A Service of Healing and Renewal
BCUC Blue Christmas Service
December 16, 2020
Ministers: Rev. Lorrie Lowes & Rev. Kim Vidal
Music Director: Abe TeGrotenhuis
You can also dial-in by phone to listen to the audio recording at 613-820-8104
Gathering Music: Before the Marvel of This Night - Voices United #40
Before the marvel of this night,
adoring, fold your wings and bow;
then tear the sky apart with light
and with your news the world endow.
Proclaim the birth of Christ and peace,
that fear and death and sorrow cease:
sing peace; sing peace; sing gift of peace;
sing peace; sing gift of peace!
Awake the sleeping world with song:
this is the day the Lord has made.
Assemble here, celestial throng,
in royal splendor come arrayed.
Give earth a glimpse of heavenly bliss,
a teasing taste of what they miss:
sing bliss; sing bliss; sing endless bliss;
sing bliss; sing endless bliss!
The love that we have always known,
our constant joy and endless light,
now to the loveless world be shown,
now break upon its deathly night.
Into one song compress the love
that rules our universe above:
sing love; sing love; sing God is love;
sing love; sing God is love!
(Words: Jaroslav J. Vajda, 1979; Music: Carl Schalk, 1981)
Words of Welcome Rev. Kim Vidal
Welcome to our annual service of hope, healing and renewal also known as Blue Christmas service. For some of us, memories of past experiences and the pain of present experiences and situations can become overwhelming. For some of us, this season of joy and wonder can be very difficult and sometimes it reminds us of the challenges in our lives, particularly, as we go through the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite all the decorations, the greeting cards received, the Christmas carols sang, the anticipated presents and dinner with families and loved ones and the advertisers who want you to believe that you can buy joy, I’m sure that some of us don’t really feel very much like celebrating. The idea that a Merry Little Christmas is all you need for your troubles to be miles away has a hollow ring to it.
I hope that you’ll find this a safe place to be transparent with yourself and with God, a safe place to admit that maybe you’re not ok at the moment, that maybe what you’re really feeling is sad, discouraged, or even angry. A place for you to be real with your struggles and your questions.
Those of us feeling a little blue at this time of the year can feel edged out and forgotten as everyone else seems caught up in the mad frenzy of their own preparations and celebrations. I hope that as you think about the Christmas message, you’ll find comfort and hope in knowing that you are not alone. We are here to give you comfort and healing love.
In this service, I invite you to listen. I invite you to pray. I invite you to sing. I invite you to meditate upon the pain and anguish you may have—and I invite you to offer your heart and tears. And as you do so, I trust that you will find hope, healing and comfort as we seek God’s light. I now invite you to open your heart and mind as we come together in God’s presence.
Call to Worship: Rev. Lorrie Lowes
Come to this place; you, who are weary;
it is waiting for you and all that you bring.
We are here seeking respite from the expectations
and demands of this season.
Come to this place, you, who long for a safe haven;
enter into the mystery of a Holy Presence.
We are here with some hesitation,
yet also with a longing to know holiness in the depth of our being.
Come to this place, you who are resilient;
by grace, the Creator of All is with you.
We are here, waiting for divine involvement in our lives. Amen.
The Invocation: (Don Uhryniw, Gathering ACE 2012-2013) Rev. Lorrie Lowes
Holy One, we have come in this season when everyone is excited about Emmanuel, God-with-us, yet we sometimes feel so alone. Holy One, we feel like islands of sad emotion in a sea of joy and celebration. Holy One, light seems to surround us yet its glare hurts us and seems alien to our feelings. Holy One, in the busyness of this season, we pause to find Hope, healing and renewal, remember and be touched by you again. Amen.
Hymn: Come and Find the Quiet Centre – Voices United #374
Come and find the quiet centre
in the crowded life we lead,
find the room for hope to enter,
find the frame where we are freed:
clear the chaos and the clutter,
clear our eyes, that we can see
all the things that really matter,
be at peace, and simply be.
Silence is a friend who claims us,
cools the heat and slows the pace,
God it is who speaks and names us,
knows our being, face to face.
making space within our thinking,
lifting shades to show the sun,
raising courage when we're shrinking,
finding scope for faith begun.
In the Spirit let us travel,
open to each other's pain,
let our loves and fears unravel,
celebrate the space we gain:
there's a place for deepest dreaming,
there's a time for heart to care,
in the Spirit's lively scheming
there is always room to spare!
(Words: Shirley Erena Murray, 1989; Music, attrib. Benjamin Franklin White, 1844)
A Lament: (Heather Grobb, Gathering ACE 2020-2021, p. 73) Rev. Kim Vidal
The human journey is thwarted with struggles and challenges. Our prayer today comes in acknowledgement of this journey and in our primal need for God’s presence in our lives.
I now invite you to reflect with me in this Lament for a Blue Christmas by Heather Grobb.
Oh God, my God,
Why do I feel so far away from you?
Why does it seem like you are nowhere to be found in my life right now?
I feel so separated from your love in this time of distress?
Moment of Silence
My nights are long with sorrow.
My days are dull with pain.
No one seems to understand me.
I move wearily through life alone.
My heart is heavy with grief.
The light has gone from my eyes,
eyes made red from crying.
O God, my God, hear me in my times of sorrow.
O God, my God, be with me in my time of need.
Moment of Silence
And yet, you are the all-loving One.
The Alpha and the Omega.
The Everlasting Day after the seemingly ceaseless night.
Beyond all time and space, you are God.
The meager things of this world will soon fade away
into the presence of your love for us. Praise be to you name, O God, my God.
Words of Assurance: “God does things differently” Rev. Lorrie Lowes
(Psalm 147: 12-20, Everyday Psalms by James Taylor, p. 179)
God does things differently,
By the wisdom of this world, an unborn child has no value.
It has no name; it is not yet a person.
Yet while it is in the womb, it somersaults with joy.
Its mother’s eyes shine with hope;
her breasts swell in preparation for the milk of life.
To the mother, the unborn child within
matters more than any international agreement;
she wraps it in her own body.
God carries us in her womb.
With her own lifeblood, God feeds us.
Like mother preparing a nursery for her newborn.
God readies the earth to receive us.
Winter gives way to spring;
frozen hearts thaw;
tightly buttoned spirits open to warmth.
That is God’s way:
out of darkness comes light;
out of ice, water;
out of pain and struggle, new life.
That is how God gives birth.
Others may not recognize this mystery.
But to us God has revealed the miracle.
Our cry of weakness is a cry of triumph;
our thirst invites us to lie close to the heart of God
and drink our fill.
God does things differently. Thank God.
Hymn: Silent Night – Voices United #67
1.Silent night, holy night!
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
2.Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing 'Alleluia!
Christ the Savior is born
Christ the Savior is born
3.Silent night, holy night!
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth
Prayer of Healing and Hope Rev. Kim Vidal
God of love, we seek your light to shine into our lives. In a world that often seems dark and foreboding, we need you to show us the way, the path that you would place before our feet.
We think of many dark places in this world. There is the darkness of injustice that hovers over so many people. When children are hungry, when innocent people suffer, when the lonely have no one with whom to talk, when many are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, darkness settles like a heavy canopy shrouding all that would give us life.
We think about the dark places in our lives. There are those with whom we are unreconciled. There are past wrongs and hurts left unforgiven to fester and allow our separation to continue. And yet we are also aware of the joy of lights that shine in the darkness. 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 reaching out to each other, we find assurance and comfort that we do not suffer alone.
You have given us strength to live through our dark moments. Turn us to reach out to those who need hope, healing, and renewal. 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.
May the light of this season continue to shine in our hearts, and transform your people and your world until your whole creation shines with light of Jesus. And now we raise our hearts together as we pray the ancient prayer that Jesus taught his friends.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kin-dom 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 kin-dom, the power and the glory,
Forever and ever,
Amen.
Benediction: Rev. Lorrie Lorrie
Rejoice, for God is with us -- Emmanuel.
In the darkness of our world shines God's holy light.
Now there is a reason to hope, to love, to laugh, to live.
May Emmanuel, God-with-us, heal you, body and soul.
May your pain cease.
May your strength increase.
May your fears and worries be released.
And may hope, peace, joy, and love surround you – now and always. Amen.
Departing Music: Dreaming Mary - More Voices #134
1. There was a child in Galilee
who wandered wild along the sea.
A holy child, alone was she,
and they called her Dreaming Mary.
And she dreamed, rejoicing in her saviour;
she dreamed of justice for the poor.
She dreamed that kings oppressed no more
when she dreamed, that Dreaming Mary.
2. One holy day an angel came
with voice of wind and eyes of flame.
He promised blessed would be her name
when he spoke to Dreaming Mary.
Then she spoke, rejoicing in her saviour.
She spoke of justice for the poor.
She spoke that kings oppressed no more
when she spoke, that Dreaming Mary.
3. And did she dream about a son?
And did he speak, the angel one?
We only know God’s will was done
in the son of Dreaming Mary.
Then she prayed, rejoicing in her saviour.
She taught him justice for the poor.
She taught that kings oppressed no more
when she taught, that Dreaming Mary.
4. Then Jesus grew in Galilee,
they wandered wild along the sea.
Now he calls to you and me
to dream with Dreaming Mary.
And we dream, rejoicing in our saviour.
We dream of justice for the poor.
We dream that kings oppress no more
as we dream with Dreaming Mary
Words & Music: Janet Gadeski, 2005