Christmas Blessing (May you have the joy of the angels) (website only)

Christmas Blessing

May you have the joy of the angels;
May you have the mother Mary’s love;
May you have the meekness of shepherds;
perseverance of kings and the light of stars above.

May you have the wisdom of the prophets;
May you have the father Joseph's trust;
May you know the peace of the Christ Child
and the hope for the world that is found in his love.

Words and music: © Kimberley Rayson

Download words and music as a PDF

Ideas for use

This Christmas-themed sung blessing may be used appropriately well beyond Christmas Day, through the period of ‘Old Christmas’ that ends with the Feast of the Epiphany on 6 January.

Even if you have a soloist, worship band or choir that can lead the singing, this blessing will be most effective perhaps if members of the congregation are enabled to sing it with and to each other; moving into a circle, maybe, or facing one another across a central aisle. If singers need to face forward (because the words are on a screen, for instance), consider inviting them to join hands as they sing.

Kimberley Rayson’s words offer an original distillation of the Christmas story in blessing form. Applying a single characteristic to each of the actors at the incarnation is thought-provoking and may offer a starting point for prayers in the service or for a sermon. (It’s good, too, to see Joseph included – he sometimes gets short shrift in our Christmas thinking.)

Kimberley lives in Cambridge with her family.  She is a local preacher and worship leader. Having spent many years as a teacher and children's worker, she now works as a Community Pioneer Chaplain. She says that making music is one of her favourite activities, and that she is interested in exploring songs which express God's glory while also resonating with people's life experiences.