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Manger Litany about Homelessness Rev. Dr. Fran Bogle
Born in a stable because there was no room at the inn.
You call us to love the world as we have been loved by you.
Wrapped in swaddling clothes, you slept in a manger because there was no crib.
You command us to love our neighbors as ourselves
Shepherds welcomed you.
You call us to create an inclusive church in which everyone is welcomed and loved.
No one was turned away from the stable door.
You keep calling to us to open our doors, to welcome the outcasts, to house the homeless, to feed the hungry, to turn over the tables in the temple.
Lambs and cows, chickens and donkeys, men, women, children…angels of all kinds surrounded you.
Help us create a world in which all of your children have safe and loving homes, enough to eat and a community of angels to surround them.
One star brighter that the rest led the world to your door.
May our love and work in the world be a beacon of hope to the hopeless, a ministry of food for all who hunger, a warm stable for the homeless and a place of peace and healing for all who have been wounded by violence. May we always seek to make the powerful uncomfortable and accountable, especially when they are us.
Dear Child of Bethlehem, as remember the stable and the manger, the dusty roads you walked and the cross on which you died, give us the faith and courage to tell your truth and make it our own. Help us follow you with all of our hearts and minds and souls and strength for you are our hope and redeemer. Amen
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Amazing God, you loved us so much that you came to us as an infant.