Blue Christmas is a gentle, contemplative service for those who are carrying pain or loss during this season of celebration.
Dear Friends,
Christmas is a time for memories and remembering. The emphasis of family, joy, giving and good cheer can be very difficult for those of us who have experienced the loss of a loved one through death, or relocation, or broken relationships. For others, things like a stroke or increasing dementia have changed their loved one and their relationship, and that too is hard to bear. For some it is the loss of independence, the loss of employment, the loss of good vision or any loss that is painful.
It is also hard for those of us who live with depression or other mental illnesses, those of us who are weary of ill health, those of us who have no jobs or little money for giving, and those of us whose addictions make the emphasis on parties very stressful.
We can feel very much alone in the midst of all the celebrating and spending. We need a safe place, a space where we can remember, grieve, acknowledge our sadness and our anger; and we need to know that we are not alone.
For all these reasons we need a separate time of being together to receive words of strengthening and hope that speak to us in the midst of sorrow. In recognition of this reality, Wesley United Church is offering a “Blue Christmas” service on Tuesday December 18th, beginning at 7:00 pm, in the chancel area (choir loft) of the Sanctuary. Please consider this your invitation to join us in hearing prayers, scripture, and music that acknowledge that the Sacred Presence we call God, is for those who mourn, and the words of Jesus are to give light to our darkness. Even if you aren’t feeling ‘blue’, come to give support to others who are hurting this season.
The short service will be followed by a time of light refreshments and fellowship in the Kitchen Lounge.
Peace,
Cindy Bourgeois (Rev.)
Wesley United Church
