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BLUE CHRISTMAS SERVICE
A Blue Christmas Service
Sunday, December 21, 2025 at 7:00 pm
GATHERING MUSIC
WORDS OF WELCOME
*CONGREGATIONAL CENTERING
L: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by God, and without God nothing came into being. What came to be through God was life, and this life was the light of the world.
P: The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
*HYMN O Little Town of Bethlehem (v. 1, 4) UMH: 230
SCRIPTURE READING Ecclesiastes 3:1-11
READING OF PSALMS Psalm 22
L: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me, so far from the words of my groaning? P: O my God, I cry by day but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.
L: In you, our ancestors trusted. They trusted and you delivered them.
P: It was you who brought me from the womb,
you who kept me safe on my mother's breast.
Since my mother bore me, you have been my God.
L: Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
P: God does not despise the affliction of the afflicted.
God does not hide from me.
A: When I cry to God, God hears me. Thanks be to God.
BLUE CHRISTMAS SOLO Dan Fink
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. Psalm 23
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul;
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his Name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
thou annointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
HYMN My Faith Looks Up to Thee (v. 1 and 3) UMH: 452
SCRIPTURE READING Isaiah 40
HYMN My Faith Looks Up to Thee (v. 4)
LITANY OF REMEMBRANCE (The first candle is lit.)
L: We light this first candle to remember those whom we have loved and lost.
We pause to remember clearly, their faces, their voices, their bodies.
We embrace and give thanks for the memories that bind them to us
in this season of expectation, when all Creation waits for the Light.
P: We remember them with love. May God's eternal love surround them.
HYMN O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (v. 1) UMH: 211
O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here, until the son of God appear.
Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
(The second candle is lit.)
L: We light this second candle to remember the pain of loss:
loss of relationships, loss of trust, loss of jobs, loss of health, loss of faith, the loss of joy. We acknowledge and embrace the pain of the past, O God, and we offer it to You, asking that into our wounded hearts and open hands You will place the gift of peace, shalom.
P: We remember that through You all things are possible.
Refresh, restore, renew us, O God, and lead us into Your future.
HYMN O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (v. 2) UMH: 211
O come, thou Wisdom from on high, and order all things far and nigh;
to us the path of knowledge show and cause us in her ways to go.
Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
(The third candle is lit)
L. We light this third candle to remember ourselves this Christmas time.
We pause and remember the past weeks, months, and for some of us years, which have been heavy with our burdens. We accept and lay before You, God, the sharpness of memory, the sadness and grief, the hurt and fear, the anger and pain. We accept and lay before You the ways we feel we have fallen short, and the times we have spent blaming ourselves, and You, for all that we have suffered. We accept and lay before You the time we have walked alone, in darkness, and in knowledge of our own mortality.
P: We remember that though winter be upon us and though the night be dark,
with the turning of the Wheel, the dawn will come, and dawn defeats the darkness.
HYMN O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (v. 6) UMH: 211
O come thou Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by thy justice here;
disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice, rejoice Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
(The fourth candle is lit.)
L: We light this fourth candle to remember faith, the gift of light and hope that God offers to us in the stories of Hanukkah and of Christmas, which both also began in abandonment, insecurity, and humbleness, in a time of war and in a poor stable. We remember that the loving God who kept the light shining in the temple and who came to share this life with us promises us comfort and peace.
P: We remember the One who shares our burdens, who shows us the way to the Light and who journeys with us into all our tomorrows.
HYMN It Came upon the Midnight Clear (v. 4) UMH: 218
(And now we light a fifth candle.)
Just as we will do later this week on Christmas Eve,
We light this as a sign of our belief...
We believe in the Light that has come and is coming.
(Light the fifth candle in the center)
This light casts its glow on all the surrounding prayers we have prayed.
This light resides within us, perhaps dim for a time,
but always lit–-an ember of the Holy inside us.
This light reminds us that we are not alone.
MEDITATION Sheryl Moodt
VIDEO REFLECTION O Come, O Come, Emmanuel Enya
LIGHTING CANDLES OF REMEBERANCE
You are invited to come light a candle in remembrance of past loss, either by death, loss of a relationship, loss of job, loss of health, of any other significant event (s), or to represent a hope for the coming year.
MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming
CALL TO PRAYER
L: God, this is the season for miracles, and we pray for one this night. L: Where there is sorrow,
P: We pray for Your grace to light the darkness.
L: Where there is despair,
P: We pray for Your hope to light the darkness.
L: Where there is hatred,
P: We pray for Your forgiveness to light the darkness.
L: Where there is war,
P: We pray for Your love to light the darkness.
L: Where there is confusion,
P: We pray for Your peace to light the darkness.
L: Where there is injustice,
P: We pray for Your courage to light the darkness.
L: Where there is fear,
P: We pray for Your joy to light the darkness.
L: It is the season for miracles, and we pray for one today.
Come, Lord Jesus, may Your light come into our world.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
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, forever. Amen.
CHORAL RESPONSE Amazing Grace (v. 1) UMH 378
*BENEDICTION
*CLOSING SONG Joy to the World UMH: 246
POSTLUDE
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