair share of e-mail editing too!)
To my good friends Frances Ann and Ruth and Glendon, who always give good advice and help keep things in perspective; and to my colleague and confidant Colin, whose friendship and support is constant and whose wonderful creativity is contagious. Finally, thank you to the church family at Dunblane Cathedral, who’ve heard almost all of these reflections before and seemed to like them.
Sally Foster-Fulton
W ELCOME TO A DVENT

Bible readings
Psalm 25:1–10
Psalm 85
Isaiah 2:1–5
Isaiah 7:14
Mark 1:1–12
Mark 13:33–37
Luke 1:46–56
John 1:6–9
Romans 13:11–14
Romans 15:12–13

Come and do your will
Pride-scatterer, throne-toppler,
come and do your will.
Find our thoughts and challenge them,
open our minds and change them,
fill us with good things and
empty us fully.
For we know that nothing is impossible with you.
Now help us want nothing more
than a chance to be a part of your
kingdom coming.

What does Advent have to say?
What does Advent have to say to a post-religious society? How can we help people live in today’s world? What do we have to offer?
Well, how about?: Turn around, come back; wash away the dirt from the road that covers you with a dusty film, and begin again.
How about?: Come and join us on a journey – because that is what life is and we need each other as we travel.
Jesus calls us to live life – and to live it abundantly … So, does that mean he who dies with the most toys wins? Or is there another way, if we are willing to help prepare it?

Trespassing God
God who tramps the highways of the world,
trespass now into the territory we covet.
Come and call us to your far-flung places:
where steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
where righteousness and peace kiss each other …
Our spirits long to go there with you,
our hearts are desperate to stay;
but the journey is long …
God who travels beside us,
hold our hearts and our hands,
and lead us on.

Turning point Leader: Turn around, make a change. There is no better time. People: The time is now. Leader: Turn around. Do things differently. It’s never too late to make things right. People: The time is now. Leader: The earth spins, hearts beat, seasons change – so do people. People: So turn around, make a change. There is no better time. Leader: The time is now.
O N W AITING

Bible readings
Psalm 40:1–5
Psalm 130
Isaiah 11:1–10
Isaiah 40:31
Matthew 3
Matthew 11:2–6
Luke 15:11–24
1 Corinthians 1:3–9

I will wait
I will wait … for you
To catch up
To tell me the truth
To challenge my lies …
I will wait for you.
I will wait … on you
Clear the dishes
Dry your tears
Sit beside you, and gently rub the back of your hand:
an invitation to take mine
and be held …
I will wait on you.
I will wait … with you
For the news you’ve been dreading
For the light to dawn
For forgiveness to find its way into your heart …
I will wait with you.
Remember who we’re waiting for …
At the advent of Advent, it’s worth remembering who we’re waiting for … not a child in a manger, all swaddling clothes and innocence, but a man on a mission – with an uncompromising agenda – one that gives the whole world to the meek; one that asks us to give up all that the world tells us is important; one that says that true power can be found housed in the frailty of forgiveness, the virtue of vulnerability – that says there is freedom in saddling ourselves to the needs of others. We are waiting for a rebel. So get ready. Because if you acknowledge his birth, if you are on your guard, if you lay a stake in his claim that God can burst through and change the world, then he’ll have no choice but to begin that change in you. Remember who we’re waiting for.

Guide our waiting
What do we long for, God?
So many things –
love, life,
but also more money, more friends, more credit, more acclaim …
We do – it may not be politically correct to admit it
or be something we would ever want to say out loud –
especially within these confines –
but you know it and we know it.
Be with us, God.
In this time of waiting and watching,
wrestle in us –
stretch our searching souls