A Service of Light and Prayers for Healing On the Long Night
December 21, 2025
Rev. Kent Gilbert, Pastor Bernardo Scarambone, Organist
Prelude
Welcome
¨ Call to Worship
One: O God, so many voices sound within and around, weighing us down with burdens too great to bear, surprising us with memories, tears, anger, ache. We are reminded daily of the ways we have fallen short of the ways we are more alone, of the empty spaces where our beloveds once were.
All: Quiet the voices, God. Still our minds. Let us be mindful of you and the way in which your presence exists even in our empty spaces. Comfort and abide with us this night.
¨ Hymn Star-Child Star-Child
Readings
Matthew 11:28-30
“Leaves in Solstice” by David Kennedy
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
Each line of the psalm stanza is sung to one measure of the music: e.g., line one is sung to the notes in the first measure; line 2 the second measure, etc. You are invited to join in singing and encouraged to add harmony. You are also free to simply let the music and the Word hold you.
1 O shepherd of Israel, héar us,
you who lead Joseph like a flóck:
enthroned on the cherubim, shine fórth
2 upon Ephraim, Benjamin, Manásseh.
Rouse up your might and come to sáve us.
3 O God, bring us báck;
let your face shine on us, and we shall be sáved.
4 How long, O Lord, God of hósts,
will you be angry at the prayer of your péople?
How long, O Lord, God of hósts?
5 You have fed them with tears for their bréad,
an abundance of tears for their drínk.
6 You have made us the taunt of our néighbors;
our foes mock us among themsélves.
7 O God of hosts, bring us báck;
17 May your hand be on the one at your right hánd,
the son of man you have confirmed as your ówn.
18 And we shall never forsake you agáin;
give us life that we may call upon your náme.
And we shall never forsake you agáin.
19 O Lord God of hosts, bring us báck;
let your face shine forth, and we shall be sáved.
“Letter to His Parents” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
In Recognition of the Dark and the Light Rev. Kent Gilbert
Special Music Solstice Song Emily Miller Holly Creek Harmony
Light for Those Who Wait… Lighting Candles in the Dark
One: We light this first candle to remember those whom we have loved and who are no longer here. We pause to remember their names, their faces, their voices, the memories that bind them to us in this season.
All: May God’s eternal love surround them.
One: We light this second candle to redeem the pain of loss: the loss of relationship with someone we love, the loss of work, 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 and strength beyond our own to endure.
All: Cradle us, O Lord, with arms of surest love.
One: We light this third candle to be present to the full range of our reality, anguish and grace, sorrow and surprising aid. We pause and remember past weeks and months: disbelief, anger, numbness, the joy and sorrow of memories, the hugs and handshakes of family and friends who care for us, and all who hold the light for us when we cannot find the means. We give thanks for all the support we have known.
Hymn O Come Take Heart Veni emmanuel
Blessing for the Longest Night
Postlude
This service is lovingly offered in order to acknowledge the stresses, pains, and sadness many of us experience at Christmastime, and to remember that Christ’s coming was especially for the broken in body, heart and spirit. All the members and friends of this congregation hold you in the light of Christ on these longest nights of winter. Please stay for refreshments following the service.
Readers are Jen Eich, Ally Nurre, Maya Todd and Mary Lou Wiese
Holly Creek Harmony is a group of friends who love to sing, especially acapella, and hope their singing blesses others. The group currently includes Debbonnaire Kovacs, Deborah Thompson, Susie Ritchie, Whitney McNight, Barbara Wade, Gosha Sears, Robert Sears, Robert Rorrer, David Duffee, and Stanley Kramer. Which members you see singing will vary!
All are invited to share a time of fellowship and refreshments immediately after service, with thanks to Rhonda Cardwell & the Nurture & Care team.
Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world.
All things break. And all things can be mended.
Not with time, as they say, but with intention.
So go. Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally.
The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you.
~ L.R. Knost
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