‘Let there be light’

For church last night, Fraser facilitated the service, Ros Wright from Whitley College preached and I led us in intercessory prayer.
For the intercessory prayer I had a sand tray with a candle in it, but instead of sand I filled it with dirt and water and rocks.

I used a program called Celestia to project an image of the Earth and the Sun, because the Winter Solstice had been that morning. I also had an audio loop of rain and thunder playing.

For our intercessory prayer tonight I thought we should acknowledge that early this morning was the Winter Solstice – the time when our part of the Earth is furthest from the Sun. Winter is a difficult time. Our bodies want to slow down, but the end of financial year’s coming and there’s lots of work to do. It’s cold and dark, and there’s sickness everywhere. Winter is particularly difficult if you’re sleeping out. The world can seem pretty hopeless. This is the darkest, coldest part of Winter.

I read ‘Let There Be Light’, a prayer that Cheryl Lawrie wrote for last year’s Winter Solstice, which can be found here. I then invited people to come and light a candle and place it in the mud and water, as a prayer of hope in the darkness and the wet.