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Community Universalist Church

Daily Office

Evening · Sunday, 29 November 2026 · Advent

We hear God’s CALL TO WORSHIP in Jeremiah 29:11–14

“I know the thoughts that I think toward you,” says the LORD, “thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future. You shall call on me, and you shall go and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You shall seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” says the LORD.

We listen in silence for God’s still small voice, CENTERING ourselves, becoming aware of God’s presence within us and around us

We respond with CONFESSION using the words of Ambrose of Milan

O Lord, you have mercy upon all — take away from me my sins, and mercifully kindle in me the fire of your Holy Spirit. Take away from me the heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh, a heart to love and adore you, a heart to delight in you, to follow and to enjoy you, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

We PRAISE God in the EVENING PSALMPsalm 141:1–3 · Domine, clamavi

1Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me, *
and consider my voice when I cry to you.

2Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as the incense; *
and let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice.

3Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, *
and keep the door of my lips.

Gloria Patri

Glory be to the Father
    and to the Son
    and to the Holy Spirit:
As it was in the beginning,
    is now and ever shall be,
    world without end.
Amen.

We PRAISE God in THE PSALM OF THE DAYPsalm 91:1–10 · Qui habitat

1Whoever dwells under the defense of the Most High *
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2I will say to the Lord, "You are my hope and my stronghold; *
my God, in whom I trust."

3For he shall deliver you from the snare of the hunter *
and from the deadly pestilence.

4He shall defend you under his wings, and you shall be safe under his feathers; *
his faithfulness and truth shall be your shield and buckler.

5You shall not be afraid of any terror by night, *
nor of the arrow that flies by day;

6Of the pestilence that walks in darkness, *
nor of the sickness that destroys at noonday.

7A thousand shall fall beside you, and ten thousand at your right hand, *
but it shall not come near you.

8Yea, with your eyes you shall behold, *
and see the reward of the ungodly.

9For you have made the Lord your hope, *
and the Most High your house of defense.

10There shall no evil happen to you, *
neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.

We hear God speaking to us in THE READING for the dayIsaiah 4:2–6

Sunday, 29 November 2026 · Advent

2In that day, the LORD’s branch will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the beauty and glory of the survivors of Israel. 3It will happen that he who is left in Zion and he who remains in Jerusalem shall be called holy, even everyone who is written amongst the living in Jerusalem, 4when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from within it, by the spirit of justice and by the spirit of burning. 5The LORD will create over the whole habitation of Mount Zion and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night, for over all the glory will be a canopy. 6There will be a pavilion for a shade in the daytime from the heat, and for a refuge and for a shelter from storm and from rain.

World English Bible. Or read it at Bible Gateway in the NRSV: Isaiah 4:2–6 · the full passage, Isaiah 4:2–6.

We REFLECT in silence

We sing to God in THE CANTATE DOMINOPsalm 98 · Cantate Domino

1O sing to the Lord a new song, *
for he has done marvelous things.

2With his own right hand and with his holy arm *
he has won himself the victory.

3The Lord declared his salvation; *
his righteousness he has openly shown in the sight of the nations.

4He has remembered his mercy and truth toward the house of Israel, *
and all the ends of the world have seen the salvation of our God.

5Show yourselves joyful to the Lord, all you lands; *
sing, rejoice, and give thanks.

6Praise the Lord upon the harp; *
sing to the harp with a psalm of thanksgiving.

7With trumpets also and the sound of the horn, *
O show yourselves joyful before the Lord the King.

8Let the sea make a noise, and all that is in it, *
the round world, and those who dwell therein.

9Let the floods clap their hands, and let the hills be joyful together before the Lord, *
for he has come to judge the earth.

10With righteousness shall he judge the world, *
and the peoples with equity.

Gloria Patri

Glory be to the Father
    and to the Son
    and to the Holy Spirit:
As it was in the beginning,
    is now and ever shall be,
    world without end.
Amen.

We pray the LORD’S PRAYER as Jesus taught his disciples, in those words which are most meaningful to us

Our [ Father / Mother / Creator ] in heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our [ trespasses / sins ]
as we forgive those who [ trespass / sin ] against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.

We pray a PRAYER OF INTERCESSION in the words of Saint Patrick

I bind myself today:
To the power of God to guide me.
To the might of God to uphold me.
To the wisdom of God to teach me.
The eye of God to watch over me.
The ear of God to hear me.
The word of God to speak to me.
The way of God to lie before me.
The host of God to defend me.
Amen.

We silently pray PERSONAL PRAYER

Followed by

Amen.

We pray a PRAYER OF GENERAL THANKSGIVING

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A concluding BENEDICTION or blessing

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all evermore.

Amen.