Prayers to be said on the four Sundays of Advent while lighting the Advent candle wreath.

As we repent in full body and form, secure our names and the generations to come as you have done through time. God who blessed the womb of life, save us once again.

Fear not, the angels would text me. Hallelujah, I’d write back.

Pause here, and be renewed and restored.

We light this chalice, here in the darkness of winter as we wait.

The Magnificat is a courageous and subversive song of praise; a call to social justice.

Love this world, she whispers.

The circle of evergreens reminds us that life and love will never end.

Darkness is as important as light.

December seventh, "Eight Candles" (1970). Malvina Reynolds was a 20th century Jewish, Unitarian Universalist, socialist, songwriter, and performer who is best known for her song “Little Boxes.” In 1970 she recorded the Hanukkah Song “Eight Candles.” It has since become a holiday favorite.

Advent encourages us to be present in each moment of waiting.

Grief is welcome, a sacred part of the mourning.

May we continue to find ways to connect while keeping safe this holiday season.

For me, “surrendering everything tenderly” brings an awareness of grace.

Each Advent, my empathy for Mary’s situation returns.

Help us to see that for the smallest, the humblest, the least of these burns the brightest star.

The stories remind us there is still and always joy in this world, but it usually comes right alongside the struggle.

This is a "love saves" story.

This year, the Advent season seems particularly seized by a spirit of the expected, the longing.

Make sure, both at Christmastime and in other times, that you ask for that which you really want.