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National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month We remember and pray for victims of sex trafficking, involuntary servitude, debt bondage and forced labor in our nation and around the world, and we ask God’s guidance in caring for victims and actively working to end this abuse, injustice and oppression.

Give thanks and praise to God that we are children of God, knowing and testifying to the good news that Jesus Christ became flesh and lived among us, and that we have seen the glory of God’s only son, full of grace and truth for the world.

Pray for our companion churches and international leaders as they confront multiple waves of the pandemic. Ask the Spirit to fill them with hope, resilience and reassurance that our faith in the presence and love of God, which we share as siblings in Christ, will unify us in caring for one another and in doing God’s work in the world, using our diverse gifts, cultures, languages, resources and perspectives in every circumstance.

Give thanks and praise that God knows intimately our complexities, failures, accomplishments, questions, goals and hopes, and still looks upon us with loving kindness, newness and a desire for us to thrive as individuals and communities.

New Year’s Eve A new year can offer hope and enthusiasm for starting anew, or it can bring fear and despair stirred by our human weaknesses and failures. Ask God to help us achieve our new endeavors and resolutions and reground ourselves in God’s grace, forgiveness and newness when we fall short of our expectations and goals. Ask the Spirit to help us encourage, assist and surround with grace people who stumble or whose confidence is unsteady.

Pray that the light, celebration and blessings of community we experience as followers of Christ will continue far beyond the Christmas holidays and permeate our daily lives as we participate in God’s life-giving work and witness in the world.

Let our prayers, creation and all living things give glory and honor to God, our creator, sustainer, guiding light and redeemer.

Pray that we will carry forward the story and significance of Jesus and their implications for our daily actions, relationships and decisions as loved and reclaimed children of God. Ask the Spirit to guide us in responding to God’s call to proclaim the gospel, make peace, work for justice, propagate hope and serve our neighbors in need — without partiality, foot-dragging, embarrassment or expectation of reward or credit.

Pray for the Spirit to help us understand and have faith in Jesus as the son of God, born to walk among us, live through our daily struggles and needs, teach us God’s ways and word, and restore our relationships with God, one another and creation.

Beginning of Kwanzaa Kwanzaa is a weeklong celebration of African culture and traditions that stresses family, community and shared principles. Give thanks for the rich and meaningful traditions, celebrations and practices of our African American siblings and the global African community.

Christmas Day Give praise and thanks for God’s boundless love, mercy and grace, revealed to the world and all humanity through the light of Jesus Christ ― son of God, son of humanity; our source of truth, salvation, new life and wholeness.

Remember and give thanks for the people in your life who taught you the nativity story and recounted the promise God made to us and fulfilled through Jesus Christ.

With prayerful sighs of relief and expressions of gratitude, give thanks for God’s covenant to grant humankind love, forgiveness, new life and redemption through the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Remember in prayer the approximately 26 million refugees, immigrants and asylum-seekers around the world and at our borders, awaiting entry into safe, welcoming countries and communities so that they can rebuild their lives without threats of conflict, persecution, violence or economic crisis. Pray for their safety, that their spiritual, physical and emotional needs will be met, that they will find caring advocates, and that their faith and hope will be strengthened and sustained by siblings in Christ and our faith communities.