Letting the Light in at Advent
- revjaneblackall
- 13 minutes ago
- 18 min read
Sunday Service, 7 December 2025
Led by Dr. Mel Prideaux and Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall
(video and audio to follow after the event)
Musical Prelude: Midnight on the Water / Wexford Carol (performed by Tara McCarthy, Jess Collins, Kathy Walton)
Opening Words (Jane): ‘A Spacious Welcome’ by Shari Woodbury (adapted)
Welcome, you who come in friendship, who long for genuine community...
May you be graciously received here as your authentic self.
Welcome, you who come in curiosity, full of questions or simply open...
May you embrace wonder and encounter new delights.
Welcome, you who come heavy with fatigue, weary from the troubles of the world
or the troubles of your particular life... May you rest and be filled in this sacred space.
Welcome, you who come with joy for gentle breezes, changing skies, and trees in blossom...
May the grace of the natural world leave a lasting imprint in you.
Welcome, you who come with thanks for the altruism of the earth and the gift of human care...
May your grateful heart overflow and bless those around you.
May this chalice be to us a symbol of the community we’re ever co-creating;
a welcoming container of all the light and life we bring and share together. (pause)
Words of Welcome and Introduction (Mel):
Welcome, welcome into this space of hope and love and light.
Welcome into a time of sacred commitment, belonging, and longing.
I am Mel, and it’s a pleasure to lead my first service here today, with Jane. I have been coming to services here very occasionally for many years, and I join your monthly Better World Book Club. I live in mid Wales where my husband Ned and I have a business making charcoal in our woods. I hope if we have not met before, we might meet after the service.
Our service today marks the festival of Advent, which started last week with the lighting of the first candle of your advent wreath. Advent is a time of hope and anticipation. It is a time when, despite the darkness that surrounds us physically, politically, socially and spiritually, we can tend to the light within and open daily doors of anticipation.
I’m going to hand over to Jane to light our chalice and the advent wreath.
Chalice Lighting and Advent Candle (Jane): ‘The Light of Love’ by Laura Dobson
Let’s light our chalice flame now, as we do each week. It’s a moment for us to stop and take a breath, settle ourselves down, put aside any preoccupations we came in carrying. This simple ritual connects us in solidarity with Unitarians and Unitarian Universalists the world over, and reminds us of the proud and historic progressive religious tradition of which this gathering is part.
(light chalice)
We light our chalice candle
as a symbol of the light of love.
The light reminds us that love
is the greatest power in the world:
the love we share and bless each other with,
here in our beloved community;
and the love we take out into the world,
bearing and sharing the light,
wherever we are and whoever we are with,
every day of our lives. (pause)
And as it is the second Sunday in Advent let us also light our second Advent candle – last week’s was for ‘hope’ – this one is traditionally lit in the name of ‘peace’. (light two candles)
Hymn (on sheet): ‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel’
Our first hymn is on your hymn sheet and it’s a traditional advent hymn: ‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel’. For those on zoom the words will be up on screen. Feel free to stand or sit as you prefer.
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and with your captive children dwell.
Give comfort to all exiles here,
and to the aching heart bid cheer.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come within as Love to dwell.
O come, you Splendour very bright,
as joy that never yields to might.
O come, and turn all hearts to peace,
that greed and war at last shall cease.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come within as Truth to dwell.
O come, you Dayspring, come and cheer
our spirits by your presence here.
And dawn in every broken soul
as vision that can see the whole.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come within as Light to dwell.
O come, you Wisdom from on high,
from depths that hide within a sigh,
To temper knowledge with our care,
to render every act a prayer.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come within as Hope to dwell.
Candles of Joy and Concern:
Each week when we gather together, we share a simple ritual of candles of joy and concern, an opportunity to light a candle and share something that is in our heart with the community. So we’ve an opportunity now, for anyone who would like to do so, to light a candle and say a few words about what it represents. We’ll go to the people in the building first, then to Zoom.
So I invite some of you here in person to come and light a candle and then if you wish to tell us who or what you light your candle for – please keep it brief – be considerate of others. I’m going to ask you to come to the lectern to speak, as we want people to be able to hear you.
(in person candles)
And if that’s everyone in the room we’ll go over to the people on Zoom next – you might like to switch to gallery view at this stage – just unmute yourselves when you are ready and speak out – and we should be able to hear you and see you up on the big screen here in the church.
(zoom candles)
And I’m going to light one more candle, as we often do, to represent all those joys and concerns that we hold in our hearts this day, but which we don’t feel able to speak out loud. (light candle)
Time of Prayer & Reflection (Mel): based on words by Cliff Reed
Let’s take those joys and concerns into an extended time of prayer. This prayer for Advent was written by Cliff Reed (and it includes a simple responsive refrain: ‘Let Christmas come!’).
You might want to adjust your position for comfort, close your eyes, or soften your gaze. There might be a posture that helps you feel more prayerful. Whatever works for you. Do whatever you need to do to get into the right state of body and mind for us to pray together – to be fully present here and now, in this sacred time and space – with ourselves, with each other, and with that which is both within us and beyond us. (pause)
Spirit of Life, God of All Love, in whom we live and move and have our being, we turn our full attention to you, the light within and without, as we tune in to the depths of this life, and the greater wisdom to which – and through which – we are all intimately connected.
Be with us now as we allow ourselves to drop into the silence and stillness at the very centre of our being. (pause)
A Litany for Advent, by Cliff Reed, in Spirit of Time and Place
It is Advent. Expectation rises, the cards arrive,
the candles are lit. The children can’t wait.
All: Let Christmas come!
The lights go up in homes, in streets, in public squares.
Shopping reaches fever pitch and tempers fray.
All: Let Christmas come!
The ancient story is retold. Tea-towelled shepherds, wise men in dressing-gowns,
follow the tinsel star to a myriad youthful Bethlehems.
All: Let Christmas come!
Carol-singers take to the streets for causes worthy and causes dubious,
hoping perhaps for mince-pies and mulled wine as their reward.
All: Let Christmas come!
From fan-vaulted magnificence to vandalised resilience,
every chapel and church prepares to greet Emmanuel.
All: Let Christmas come!
Let us pause for breath: to listen to the turning earth,
to feel the childhood magic stirring in our memories,
and maybe hear the angels sing. Let us join in the communion of silence….
Silence
It is Advent. In the darkness hope will be reborn again.
Let it come to us. Let it come through us.
All: Let Christmas come! Amen
And in a good few moments of shared silence and stillness now, may we speak inwardly some of those deepest prayers of our hearts, reaching out in faith and hope to the One Who Holds All. Let us each lift up whatever is on our heart this day – our struggles, our questions, our dreams – and ask for what we most need. (long pause)
Spirit of Life – God of all Love – as this time of prayer comes to a close, we offer up our joys and concerns, our hopes and fears, our beauty and brokenness, and we call on you for insight, healing, and renewal.
As we look forward now to the coming week, help us to live well each day and be our best selves; using our unique gifts in the service of love, justice and peace. Amen.
In-Person Reading (Mel): ‘The Door: Anticipation of Wisdom’ by Kapka Kassabova
This poem by Kapka Kassabova leapt off the page when I first read it, many years ago, in the classic Bloodaxe Books poetry collection, ‘Staying Alive’, which I cannot recommend highly enough. She is a Bulgarian born author who now lives in Edinburgh and has written travel as well as poetry collections.
Every time I return to this poem I read something different in it. But what remains is this idea of the door, of knocking, of awaiting on answer, and of being unsure what you’ll find on the other side. This poem kept coming back to me when I was thinking about a service for advent because of the idea of the advent calendar, of those daily doors hiding a surprise. What if that surprise were wisdom?
It is not an easy poem so we have included it on the order of service so hopefully you too can read it and find a hundred different meanings in it, as I do.
‘The Door: Anticipation of Wisdom’ by Kapka Kassabova
One day you will see clearly:
you’ve been knocking on a door without a house.
You’ve been waiting, shivering, yelling
words of badly concealed and excessive hope.
Where you saw a house, there’ll just be another side.
One day you will see clearly:
there is no one on the other side,
except – as ever – the jubilant ocean
which won’t shatter
ceramically like a dream
when you and I shatter.
But not yet. Now
you wait outside, watching
the blue arches of mornings
that will break but are now perfect.
Underneath on tiptoe
pass the faces, speaking to you,
saying ‘you’, ‘you’, ‘you’,
smiling, waving, arriving
in unfailing chronology.
One day, you will doubt the exactness
of your movements,
the accuracy of your sudden age.
You will ache for slow beauty
to save you from your quick, quick, life.
But not yet. Now
you say ‘you’, there is always ‘you’,
‘you’ fills the yawn of time and surrounds you, until
you knock the door down, one day,
and walk over to the other side
where
nothing will be revealed.
But not yet. Now let’s say
you see a door, and knock,
and wait for your knocks to be heard.
Hymn 165 (purple): ‘Walk In the Light’
Let’s sing again – our second hymn is number 165 in your purple books – ‘The Spirit Lives to Set Us Free’ (also known as ‘Walk in the Light’).
The Spirit lives to set us free,
walk, walk in the light.
It binds us all in unity,
walk, walk in the light.
Walk in the light,
Walk in the light,
Walk in the light,
Walk in the light of love.
The light that shines is in us all,
walk, walk in the light.
We each must follow our own call,
walk, walk in the light.
Walk in the light,
Walk in the light,
Walk in the light,
Walk in the light of love.
Peace begins inside your heart,
walk, walk in the light.
We've got to live it from the start,
walk, walk in the light.
Walk in the light,
Walk in the light,
Walk in the light,
Walk in the light of love.
Seek the truth in what you see,
walk, walk in the light.
Then hold it firmly as can be,
walk, walk in the light.
Walk in the light,
Walk in the light,
Walk in the light,
Walk in the light of love.
The Spirit lives in you and me,
walk, walk in the light.
Its light will shine for all to see,
walk, walk in the light
Walk in the light,
Walk in the light,
Walk in the light,
Walk in the light of love.
In-Person Reading (Mel): ‘Shoulders’ by Naomi Shihab Nye
My second reading is also a poem. I have always found poetry opens so many worlds for me. And at this stage of my life especially it is poetry I keep coming back to. I was introduced to this poem during a midweek meditation at Mill Hill Chapel, Leeds, which I join online. It took my breath away. And others at the service, the WhatsApp group was abuzz about it afterwards. I was moved to share it on Facebook and a Unitarian friend in the US commented on her love for the poet, Naomi Shihab Nye, who I have to admit I had never heard of. Naomi Shihab Nye is an award winning American poet and author of Palestinian and American heritage. Her work should be more well known. It is a short poem, and I am going to read it twice to help the imagery to settle for you.
‘Shoulders’ by Naomi Shihab Nye
A man crosses the street in rain,
stepping gently, looking two times north and south,
because his son is asleep on his shoulder.
No car must splash him.
No car drive too near to his shadow.
This man carries the world’s most sensitive cargo
but he’s not marked.
Nowhere does his jacket say FRAGILE,
HANDLE WITH CARE.
His ear fills up with breathing.
He hears the hum of a boy’s dream
deep inside him.
We’re not going to be able
to live in this world
if we’re not willing to do what he’s doing
with one another.
The road will only be wide.
The rain will never stop falling.
Words for Meditation (Mel): ‘The Light’
And now we join together in a time of meditation and reflection. A guided meditation which will end with a brief time of stillness and then the chiming of the bell. You might want to again shift your position, to still your breath, to soften your gaze. Whatever you need to do as I invite you to join me on a journey within.
Firstly, allow yourself to tune in to the world around you. Perhaps your gaze might fall on the window, your hearing might alight on the noise of the street. If your eyes are closed you might journey with your mind’s eye, perhaps you may recall the sights and sounds as you travelled to church or to your computer this morning. Without judgement, simply recall or gaze or listen.
Pause.
Now, allow yourself to tune in to the world within the space you are in. Your gaze might fall on objects in the room, on people around you. If your eyes are closed your mind’s eye might recall a treasured aspect of the building, or your ears may tune into the quiet breathing of others, to the hum of electronics. Without judgement, simply recall or gaze or listen.
Pause.
Now, allow yourself to tune in to you. You might close your eyes if you have not already, you might follow your breathing, without seeking to change it. Allow your thoughts to be still, letting them go as they arise without judgement or question. Just be.
Pause.
And now I’d like you to invite the image of a light into your being, maybe a light within you, maybe around you, maybe in your heart or your belly or your mind. A light which is gentle and which is entirely yours. Maybe a candle flame, a gentle glow, the hint of light at sunrise. A gentle light entirely of you and yours. Imagine yourself holding that light, protecting it.
Pause.
In your mind’s eye, holding your light, let your attention return to our shared space. All of us holding our light with care. Holding it in this room, virtually and in person. Holding the light with each other.
Pause.
In your mind’s eye, holding your light, let your attention return to the world beyond our shared space. Your light held in the bustle and busyness of the world around. All of our lights little pinpricks of hope.
Period of Silence and Stillness (~3 minutes) – end with a bell
Interlude: The Night Visiting Song (performed by Tara McCarthy, Jess Collins, Kathy Walton)
Reflection: ‘Letting the Light in at Advent’ by Dr. Mel Prideaux
Advent, a time of hope and anticipation.
A time of lights – though so many of the lights seemed to go up before Advent, didn’t they?
A time of advent calendars – opening doors each day to a piece of chocolate or maybe a new idea, a revelation.
I wonder if any of you have a spiritual Advent practice, as well as the less spiritual but still important chocolates and the lights? Every year I try to come up with a new one, as well as reading Jostein Gaarder’s The Christmas Mystery – a book designed for children in the form of an advent calendar – a chapter a day – and about advent calendars. It asks questions about the story of Jesus, about how it spread, about what it means now, and is a gentle unfolding blessing.
Even if you do not believe that Jesus was a Messiah, the Son of God, (and you’re in a Unitarian church – it would actually be a surprise if you DID!) I hope we can all see there was something of value in the teachings of Jesus. That his life, and especially what sprang up afterwards, has shaped much in our modern world – for good or ill. And so celebrating or marking his birth is culturally as well as spiritually valuable.
At its heart though, Advent is about anticipation – anticipation of birth, anticipation of a sacrifice, anticipation of the end of time. And in this part of the world it is also about anticipating the return of the light, it is about nurturing the light when the days are at their shortest. Our Christmas lights illumine a world of darkness and right now, it feels especially dark. Perhaps that is why so many people are getting their Christmas lights up so early?
My two readings today are not straightforwardly about Advent, but for me they fit so well what I want to say about Advent. Our first, about knocking at a door, is about hope and anticipation. It is about waiting, and being willing to have everything turned upside down. Our second was also about hope. About the hope we provide by caring for each other, about the hope of a young child’s sleeping breath. About hope even when we know the path is never going to be easy.
In Wales a friend and I have started a little Unitarian fellowship. We live in a sparsely populated area, so there aren’t many of us and everywhere is a long way away. We meet once a month outside for what we call Sacred Steps. We pilgrimage, in all sorts of ways. In November our theme was Storm and Shelter and we met on a beach. We walked and talked and prayed and shared a simple ritual building a cairn of pebbles, and we thought both about the storms of our life and our world but also about the shelter. About the shelter we have been offered and the shelter we can offer others. It was, intentionally, a prelude to Advent (and in our December gathering we will be walking an Advent Spiral). It was an opportunity to stand on a windswept and rainy beach, to know the challenges and disappointments, to lean into the sadness that can pervade this time of year. But it was also a time to feel the sand between our toes, to dip those toes into freezing water. To break down the door and feel the realness of the world and of our lives. And to recommit ourselves to what it is we can do to bring shelter into the world. Maybe we need to do this every month, every week, every day. But during Advent it matters that we commit ourselves live this. It matters because the world is cold and dark, and right now that is political as well as meteorological. It matters because two thousand years ago someone stood up to authority and offered a religious teaching of love, as radical then as it is now. It matters because if we are not careful all that this season could be all the opportunities for depth and thought and care, will be lost in fripperies and bottomless brunches and mind-numbing Christmas adverts.
It matters that we let our light shine, even when it is dark, and that we help others to find shelter and to let their light shine too. I believe that is our mission in the world if we call ourselves Unitarian. Would you break with tradition and join me in singing a little song at this point? Some of you will know it. There’s no need to stand, we’ll have no accompaniment, and the invitation is to sing mindfully. This is a lullaby to you.
Let your little light shine, shine shine, let your little light shine all night long
There may be someone down in the valley trying to get home, trying to get home.
It may be me or it may be you, it may be your brother or your sister too,
But there’s someone down in the valley trying to get home.
It matters that we make a choice, when and as we are able, to face the storms that threaten to engulf us. It is important for us and our sense of self, but it is also important for those around us. Even if we are engulfed, to face the storm may give others hope.
It matters that we make a choice, when and as we are able, to offer shelter. Not just because we might be sheltering a Messiah of course, but because in giving that shelter, however small it may be, we have the opportunity to help someone else to come into their light, to know themselves, to maybe face their storms with a little more strength.
It matters that we let our light shine, because someone down in the valley may be trying to get home – and we can carry them over that wide road in the rain.
We carry our light, we shelter the light of others, and as we do so the shared light of our endeavour becomes a great glorious flame. And Advent is a time for nurturing that flame in whatever way we are able. As we sit in the darkness, illumined maybe by twinkling lights but also surrounded by the noise and the excesses of our consumerist society, we often find ourselves asking ‘why?’. To ask why, to reflect on what is happening around and within us, it to knock on the door seeking wisdom. But we can only hear that wisdom if we open the door. We can only see the light if we share our own. We can only live in this world if we are prepared to carry the light of others when they cannot. To quote again from Naomi Shihab Nye:
“We’re not going to be able
to live in this world
if we’re not willing to do what he’s doing
with one another.
The road will only be wide.
The rain will never stop falling.”
Amen.
Hymn (on sheet): ‘People Look East’
Time for one last advent hymn now and it’s on your hymn sheet: ‘People Look East’.
People look east! the time is near
Of the crowning of the year.
Make your house fair as you are able,
Trim the hearth and set the table.
People, look east, and sing today:
Love, the guest, is on the way.
Furrows be glad! Though earth is bare,
One more seed is planted there:
Give up your strength the seed to nourish,
That, in course, the flower may flourish.
People look east, and sing today:
Love, the rose, is on the way.
Stars, keep the watch! when night is dim,
One more light the bowl shall brim,
Shining beyond the frosty weather,
Bright as sun and moon together.
People, look east, and sing today:
Love, the star, is on the way.
Announcements (Jane):
Thanks to Mel for leading our service today. Thanks to Ramona for hosting and Lochlann for co-hosting. Thanks to Tara, Jess and Kathy for lovely music, to George for accompanying, and Benjie for supporting our singing. Thanks to Juliet for greeting and Marianne for making coffee. If you are in-person do stay for cake (I’ve made Ginger Squiggle Cake and our old favourite Apple and Sultana).
Tonight and Friday at 7pm we’ve got our ‘Heart and Soul’ online contemplative spiritual gathering – this week it’s on ‘Time’ – email Mandy if you want to go tonight or me if you want to join on Friday.
Tomorrow night why not come back here to support Brian and John who are singing with Kensington Choir and the London Mandolin Duo in their winter concert which will be raising money for Glass Door (the West London Churches Homeless Charity). That’s at 7.30, tickets are £13.
We’ve got plenty of events coming up over the festive season – we’re going to have a midwinter labyrinth mini-retreat evening here in person on Wednesday 17th December – please drop me an email to let me know if you’re coming along to that. It’ll be a lovely cosy evening of sharing and reflection and we might see what we can do about having some treats and snacks to share.
Then we’ve got our big carol service on the 21st December – let Liz know what you’re planning to bring for the bring-and-share lunch after (Liz is kindly standing in for Patricia who hasn’t been well) – and we also have our candlelit Christmas Eve. And we’ll have our usual new year’s mini-retreat, you can either come in-person on Sunday 28th, or online on New Year’s Day. Sign up with me for either.
And next month’s Better World Book Club is on ‘Listen: How to Find the Words for Tender Conversations’ by Kathryn Mannix. That’ll be on 28th December and we have some to lend out.
Next Sunday our service is titled ‘Free Gifts’ and will include reflections from Charlotte, David, Roy, Liz, and Jasmine. And our winter newsletter is here! Please do take a copy if you haven’t already had one. Everyone who’s on the mailing list should have received it by now as I posted them last Monday.
Details of all our various activities are printed on the back of the order of service, for you to take away, and also in the Friday email. The congregation very much has a life beyond Sunday mornings; we encourage you to keep in touch, look out for each other, and do what you can to nurture supportive connections. Just time for our closing words and closing music now.
Benediction (Jane): based on words by James Galasinski
Our faith, like a light,
illuminates the path before us
so that we can
face hurt with love,
cultivate compassion,
live humbly in community,
and confront despair
with the awe of life.
Though we extinguish our chalice flame,
our faith shines bright before us,
lighting our way as we step out in courage
and meet the days to come. Amen.
Closing Music: The Morning Star / Christmas Eve (reels) (performed by Tara McCarthy, Jess Collins, Kathy Walton)
Dr. Mel Prideaux and Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall
7th December 2025