(Facebook Live video feed can be found HERE. The service actually begins at the 25-minute mark.)
May the Lord bless your pre-Christmas days.
Blue Christmas Ideas
People have undergone unprecedented loss this year. Family and friends have succumbed to death in this pandemic, millions have lost economic security through loss of jobs, some have lost businesses they built over a lifetime. Most of us have lost our beloved rhythms of life that felt familiar and gave our lives the richness of gatherings and adventure. And we can name so many losses related to hatred and violence.
On this shortest day of the year, and as we head into the longest night,
we gather, mindful of the losses that have multiplied throughout the year.
As we look back at it all at once,
we are in danger of being overwhelmed by its tragedies–
sickness, violence, fire, hurricane, earthquake, death and more.
Our aim tonight is to acknowledge this, to mourn this, and to know that in all of this,
there is the possibility of more light.
If we are to be overwhelmed, let it be that we are overwhelmed with the assurance that we are not alone.
We are able to do this because the longest night is the birth canal for ever-more-light as the days begin to lengthen and we wait for the springtime of new life.
Some of our earliest evidence is that our ancient ancestors saw this night
and the dawn of tomorrow as the appropriate time to honor their lost loved ones.
It was this moment that symbolized most powerfully that the path
to everlasting life is filled with the light of a new and growing dawn.
Some would argue that Christ’s birth is celebrated when it is
as a way to commemorate the Winter Solstice –
on the third day after the darkest day, the Light of the World is born – resurrection is even honored in this season’s birthday!
Psalm 36:9 says, “Within You is the spring of life;
in your light, we see light.”
As we light up this tree, though its light is as blue as many of us feel,
the light is still there.
When we feel as if our light is dimmed,
we can rely on the Holy Light to continue to shine
until we ourselves shine bright once more.
We are not alone.
Please join me in a Litany of Losses. A prayer prompted by pain and lament. Your lines will be prompted.
Loss of Life
We mourn this night the loss of life.
[light the first candle]
For so many, the pandemic has taken loved ones.
We mourn the loss of those close to us and those whose names we do not know.
We mourn those who perished while working to save other lives.
We mourn those who died, not of pandemic, but of other causes.
And we mourn the loss, in many cases, of our ability to be with them as they passed, our loss of gathering together for comfort in the ways we needed so much.
If there is someone in your life that you mourn tonight, say their names, and we will all mourn with each other: . . . . .
I invite you to repeat after me:
We mourn this loss of life. We mourn this loss of life.
We honor and remember these loved ones. We honor and remember these loved ones.
We pray for comfort and peace. We pray for comfort and peace.
Amen. Amen.
Loss of Livelihood
We mourn this night the loss of livelihoods.
[light the second candle]
For so many, the pandemic has taken the security of food, shelter, care for families, and medical care.
We mourn the loss of businesses that could not withstand the circumstances.
These were not just businesses, but they were dreams born of passion and hard work.
We mourn those who find themselves needing to rely on others for help when what they really want to do is to be able to help others.
If there is someone in your life whose livelihood you mourn tonight, say their names, and we will all mourn with each other: . . . . .
I invite you to repeat after me:
We mourn this loss of livelihood. We mourn this loss of livelihood.
We honor and remember the dreams now deferred. We honor and remember the dreams now deferred.
We pray for sustenance and resilience. We pray for sustenance and resilience.
Amen. Amen.
Loss of Love
We lament this night the loss of love.
[light the third candle]
Our society’s dilemma, centuries in the making, has created such hatred, suffering, oppression, and ill-will.
We mourn the loss of those whose lives were lost to brutality and violence.
We mourn the loss of our ability to love one another despite our differences, as beings who deserve to be seen for our inherent beauty and worth.
We mourn that black and brown peoples have perished and suffered at the greatest proportion in the pandemic of coronavirus.
We mourn the pandemic of racism that still plagues the fabric of our communities.
If there is someone in your life whose lost love you lament tonight, say their names, and we will all lament with each other: . . . . .
I invite you to repeat after me:
We lament this loss of love. We lament this loss of love.
We honor and remember the work of prophets who proclaim justice. We honor and remember the work of prophets who proclaim justice.
We pray for compassion and change. We pray for compassion and change.
Amen. Amen.
Loss of Liveliness
We lament this night the loss of liveliness.
[light the fourth candle]
For so many, this year has robbed us of our energy, our enthusiasm, and our sense of well-being.
We mourn teachers and leaders and caregivers and workers who are struggling to help those in their care,
themselves exhausted and needing the sustenance they give to others.
We mourn the loss of all who are suffering with anxiety and depression, who are finding it difficult to live each day with fullness or to find hope for tomorrow.
We mourn those we have lost to suicide.
We mourn those who find themselves addicted to substances in order to ease the pain that feels unbearable.
We mourn those who are experiencing their place of shelter as an abusive place from which they struggle to escape.
If there is someone in your life whose sense of liveliness you lament tonight, say their names, and we will all lament with each other: . . . . .
I invite you to repeat after me:
We mourn this loss of liveliness. We mourn this loss of liveliness.
We honor and remember that each person is precious and whole. We honor and remember that each person is precious and whole.
We pray for recovery and renewed vigor. We pray for recovery and renewed vigor.
Amen. Amen.
True Light
And now we light a fifth candle.
Just as we will do later this week on Christmas Eve, We light this as a sign of our belief …
We believe in the Light that has come and is coming.
[light the fifth candle in the center]
This light casts its glow on all the surrounding prayers we have prayed.
This light resides within us, perhaps dim for a time, but always lit – an ember of the Holy inside us.
This light reminds us that we are not alone.
[Invite people to whatever ritual action you have decided on… lighting their own candles, placing luminaries, offering food donations, etc.
This action can be accompanied by instrumental music or singers at a safe distance. Then you could close with a prayer.]
Our gracious and Holy God, the One who sent the True Light, the Light of all lights, into the darkness of our despair,
Tonight we say we believe even when our hearts are heavy with sadness, even when our hopes seem dimmed, even when peace eludes us, even when we feel alone and isolated from someone we love so dearly.
On this longest night of the year, we believe in Your ever-present Light living within us – to lift us with peace that passes understanding, with love that overwhelms fear, with joy that brightens darkness, and with the hope of Your glory calling us to be Yours and to belong in Your grace and mercy.
In Jesus’s Christmas, Word becoming flesh and dwelling with us, name we pray, Amen.
Worship Notes
Worship series design © Worship Design Studio by Marcia McFee. Used, adapted, and live-streamed with permission. www.worshipdesignstudio.com.
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