Blue Christmas Service December 20, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.
The Uses of Sorrow
(In my sleep I dreamed this poem) Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift. – Mary Oliver
The Gathering of the People Chorale Prelude
Buxtehude
Words of Welcome “We know full well that the work begun in the manger is not yet complete. Christmas is, for the time being, a feast of light juxtaposed with darkness. We brighten our sanctuary with candles, but the night persists beyond these walls. Though we wipe our tears away to join in yuletide celebration, we are still a people who mourn.” – Katherine E. Willis Perchey in “A Feast Juxtaposed” One For you, O God, our souls in silence wait. All Truly our hope is in you. Opening Prayer Opening Song Ubi Caritas
Jacques Berthier
A Litany of Remembrance One Throughout human history, people have used candles as symbols of prayer. Tonight, we light four candles. These represent our recollection of our losses of loved ones, of relationships, of jobs and health, of all the losses we have experienced in this pandemic year, of our own grief and of the hope that lies hidden within us. We light this first candle to remember those persons whom we have loved and lost. We pause to remember their names, their faces, their voices, and the memory that binds them to us this holy season. We hold them before God, giving thanks for their lives in ours. All
May God’s eternal love surround them.
Hymn 56, O come, O come, Emmanuel 2
Time for silent reflection We light this second candle to redeem the pain of loss; the loss of relationships, the loss of jobs with the security they bring, the loss of health in ourselves or in family members, the loss of joy in our lives from he stresses that surround us, the loss of peace in our ever-darkening world. As we gather up the pain, we offer it to you, O God, asking that, into our open hands, you will place the gift of peace. All
Refresh, restore, renew us, O God, and lead us into your future.
Hymn 56, O come, O come, Emmanuel Time for silent reflection We light this third candle to remember ourselves in this holy season. We pause and remember the past weeks, months and for some of us, years of difficult times. We remember the poignancy of memories, the sadness, the hurts, the pain of reflecting on our own mortality. All
Let us remember that dawn defeats darkness.
Hymn 56, O come, O come, Emmanuel Time for silent reflection We light this fourth candle to remember our faith and the gift of hope that God offers to us in the Incarnation. We remember that God who shares our life, promises us a place and time where pain and suffering will be no more. All
Let us remember the one who shows the way, who brings the truth and who bears the light.
Hymn 56, O come, O come, Emmanuel Time for silent reflection
3
The Proclamation of God’s Word Let us hear again from the words of Holy Scripture, how God has spoken words of comfort and hope. First Reading A Reading from the Prophet Isaiah "Comfort, comfort my people" says your God. "Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and call to her that the time of service is ended ... Look up to the heavens! Who made the stars, if not the One who drills them like an army, calling each one by its own name? So mighty is God's power and strength that not one fails to answer. Israel, why then do you complain that our God does not know your troubles or care if you suffer injustice? Our God, the everlasting God, the creator of the farthest parts of the earth, never grows tired or weary. No one can fathom the depths of God's understanding. God gives power to the faint and strength to the powerless. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength." Reader All
Hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people. Thanks be to God.
Silence will be kept. Psalm 121 One I lift up my eyes to the hills, from where is my help to come? All My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. One He will not let your foot be moved and he who watches over you will not fall asleep. All Behold, he who keeps watch over Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. One The Lord himself watches over you; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. All So that the sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. One The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; it is he who shall keep you safe. All The Lord shall watch over your going out and your coming in, from this time forth for evermore. Second Reading A Reading from the Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians We do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is God who said, ‘Let light shine out of 4
darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. Reader All
Hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people. Thanks be to God.
Silence will be kept. Third Reading Wild Geese by Mary Oliver You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting – over and over announcing your place in the family of things. Reader All
Hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people. Thanks be to God.
Musical Offering O Magnum Mysterium
Lauridsen Tess Varley, violin soloist
Naming Our Losses In silence let us call to mind the names of those with whom and for whom we seek healing and release. During the music everyone is invited to use the comment section of the virtual service to name those who have died, those with whom they are no longer in relationship or of any loss they are experiencing this season.
5
Invitation to Pray One In this holy place, let us now ask our God for what we need for ourselves as people coping with loss, pain, anxiety, loneliness, and grief. In response to the words, “God, in your merciful love”, you're invited to respond with “Hear our prayer.” One Loving God, we come to you, with pain all around us. As the nights have been growing longer, so has the darkness wrapped itself around our hearts. In this season of our longest nights, we offer to you the grief in our hearts, the trauma of this year and the feelings that some of us cannot put into words. God, in your merciful love, All Hear our prayer. One
All
Compassionate God, there are those among us who are grieving over what might have been. A death or loss has changed our experience of Christmas. Someone has died or moved away or we have lost a job, a dream, a goal, a cause. We find ourselves struggling. God, in your merciful love, Hear our prayer.
One Gracious God, the season reminds us of all that used to be and cannot be anymore. The memories of what were, the fears of what may be, can overwhelm us. Particularly, in this year we are experiencing tremendous loss as a community, a nation and a world like never before. Please be near us this night and all who are dear to us, and those whose cries are silent. God, in your merciful love, All Hear our prayer. The remembrances are now audibly offered up to God. One Loving God, hear our prayers this night. Grant to all, and especially to those in sorrow this Christmas, the blessing we ask in the name of Christ, who taught us to pray together saying, The Lord’s Prayer
A New Zealand Prayer Book
Eternal Spirit, Earth-Maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver, source of all that is and that shall be, Father and Mother of us all. Loving God, in whom is heaven. The hallowing of your name echoes through the universe! The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the earth! Your heavenly will be done by all created beings! Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope 6
and come on earth. With the bread we need for today, feed us. In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us. In times of temptation and test, spare us. From the grip of all that is evil, free us. For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever. Amen. Candles will be lit on the altar acknowledging all the losses we have named aloud or silently to God. One Let us pray. All Watch now, dear Lord, with those who wake or watch or weep tonight, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend your sick ones, O Lord Christ, rest your weary ones, bless your dying ones, soothe your suffering ones, pity your afflicted ones, shield your joyous ones, and all for your love’s sake. Amen. One Lord, A New Zealand Prayer Book it is night. The night is for stillness. Let us be still in the presence of God. It is night after a long day. What has been done has been done; what has not been done has not been done; let it be. The night is dark. Let our fears of the darkness of the world and of our own lives rest in you. The night is quiet. Let the quietness of your peace enfold us, all dear to us, and all who have no peace. The night heralds the dawn. Let us look expectantly to a new day, new joys, new possibilities. In your name we pray. Amen.
7
Closing Prayer Ted Loder, Guerillas of Grace Let us pray together. O God of all seasons and senses, grant us the sense of your timing to submit gracefully and rejoice quietly in the turn of the seasons. In this season of short days and long nights, of grey and white and cold, teach us the lessons of endings; children growing, friends leaving, loved ones dying, grieving over, grudges over, blaming over, excuses over. O God, grant us a sense of your timing. In this season of short days and long nights, of grey and white and cold, teach us the lessons of beginnings; that such waitings and endings may be the starting place, a planting of seeds which bring to birth what is ready to be born something right and just and different, a new song, a deeper relationship, a fuller love - in the fullness of your time. O God, grant us the sense of your timing. Amen.
Sending Forth The Blessing Closing Hymn It is well with my soul The Dismissal One Go forth in the name of the promised Christ. All Thanks be to God.
About This Service The constant refrain on radio and television, in shopping malls and churches, about the happiness of the Christmas Season, about getting together with family and friends, reminds many people of what they have lost or have never had. The anguish of broken relationships, the insecurity of unemployment, the weariness of ill health, the pain of isolation, the gut-wrenching loss of a child, the loneliness of no longer having a beloved spouse to share each day, the loss of a dear family pet - all these can contribute to a feeling of being alone, of 'feeling blue' in the midst of the society around us that seems bent on 'being happy' and 'celebrating'. There are years when we hurt at Christmas time and can't enjoy the 8
festivities as others seem to be able to do. This particular season we are experiencing grief and loss not only on a personal level, but on a global level as we continue to live in the time of Covid-19. Maybe this year more than most, we need to make the space and take the time to acknowledge our sorrows. We need to know that we are not alone. For these reasons, we have invited you to come and join them in sharing and hearing prayers, Scripture and music that acknowledge that God's presence is for those who mourn, for those who struggle - and that God's Word comes to shine light into our darkness. Special Acknowledgment We are grateful to Joyce Chen, our Minister of Music, Rachael Lipson, Ally and Kyle Masson and Tess Varley, our soloists whose music added to the beauty of this service.
Portions of this service are taken from the Blue Christmas Service at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Ridgefield, CT. All copyright licensing for music during this service through: OneLicense.net License #A-719834 and LicenSing License # 620603.
9