A Service of Prayer and Healing for LongNight, December 21, 2021

 Welcome Rev. Kent Gilbert

Organ Meditation       

Call to Worship

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.

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. Come, and dwell with us.

Musical Meditation Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming

Lighting Candles in the Dark

Reading “The Loss of Someone Dear to Us” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

There is nothing that can replace the absence of someone dear to us, and one should not even attempt to do so. One must simply hold out and endure it. At first that sounds very hard, but at the same time it is also a great comfort. For to the extent the emptiness truly remains unfilled one remains connected to the other person through it. It is wrong to say that God fills the emptiness. God in no way fills it but much more leaves it precisely unfilled and thus helps us preserve — even at the cost of pain — the authentic relationship. Furthermore, the more beautiful and full the remembrances, the more difficult the separation. But gratitude transforms the torment of memory into silent joy. One bears what was lovely in the past not as a thorn but as a precious gift deep within, a hidden treasure of which one can always be certain.

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.

Reading “Sonnets to Orpheus II, 29 by Rainer Maria Rilke

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.

Reading Psalm 80:1-7,17-19

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth  before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us!  Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved. O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure. You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves. Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved. But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself. Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name. Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.

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.

All: We remember that the days lengthen: dawn follows night, spring follows even the deepest winter.

Reading Revelation 21:1-5

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

One: We light this fourth candle for hope, the true gift of Christmas. Even if we, or someone we know, cannot feel hopeful now, by this candle we remember that God who shares our life weeps with those who weep, and is yearning and working for the time when all tears and sighing shall flee away.

All: We remember the One who shows us the way, who brings the truth of life beyond death and who bears the light.

Words of Reflection Rev. Kent Gilbert

The Light of the World

One:  In the beginning was the Word, before, beneath, over and transcending all our sorrows, all our loss. A deeper joy, a well-spring of strength to all of creation, and to us. Personally, prophetically, tenderly, the word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

All : What has come into being in him was life, and the life was  the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

The Invitation to Healing, Communion, and the Light of Hope

Musical Meditation In the Bleak Midwinter

Prayer for the Laying on of Hands

All: Spirit of the Living God, present with us now, enter you, body, mind and spirit and heal you of all that harms you, In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Blessing for the Longest Night

Postlude            Winter               Melody Bober

Carlie Geyer, violin; Caroline Geyer, cello; Bernardo Scarambone, piano

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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.

Readers for this service are members of a ministry of Union Church, the “Stephen Ministry” program. Stephen Ministers are highly trained lay Christian caregivers. Working in coordination with the pastor, they provide one-on-one weekly support in appropriate situations. If you or someone you know would benefit from this support, please contact the pastor at 859-979-5368 or through the website. 

Pastor: Rev. Kent Gilbert

Readers: Donna Abner, Jeff From, Amy Williams, Carla Gilbert Delores Carpenter

Musicians: Dr. Bernardo Scarambone, Union Church Director of Music Ministries; Carlie Geyer, Cello; Caroline Geyer, Violin