Liturgy for the Longest Night/ Blue Christmas service

 

Longest Night/  Blue Christmas Service

 

Hymn:  O come, O come, Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel!

Redeem thy captive Israel

That into exile drear is gone,

Far from the face of God's dear Son.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

 

O come, thou Wisdom from on high,
Who madest all in earth and sky,
Creating man from dust and clay,
To us reveal salvations’s way.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

 

Greeting

The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,

and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

All:      And also with you.

 

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;

on those who live in a land of deep shadow, a light has shone.

For the yoke that was weighing upon them,

and the burden upon their shoulders,

you have broken in pieces, O God, our Redeemer.

 

Today we sit on the Eve of the longest night,

that day when the sun seems farthest away,

and the dark night at its most oppressive.

 

So too do we sit on the edge of Christmas,

that season of light, family, and jollity.

 

But even as we sit on the cusp of celebration,

so we remember that Christmas is not always a season of light and joy,

that for many of us there will be an empty seat in the living room,

someone missing from Christmas table:

a voice now silent, laughter not heard.

 

In this service we remember those who we love but will not see:

those from whom we are separated by circumstance -

by lockdowns; sickness; or death,

and we remember them and name them before God.

 

Let us pray:

All:      God of mercy, hear our prayer in this Advent season

for ourselves and for our families

who live with painful thoughts and memories.

 

We ask for strength for today,

courage for tomorrow and peace for the past.

 

We ask these things in the name of your Christ,

who shares our life in joy and sorrow,

death and new birth, despair and promise. Amen.

 

THE LITURGY OF THE WORD

A Reading from the book of Isaiah

 

Comfort, O comfort my people,
says your God.
To whom then will you compare me,
or who is my equal? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who created these?
He who brings out their host and numbers them,
calling them all by name;
because he is great in strength,
mighty in power,
not one is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
‘My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God’?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.
Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.

(Isaiah 40:1, 25-31)

This is the word of the Lord.
All:      Thanks be to God.

  

 

A reading from Psalm 121.

 

I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from where is my help to come?

My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

He will not let your foot be moved and he who watches over you will not fall asleep.

Behold, he who keeps watch over Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord himself watches over you; the Lord is your shade at your right hand.

So that the sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night

The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; it is he who shall keep you safe.

The Lord shall watch over your going out and your coming in, from this time forth for ever more.

 

This is the word of the Lord.
All:      Thanks be to God.

 

A Reading from the Gospel of St Matthew

 

‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,

and I will give you rest.

 

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me;

for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

 

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’

(Matthew 11:28-30)

 

This is the word of the Lord.
All:      Thanks be to God.

 

Reflection

 

Hymn:  O come, O come, Emmanuel

 

O come, thou Root of Jesse! draw

The quarry from the lion's claw,

From those dread caverns of the grave,

From nether hell, thy people save.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

 

A LITURGY OF REMEMBRANCE

 

First Candle:

The first candle we light

to remember those persons whom we have loved and lost.

 

We pause to remember their name, their voice, their face,

the memory that binds them to us in this season.

 

We hold them before God, giving thanks for their lives in ours.

 

Please take a moment to remember those who have died.

I invite you to name them, aloud or in the silence of your hearts….

 

All:      Lord,

each of us takes our loved one by the hand and leads them to you,

the God of love,

 

Here we present them to you.

 

Accept our love and thanksgiving as we entrust them to your loving care.

 

We want our loved ones to be free at home with you.

 

We ask that you save a place for us beside them.

 

We ask that you fill us with motivation and energy

in the days ahead when we feel like giving up;

remind us often of our true homeland

when we are caught up in the desolation of the journey.

 

Help us to find joy in the people,

events and the beauty of nature which surrounds us.

 

Thank you for the gift each of these people has been in our lives.

 

We want to believe that we will celebrate

the treasure of love with them again,

when we are all in your presence forever.

 

May this truth sustain us in the days to come.

 

Take our sad and aching hearts and comfort us.

 

Comfort us, for we only feel hollowness and emptiness.

God of sorrowing, draw near!       

Amen.

 

Hymn:  O come, O come, Emmanuel

O come, O come, thou Dayspring bright!

Pour on our souls thy healing light;

Dispel the long night's lingering gloom,

And pierce the shadows of the tomb.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

 

Second Candle:

The second candle we light is 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 and peace in our lives from the stresses which surround us,

the loss and loneliness we experience when our loved ones do not share our faith.

 

As we gather up the pain of the past we offer it to you,

O God, asking that into our open hands you will place the gift of peace.

 

Please take a moment to remember the losses.

I invite you to name them, aloud or in the silence of your hearts….

 

All:      God of mystery, we turn our hearts to you.

 

We come before you in need of peace,

grateful for the mystery of life and ever keenly aware

of your promises of guidance and protection.

 

We want to place our trust in you,

but our hearts grow fearful and anxious.

 

We forget so easily that you will be with us in all that we experience.

 

Teach us to be patient with the transformation of our lives

and to be open to the changes which we are now going through. Amen.

 

Hymn:  O come, O come, Emmanuel

O Come, thou Lord of David’s Key!

The royal door fling wide and free;

Safeguard for us the heavenward road,

And bar the way to death's abode.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

 

Third Candle:

The third candle we light for those who experience a loss of direction in their lives.

 

God of the Exodus,

you led Moses and your people through the wilderness to a new land.

 

Hear our prayer.

 

We want so much to have a sense of direction,

to know where we are and where we ought to be headed.

 

But the darkness and the questions stay.

 

You ask us to be full of faith,

to believe deep within that you are our signpost,

that you are our wisdom and our guide, and to trust in your presence.

 

Your words to us are clear: “Do not fear, I go before you.”

All:      God of our depths,

we cry out to you to be our guide.

 

Help us to have a strong sense of inner direction

and grant that we may have the reassurance

of knowing that we are on the right path.

 

Take our lives and use them according to your will.

 

Take all that is lost in us and bring it home with you. Amen.

 

Hymn:  O come, O come, Emmanuel

O come, O come, Adonaï,

Who in thy glorious majesty

From Sinai’s mountain, clothed with awe,

Gavest thy folk the ancient Law.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel. 

Fourth Candle:

The fourth candle we light as a sign of hope,

the hope that the Christmas story offers to us.

 

We remember that God, who shares our life,

promises us a place and time of no more pain and suffering.

 

All:      O God whose spirit is known by those whose hearts are thankful,

and who makes cheerfulness a companion of strength,

lift up our hearts, we pray, to a joyous confidence in your care.

 

Guide us when we cannot see the way.

 

Teach us to know that a shadow is only a shadow,

because the light of eternal goodness

shines behind the object of our fears.

 

Where there is love in life, teach us to find it;

help us to trust it and enable us to grow in the power of love.

 

So may our lives bring comfort and encouragement to others.

 

We ask it, in the name of Jesus Christ whose life is our light. Amen.

 

Hymn:  O come, O come, Emmanuel

O come, thou Root of Jesse! draw

The quarry from the lion's claw,

From those dread caverns of the grave,

From nether hell, thy people save.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

 

Prayers of the People

In the spirit of this season

let us now confidently ask our God for all the good things we need:

 

For ourselves as we participate in this Christmas

as special people coping with our many different losses.

 

God, hear our prayer.

All:      And in your mercy, answer.

 

For our families and friends,

that they may continue to help and support us.

 

God, hear our prayer.

All:      And in your mercy, answer.

 

For any person we have loved who has died,

for all the losses we know in our lives,

that all may be redeemed by your Easter promise.

 

God, hear our prayer.

All:      And in your mercy, answer.

 

For our family and friends,

that you may bless them with love, peace, and joy.

 

God, hear our prayer.

All:      And in your mercy, answer.

 

For peace throughout the world

as proclaimed by the Christmas Angels on that faraway hillside.

 

God, hear our prayer

All:      And in your mercy, answer.

 

For greater understanding of the lessons of love and acceptance

as taught by Jesus your Christ. God, hear our prayer.

All:      And in your mercy, answer. 

 

God of great compassion and love,

listen to the prayers of these your people.

 

Grant to all, especially the bereaved and troubled ones this Christmas,

the blessing we ask in the name of Jesus, who taught us to pray

All:      Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy Name,

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those

who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil,

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory,

for ever and ever. Amen

 

Lighting of Individual Candles

Each of us comes bearing our own hurts, sorrows, broken places.

 

I want to invite each of you 

to offer your personal wound to the God who loves each of us deeply

and wants to carry our pain. 

 

God waits patiently, gently calling out:

“Give me your pain, come to me… all who labour and are heavy laden, I will refresh you!”

 

I invite you no to light your candle. 

 

As you light the candle,

remember that it is God who lights a candle in our darkness

and holds us close until we are able to shine. 

 

These lights in their brightness are only symbols,

but as they burn and finally go out,

we remember that suffering passes, though memory remains forever.

 

CLOSING

As we gather this evening,

we embrace and claim the darkness that is present both in the world and in our own lives. 

 

As people who are familiar with the darkness,

we also know that we gather to be illumined

by the light of the Christ Child this Christmas season. 

 

May the Christ Child, born in a lowly stable,

 himself an outcast and on the margins of society,

bring light, comfort, peace, and joy this Christmas season. 

 

Hymn:  O come, O come, Emmanuel

O come, Desire of nations! show
They kingly reign on earth below;
Thou corner-stone uniting all,

Restore the ruin of our fall.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

 

O come, O come, Emmanuel!

Redeem thy captive Israel

That into exile drear is gone,

Far from the face of God's dear Son.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

 

Christ the Sun of Righteousness shine upon you,

scatter the darkness from before your path,

and make you ready to meet him when he comes in glory;

and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.

All       Amen.

 

May the hope of the Christ Child sustain us through this darkness.

All:      That together we may shine again.  Amen.

Blue Christmas Service: When Christmas Hurts - Young Clergy Women International, material from which is included in this service

 

Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England, material from which 

is included in this service, is copyright of the Archbishops' Council 2000

 

The New English Hymnal, material from which is included in this service, is copyright of 

The Canterbury Press, 2010