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Community Universalist Church

Daily Office

Evening · Sunday, 6 December 2026 · Advent

We hear God’s CALL TO WORSHIP in James 4:8

Draw nigh to God,
and he will draw nigh to you.

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 Wilhelm Löhe

Lord Jesus Christ,
you carry the lost sheep back into the fold in your arms,
and you graciously hear the confession of the tax collector;
mercifully forgive all my guilt and sin.

Lord, you hear the penitent thief,
you have prepared an inheritance of mercy for your people,
and have not withheld pardon from the sinner;
hear the prayers of your servants according to your mercy.

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 25:1–9 · Ad te, Domine, levavi

1To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; my God, I put my trust in you; *
let me not be humiliated, *
nor let my enemies triumph over me.

2Let none who look to you be put to shame; *
let the treacherous be disappointed in their schemes.

3Show me your ways, O Lord, *
and teach me your paths.

4Lead me in your truth and teach me, *
for you are the God of my salvation; *
in you have I trusted all the day long.

5Remember, O Lord, your compassion and love, *
for they are from everlasting.

6Remember not the sins of my youth and my transgressions; *
remember me according to your love *
and for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.

7Gracious and upright is the Lord; *
therefore he teaches sinners in his way.

8He guides the humble in doing right *
and teaches his way to the lowly.

9All the paths of the Lord are love and faithfulness *
to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

We hear God speaking to us in THE READING for the dayIsaiah 30:18–21

Sunday, 6 December 2026 · Advent

18Therefore the LORD will wait, that he may be gracious to you; and therefore he will be exalted, that he may have mercy on you, for the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for him. 19For the people will dwell in Zion at Jerusalem. You will weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the voice of your cry. When he hears you, he will answer you. 20Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your teachers won’t be hidden any more, but your eyes will see your teachers; 21and when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way. Walk in it.”

World English Bible. Or read it at Bible Gateway in the NRSV: Isaiah 30:18–21 · the full passage, Isaiah 30:18–26.

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 the Book of Common Prayer

God, the protector of all those who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy — increase and multiply on us your mercy; that you being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal. Grant this, heavenly Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. 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.