This episode, Fr. Chris and Fr. Ben talk about grief around the holidays, and our upcoming Blue Christmas Service. We discuss how we might handle grief in our personal lives during this season, and how the church responds through worship. If you’re listening before November 30, 2022, join us at 6:30p to be a part of our Blue Christmas Service. If you’re listening afterwards, we hope this will be edifying as you consider your own spiritual practices during the Advent season and beyond as we consider this season how we do worship in the Episcopal church.

Show Notes:

Fr. Ben prayed the Collect for the Departed on page 253 of the Book of Common Prayer.

A blue Christmas service is a service where we acknowledge our grief around the holidays—whether that grief comes from a death, loss, or other major life change. It’s a service where we “own” where we are and openly acknowledge the ways in which we struggle at a worship service.

How do we handle this grief around the holidays?

When people are ill or hurting, the church offers healing. We will experience a public service of healing as part of our Blue Christmas service on November 30th. This is an optional portion.

This service is also called the Longest Night of the Year service in some denominations; we’ve moved ours earlier than the actual longest night of the year, but that link to darkness and winter remains part of the history of this service.

Read more about our Advent program at https://www.stjohnslynchburg.org/news-and-updates/advent-at-st-johns-2022

Find out more about the Blue Christmas service (Nov 30 at 6:30p) at https://www.stjohnslynchburg.org/news-and-updates/s3-e1-blue-christmas