This litany is for a Longest Night or Blue Christmas service.
It includes lighting the Christ Candle and the four Advent candles, one by one.
The Christ Candle, the central candle, is lit at the opening of the service.
Supplies:
– votive candles (battery or lit with a match)
– manger (empty or with baby Jesus in it)
– strips of cloth (about 1-2 cm x 8-12 cm)
– dark pens/kokies/marker/felt-tips
– offering plate or basket
– small pieces of paper (approximately 4 cm x 4 cm, or whatever size you have available)
Scripture selections might include:
• Matthew 11:28-30
• Luke 6:17-23
Liturgy of Light & Remembering
First Candle: This first candle we light to remember those whom we have loved and lost. We pause to remember their name, their face, their voice, the memory that binds them to us in this season.
Pause and light first candle.
We invite anyone who wishes to remember a person you have lost, to come forward and light a votive candle and, if you are comfortable doing so, say the name of your loved one aloud, that we all may share in this moment of light and remembrance.
Prayer after candles are lit: Join me in prayer. God, surround those we have loved and lost with your eternal love. May the light of our memories shine in our darkness. Amen.
Second Candle: This second candle we light to redeem the pain of loss: the loss of relationships, the loss of jobs, the loss of friends who have moved away, the loss of health. We pause to gather up the pain of the past and offer it to God, asking that from God’s hands we might receive the gift of peace.
Pause and light second candle.
We invite anyone who wishes to come forward and take a strip of cloth, write on it a loss, burden, or disappointment in your life, and place it in the manger, giving your pain over to Jesus.
Prayer after: Join me in pray. Loving God, refresh, restore and renew us. Lead us into your future. Amen.
Third Candle: This third candle we light to remember ourselves this Christmastime. We pause and remember these past weeks and months; the disbelief, the anger, the uncertainty, the down times, the poignancy of reminiscing, the hugs and handshakes of family, kind gestures of friends and even strangers, all those who have stood with us. We pause to remember and give thanks for all the support we have received.
Pause and light third candle.
We invite anyone who wishes to come forward and take a piece of paper, write on it the name a person who has supported and comforted you during your dark time, and place the paper in the offering plate as an act of giving thanks to God for the blessing of kindness.
Prayer after: Join me in pray. God, renew our faith in your promise that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness will never overcome it.
Fourth candle: This fourth candle we light to remember our faith and the gift of hope which the Christmas story offers to us. We remember that God, Emmanuel, is with us, through the loss of those we love, and the uncertain, frightening and disappointing events of our lives.
God is the light that shines and cannot be overcome.
Pause and light fourth candle.
As we celebrate Christmas this year may we, like Mary, have hope,
believing that God can bring light into our darkness,
believing that the sorrow and hurts of our lives will pass.
They will not disappear, but they will be healed.
Join me in prayer.
God, you are the light of the world; be light in our darkness.
We pray for ourselves and our loved ones.
Grant to all, especially the bereaved and troubled this Christmas, your blessing.
May the peace proclaimed by the Christmas angels come throughout the whole world.
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
The words have been adapted and used at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Loveland, Colorado, by Thandiwe Dale-Ferguson.
Photo: Advent candles at Salisbury United Reformed Church, taken by Ana Gobledale
