The Longest Night - A Blue Christmas Service Order of Worship December 21, 5:00 p.m.
Prelude Wondrous Love arr. G. Winston Cassler (1906-1990) Andrea Een, viola Welcome
Call to Worship One: Welcome, you who are weary. Many: You belong in this place. One: Welcome, you who are heartsick. Many: You belong in this place. One: Welcome, you who are searching for hope in the dark. Many: You belong in this place.
Hymn O Come, O Come, Emmanuel Veni Emmanuel
O come, o come, Emmanuel, O come, o Dayspring, come and cheer And ransom captive Israel Our spirits by your advent here; That mourns in lonely exile here, Love stir within the womb of night, Until the Son of God appear. And death’s own shadows put to flight. Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Refrain. Shall come to you, o Israel. O come, Desire of Nations, bind O come, o Wisdom from on high All peoples in one heart and mind; and order all things far and nigh; Make envy, strife, and quarrels cease; To us the path of knowledge show, Fill the whole world with heaven’s peace. And help in us that way to go. Refrain. Refrain.
Scripture Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11 Rev. Wendy Vander Hart Matthew 11:28-30
Time for Silent Reflection
Prayers of Remembrance and Lighting of the Advent Candles adapted, Heather Hill and Carol Penner If you have a candle or an Advent wreath at home that you would like to light, you are invited to do so.
First Candle One: We light the first candle to remember the people we have loved and lost. We remember their names, their voices, their faces, the memories that bind us to them. We hold them before you, God, giving thanks for their lives in ours.
1 Silence Many: Holy One, our love for those we have lost has no place to go, and we are tender. We want our loved ones to be free at home with you. Take our hands. Save a place for us beside them. We thank you for their lives even as we are filled with sorrow. God of lament, draw near. Second Candle One: We light the second candle to lift up the pain of loss; the loss of relationships, the loss of job security, the loss of health, the loss of joy and peace in our lives, the loss from the loneliness we experience in this pandemic. As we gather up the pain, we offer it to you, O God. Silence Many: Gracious God, we come before you in need of peace. We wonder how we will ever get out from under the burdens we know. The sorrows have only increased in this pandemic. Our hearts are fearful and aching. Guide us and comfort us. God of lament, draw near. Third Candle One: We light the third candle to remember those who experience the loss of direction in their lives. God, you led Moses and your people through the wilderness. We want so much to know where we might be headed. Be our wisdom. Help us to remember your words, “Do not fear, for I am with you.” Silence Many: God of the depths, we cry out to you. Send us your Spirit and be our guide. Give us inner direction, and grant us moments of reassurance. Take all that is lost in us and transform it. God of lament, draw near. Fourth Candle One: We light the fourth candle as a sign of hope against hope. We may not be able to claim these words as our own right now, but we hear the voices of faithful people through the ages. We remember the hope that the Christmas story offers to us. We remember that Mary was giving birth far away from her family. We remember that Bethlehem was not a picturesque village, it was an occupied country. We remember that after Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph fled with him to Egypt as refugees to flee violence. Silence Many: Holy One, thank you for leaning down to hear our laments; for giving us one another, so that we are not alone in hard times. Hope shines like a distant star over Bethlehem. We need angels with good news, lighting the sky of our lives, offering relief. On this longest night, in the mystery of your love, steal into our world again. Be born again in our hearts. By your tender mercy, may the dawn from on high break upon us. Amen.
2 Reading Blessing for the Brokenhearted Bob Gregory-Bjorklund
Let us agree our waking the heart’s sole for now opens it anew. remedy that we will not say Perhaps for now for breaking the breaking it can be enough is to love still, makes us stronger to simply marvel as if it trusts or that it is better at the mystery that its own to have this pain of how a heart persistent pulse than to have done so broken is the rhythm without this love. can go on beating, of a blessing Let us promise as if it were made we cannot we will not for precisely this— begin to fathom tell ourselves as if it knows but will save us time will heal the only cure for love nonetheless. the wound, is more of it, when every day as if it sees -Jan Richardson
Special Music Those Who Dream
A Prayer for the Night The New Zealand Prayer Book One: Let us pray. Holy God, it is night. Many: The night is for stillness. Let us be still in the presence of God. One: It is night after a long day. Many: What has been done has been done, what has not been done has not been done. Let it be. One: The night is dark. Many: Let our fears of the darkness of the world and of our own lives rest in you. One: The night is quiet. Many: Let the quietness of your peace enfold us, all dear to us, and all who have no peace. One: The night heralds the dawn. Many: Let us look expectantly to a new day, new joys, new possibilities. One: In your name we pray, Many: Amen.
Hymn Stay With Us
3
Stay with us ‘til night has come. Walk with us, our spirits sigh; Our praise to you this day be sung. Hear when our weary spirits cry. Bless our bread, open our eyes; Feel again our loss, our pain; Jesus, be our great surprise. Jesus, take us to your side.
Stay with us ‘til day is done. No tears nor dark shall dim the sun. Cheer the heart, your grace impart; Jesus, bring eternal life.
Benediction adapted from Aundi Kolber
To those limping to the end of the year — you are loved. To those grieving losses big and small — you are held. To those who ache, to those who long, And to those who are in process — you are deeply and profoundly beloved. May God’s love enfold us, and may we come to experience this truth in our very bones. Amen.
Postlude Pifa (Pastorale) G.F. Handel (1685-1759) from The Messiah Carol Trosset, violin
Thank you for joining us this evening. Peace be with you.
Christmas Eve Worship Service on Thursday, December 24: 4:00 p.m. Zoom Worship with Carols 5:30 p.m. Drive-In Candle Lighting with the Music of Silent Night at church (please remain in your vehicle)
4