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December, 2004
Editor’s Note:
One of the more popular articles to be downloaded from the MACUCC site over the past few years is an article written by Tiffany Vail in December of 2001. With the war in Iraq still lingering, the continued challenges of homelessness and hunger, and the not-so-recovering Massachusetts economy putting financial strains on families, the article is just as timely now as it was three years ago. Here is a reprint of that article refreshed with new comments.
For many people, the approaching Christmas holiday does not bring with it the joy and happiness that is advertised on television or in greeting cards. They may be facing a holiday after the death of a loved one or after a divorce. Perhaps they have been unable to have a child, or have suffered through an emotional trauma. Or perhaps they feel pressured and overwhelmed by holiday preparations.
In recent years, many churches have attempted to reach out to people who feel such burdens by adding Blue Christmas services to their worship offerings. These services have a more quiet, somber feel than a traditional Christmas worship service. Scripture, music and meditations or sermons focus on the comfort God offers during dark times.
“I started Blue Christmas services many years ago, when there were an unusually large number of children in my church lost during that particular year,” says Rev. Norman Bendroth, interim senior pastor of the Congregational Church of Topsfield. “Christmas is really about children and the festival of light; and for people who were grieving that kind of loss, the more somber service was a way to take back Advent and help them overcome the darkness.”
For people who are grieving or who are in some kind of pain there is so much of this forced joyfulness at Christmas,” said Cynthia Maybeck, pastor of the Trinity Church of Northboro. “There is no sort of sacred place for grieving.” Maybeck started holding Blue Christmas services years ago. She initially got the idea from the Whole People of God curriculum, which includes a litany for a Blue Christmas service.
“I was aware of how much the pastoral care intensifies in the Advent season. There seemed to be this dissonance in my pastoral care and the liturgy that needed to be evident in worship around Christmas,” she said. “I liked the idea of finding a liturgical piece that felt more in line with what some people are feeling.”
In Northboro, the service is called a Service of Light. Other churches refer to it as the Longest Night service, because it is traditionally held on or near the winter solstice – literally, the day with the shortest amount of daylight. (According to the U.S. Naval Observatory, this year’s Winter Solstice occurs December 21, 2004 7:42am EST.)
The Rev. Jean Sangster of the Congregational Church of Topsfield knows firsthand the pain some people feel during the expectantly joyful season. “During the Christmas season twenty-two years ago, my husband was dying of cancer; so Advent has a poignant association for me. It can be a time of joy, as well as a time of pain. And although God healed my broken heart, and has continued to heal it time and time again, we need to be reminded of the message of hope the season brings. The Longest Night service is a place where many have an opportunity to grieve, but also to experience that hope.”
Blue Christmas services include an emphasis on candles, with people in the congregation invited to come forward and light a candle in memory of someone or to mark an event in their lives. Some will say words out loud, others in silent prayer. Candles are also sometimes lit as prayers or Scripture readings are recited.
“Everyone in the community is welcome,” says Maybeck. “We have seen a steady and increasing attendance at this service, including many people who are not members of the church. It is wonderful to have a quiet, spiritual time in the midst of a busy season.”
Susan Dickerman, Associate Conference Minister for Leadership Development, said that with the emotional roller coaster people have gone through over the past year – whether it be for worldly events or election results – she anticipates a continued need in the community for these types of services.
The Evangelical Congregational Church of Grafton, UCC, started doing Blue Christmas services about six years ago, said Pastor Duane Brown. The North Grafton United Methodist Church started doing them the same year. “Since then, we have worked together on the service, and it has now become an annual ecumenical event, supported by eight of the nine churches in town. We hold it in the smaller sanctuary of the Methodist Church in order to create a more intimate atmosphere, and most of the clergy in town participate in leading it.”
“The Blue Christmas service is about paying attention to the needs of the people beyond the local church’s walls, and providing them with needed services.” says Rev. Laura Lee Kent, MACUCC Central Area Minister. “This is a vital ministry during this season of the year,” agrees Rev. Shirley E. Anderson of the First Congregational Church of Millbury, UCC, “and I am committed to it for the sake of the members of both our church and of the community.”
“People really appreciate an opportunity to respond to what they are going through in this season,” Brown said. “That is the message that has been consistently heard by those of us involved.”