Christmas Day
Our Longest
Night:
A Service of
Hope at Christmas Time
© 2009 Quentin Chin; permission given to
churches for one time use. All
publishing rights reserved.
A “Blue Christmas” Service prepared by the Rev.
Quentin Chin, member of Church on the Hill (UCC) in Lenox, MA, and Interim Minister of the United Methodist Church of Lenox, MA. This service was used as an ecumenical
service in Lenox on December 13, 2009, and included Episcopal, Roman Catholic,
United Methodist and UCC congregations.
Opening Words
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
Unison
Gathering Prayer
Your
compassion for us overflows, O God.
We
are facing our longest night.
We
come burdened with sorrow, loneliness, and sadness.
We
come seeking a place to set them down;
a
place where our words will be heard and our feelings honored.
We
need a place where we can drop our masks of good cheer
so
our tears can flow freely
and
our faces can wear the cares of all that we are carrying.
Be
among us this night, O God.
Let
your compassion heal us in this moment.
Comfort
us. Strengthen us. Care for us.
Be Christ to us. Amen.
Hymn:
Readings:
Lamentations 3:1-3, 19-26; Matthew 5:3-12a
Words
of Comfort
Silent
Prayer and Reflection
A
Time for Comfort
Use this time to light candles, be anointed,
or receive a prayer.
Litany (based upon
Psalm 13)
How long, O Lord;
will You ignore me forever?
How long will You
hide Your face from me?
How long will I
have cares on my mind, grief in my heart all day?
How long will my
enemy have the upper hand?
Deliver me, O God.
Look at me, answer
me, O Lord, my God!
Restore the luster
to my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
lest my enemy say,
"I have overcome them,"
my foes exult when
I totter.
Deliver me, O God.
But I trust in
Your faithfulness,
my heart will
exult in Your deliverance.
I will sing to the
Lord, who has been good to me.
Deliver me, O God.
Hymn:
Unison
Collect
Generous
and gracious God,
we
look to you for compassion
and
thank you for your presence this night.
Overwhelmed
by our burdens we easily forget
that
you never leave us alone
and
that your steadfast love for us never falters.
By
coming together we find assurance and comfort
that
we do not suffer this longest night alone.
You
have given us strength to live through this night.
Turn
us to reach out to those whose night is also long.
Grant
that we may be your healing presence in their lives
by
bringing them your compassion and comfort
that
will assure them that they do not suffer alone.
Amen.
Closing
Words
To be alive – is Power –
Existence – in itself –
Without a further function –
Omnipotence – Enough –
To be alive – and Will!
‘Tis able as God –
The Maker – of Ourselves – be what –
Such being Finitude!
Emily
Dickinson
Notes
on the Service
Opening Words
The Uses of Sorrow by Mary Oliver from
her collection Thirst (published by
Beacon Press, 2006)
Closing Words
To Be Alive (677) by Emily Dickinson
from The Complete Poems of Emily
Dickinson, edited by Thomas H. Johnson (published by Little, Brown and
Company, 1961)
This is a service for those who feel at odds with or estranged from the
general feeling of joy and happiness typically associated with this time of
year. These may be people who have
suffered a personal loss: death of a
loved one, divorce, illness, or job loss.
The service seeks to comfort them by reminding them they are not alone
and that their feelings are honored.
Worshipers should have an opportunity to take part in at least one
healing ritual, such as lighting a candle or praying with someone.
The music should keep with the contemplative
nature of the service.
Suggested
Hymns from NCH or Pilgrim Hymnal
- Precious
Lord
- Balm in Gilead
- Abide
with Me
- If Thou
but Suffer God to Guide Thee
- Nobody
Knows the Trouble I See
- Sweet
Hour of Prayer
- The
Lord’s My Shepherd
From Sing! Prayer and Praise
There is Peace no. 90
Where are You, God
no. 175
Star Child no. 174
Open My Eyes/Abre
Mis Ojos no. 161
