Prayers of the People | Christmas Eve | Year C | December 24th, 2015

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Prayers of the People

Christmas Eve | Year C

December 24th, 2015

God of our Salvation,
    we come to you on this wondrous night to gather in praise,
        to lift up your name with friend, family, and stranger.  
    In the beginning, your creative work began with a word,
        and tonight, your creation continues with the Word made flesh.
    On this holiest of nights, we join the everlasting chorus saying:
    Glory to God on highest!  Great is your name in all the earth!

    Like Mary, we ponder these things in our hearts,
        and wonder how you could love us so much
        as to actually become one of us, one with us.
    We remember these stories this evening
    that remind us of your steadfast love,
    that affirm that you have never, and will never, give up on your children.
    Thank you for your steadfast presence in our lives!

    And yet, even on this night on which we celebrate the fulfillment of love,
    we recognize that there are many who are still waiting for fulfillment:
        the fulfillment of adequate food and shelter…
        the fulfillment of peace and the end of violence…
        the fulfillment of reprieve from the fierce grip of grief…
        the fulfillment of a restoration of a broken relationship…
        the fulfillment of a renewing of heart, mind, or body…
        the fulfillment of healing from a chronic illness…
        the fulfillment of an end to substance abuse…
    Giving God,
        give us the courage to do your work in the world
        and to share the peace coming to us in the manger this evening.

    We pray this night especially for those who have traveled to be here…
        for those who have lost loved ones in the past year…
        for those who struggle with mental illness…
        for those who fight alcoholism’s onslaught…
        for those who will be traveling in the coming days and weeks…
        for those who work on Christmas:
            especially medical workers, police, and emergency personnel…
        for those who cannot make it home for Christmas…
            hear us we pray, O God,
    Restore us and make your face to shine that we might be saved.

    In all that we do and in all that we are,
    send your Spirit to send us forward with the majesty of this night
    and to share the grace we find with everyone we encounter.
    This we pray in the name of your Son, who taught us to pray saying:

    Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
    Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
    Give us this day our daily bread,
    and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors;
    and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,
    for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever.  Amen.

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Stephen Fearing

Stephen was born in 1988 in Cookeville, TN, where his parents met whilst attending Tennessee Tech. Shortly after, they moved to Dalton, Georgia where they put down roots and joined First Presbyterian Church, the faith family that taught Stephen that he was first and foremost a beloved child of God. It was this community that taught Stephen that it was OK to have questions and doubts and that nothing he could do could every possibly separate him from the love of God. In 1995, his sister, Sarah Kate, joined the family and Stephen began his journey as a life-long musician. Since then, he has found a love of music and has found this gift particularly fitting for his call to ministry. Among the instruments that he enjoys are piano, trumpet, guitar, and handbells. Stephen has always had a love of singing and congregation song. An avid member of the marching band, Stephen was the drum major of his high school's marching band. In 2006, Stephen began his tenure at Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC where he majored in Religion and minored in History. While attending PC, Stephen continued to explore his love of music by participating in the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, Jazz Combo, Jazz Trio, as well as playing in the PC Handbell ensemble and playing mandolin and banjo PC's very own bluegrass/rock group, Hosegrass, of which Stephen was a founding member (Hosegrass even released their own CD!). In 2010, Stephen moved from Clinton to Atlanta to attend Columbia Theological Seminary to pursue God's call on his life to be a pastor in the PC(USA). During this time, Stephen worked at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Silver Creek Presbyterian Church, Central Presbyterian Church, and Westminster Presbyterian Church. For three years, Stephen served as the Choir Director of Columbia Theological Seminary's choir and also served as the Interim Music Director at Westminster Presbyterian Church. In 2014, Stephen graduated from Columbia with a Masters of Divinity and a Masters of Arts in Practical Theology with an emphasis in liturgy, music, and worship. In July of 2014, Stephen was installed an ordained as Teaching Elder at Shelter Island Presbyterian Church in Shelter Island, NY. Later that year, Stephen married the love of his life, Tricia, and they share their home on Shelter Island with their Golden Doodle, Elsie, and their calico cat, Audrey. In addition to his work with the people who are Shelter Island Presbyterian Church, Stephen currently serves as a commission from Long Island Presbytery to the Synod of the Northeast and, beginning in January of 2016, will moderate the Synod's missions team.