Christmas Eve Service - outside in a barn

Greeting
Leader: Here, in a lowly stable, Jesus, the crown of heaven, meets the dust of the earth.
People: This, tonight, is the meeting place.
Leader: Here, the darkness encounters a bright light, which shines in every corner and dispels all fear.
People: This, tonight, is the meeting place.
Leader: Here, God is made flesh in us, and we are joined to God forever through this holy child.
People: This, tonight, is the meeting place.

Prologue
Adapted from “This, tonight, is the meeting place” from Cloth for the Cradle by Wild Goose Worship Group, Wild Goose Publications, 1997

This, tonight,
Is the meeting place
Of heaven and earth.
For this, tonight,
Is the stable
In which God keeps his appointment
To meet his people.
Not many here are high and important,
Not many holy;
Not many innocent children,
Not many worldly wise;
Not all familiar faces,
Not all frequent visitors.
But, if tonight only strangers met,
That would be enough.
For Bethlehem was not the hub of the universe,
Nor was the stable a platform for famous folk.
In an out-of-the-way place
Which folk never thought to visit –
There God kept and keeps his promise;
There God sends his son.