Tag Archives: Christmas

Considering A Longest Night Worship Service

By Blog, Congregational Development Archive, , , ,
Jessica Delp – unsplash.com

Monday, December 21 is the longest night of the year. In 2020 we have had many long nights and this year, perhaps more than ever, it is important to have a Longest Night Christmas worship service at your church.

Also called Blue Christmas, a Longest Night worship service is traditionally held to acknowledge that for many people Christmas is not a happy time of the year. Typically it is held for those who have lost loved ones over the course of the year, and for those who are lonely or separated from friends and family. 

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Looking Forward to Christmas

By Blog, Congregational Development Archive, ,
Zac Cain, unsplash.com

In December of 2013, a week before Christmas, a major ice storm hit the Canada from Ontario to the Maritimes. This storm resulted in 27 deaths, loss of power to over a million residents and millions of dollars in damage. The strongest memory I have of that week was the anxiety over Christmas Eve services. Many churches cancelled altogether. Some, like ours, got power back just in the nick of time. Others chose to go ahead with candlelight services in coats and hats. For many of them, Christmas Eve 2013 was one of the most memorable ever experienced.

This Christmas, 2020 we face another storm, different in its scope but unique because we see it coming. We already know that this coming Christmas will be unlike any other in memory. The only question is how?

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How Will We Tell the Christmas Story? A Hybrid Service of Lessons and Carols for a Children’s Pageant or Christmas Eve Service

By Blog, Christian Education Archive, , , , ,
photograph by Mick Haupt, unsplash.com

I’ve been getting lots of questions about how we will celebrate Christmas in our churches this year.

“Will our children be able to present their annual Christmas pageant, with their much-loved costumes and wonder-filled way of telling us the story?” 

and, 

“We will be able to gather on Christmas Eve, in candlelight, and lift our voices in praise as we light the Christ candle and welcome the Jesus into our world?”

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