By Abbey Rodriguez | FāVS News Reporter
First Free Methodist Church of Spokane held their first Blue Christmas service last year, which was well received by members of the church community. Attendees expressed that they were “extremely grateful” for the space, explained Laurie McElroy, who serves as the ministry lead for care and connection at First Free Methodist.
Their Blue Christmas service this year will take place on Dec. 21, at 6 p.m.
After last year’s success, McElroy emphasized that their “hope is to get the word out there to let people know that there is a place for them” no matter what they are going through this holiday season.
The need for Blue Christmas services
A new survey by mental health care group A Mission for Michael found that 472,343 Washingtonians will be spending Christmas alone this year. However, churches across Eastern Washington are hosting services curated toward people experiencing loneliness or grief during the Christmas season.
“Blue Christmas” or “Longest Night” services are typically held on Dec. 21, the longest day of the year, and are meant to create a place for those experiencing difficult emotions surrounding the Christmas season.
“Darkness is a part of the Christmas story and a part of our everyday lives,” McElroy reflected. “People’s struggles are real and oftentimes, especially in the evangelical church, it’s not necessarily a recognized feeling or experience.”
“We just truly wanted to offer a space where people could come and there’s not the expectation of joyfulness or merriment, but a place where you can just be and rest and know that you’re not alone in it,” McElroy said.
Honoring people’s grief
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church on the South Hill will host a Longest Night service on Dec. 20 at 5 p.m. as part of their Advent services. The Rev. Jonathan Myers, rector at St. Stephen’s, said that the goal of the service is to honor people’s grief and sadness during the holiday season and that they have been doing this service for many years.
A lot of people experience grief during the holiday season, Myers explained. “It could be a first holiday without a loved one. It could be, you know, just the really long, dark days and seasonal depression.”
The Longest Night service itself focuses on “Psalm 22 and the famous phrase from that psalm is ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ and then we also do a reading from the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter five.” Myers said.
The service will also include a litany, candle lighting, Communion and a healing station for those who would like prayer.
Providing a place of rest
Gracepoint Church of Ephrata is another Eastern Washington congregation that holds a Blue Christmas service on Dec. 21 at 2 p.m. Run by their Stephen Ministries program, the service is a place to “acknowledge the struggles we all face, while providing a safe place of rest, comfort and healing as you go through this dark time in your life” according to their website.
Stephen leader, Judi Jensen, described it as a “warm and cozy, simple service” where people can gather to rest.
Jensen explained that a Stephen leader’s role is to “reflect Jesus’ love by caring for others and providing support to them and encouragement,” and the Blue Christmas service is one of the ways they can care for their congregants.
“We try to reach even Quincy and Soap Lake, hoping that people will feel comfortable coming in and sometimes they feel more comfortable coming into [services] where they don’t know people,” Jensen said.
Gracepoint’s goal is “about sharing each other’s burdens and how Jesus has hope for us no matter what,” Jensen said.
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.
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