Blue Christmas
A Service of Wholeness and Healing
By Jane Givens
PHN leadership team member
Every year at First Presbyterian Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the parish nurses provide a “Blue Christmas” — a service of wholeness and healing in early December. This year we explained it in our newsletter this way:
“Comfort, comfort my people, says God”
There are many moments in our lives when we need comfort. There are tough times when we yearn for consolation. The suffering people who looked for the long-awaited Messiah were given a hope-filled image of God in the writings of Isaiah. It expresses the belief that no matter what happens to us, God will be there to comfort and support us. Christmas can be a time for many when we are in need of that reassurance and comfort.
Perhaps we are grieving over the loss of a loved one, struggling with illness, or have experienced the loss of a job. We wonder how we will get through the holidays.
The Service of Wholeness and Healing with the theme of “Blue Christmas” was held Sunday, December 3, at 12:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary.
Those looking for comfort, hope, wholeness, and renewal joined the pastors and parish nurses for a time of quiet reflection and meaningful words and music. All shared in the good news of “God with us: Immanuel!”
The parish nurses design the worship and use readings from books of meditations, poetry and sacred readings. Our pastors participate in the service as well and have expressed gratitude that this is one service they do not have to plan!
We try to have a Service of Wholeness and Healing at least quarterly. We have tried many different times of day including a weekday lunch hour, but find that after church on Sunday is the best time to have the services for our congregation.
The parish nurses share the responsibility for writing and presenting the meditation/homily. These services usually are about 30 minutes in length. We have found that people who are grieving often find it difficult to concentrate for longer than that time period. We offer a support group that meets afterwards as well for those people who need some time to talk about their loss.
Download the Blue Christmas Order of Worship.  |
