Longest Night Service – December 21

7:00PM

The winter solstice is the longest night of the year. It is the night of the year when we literally experience the most darkness before the sun starts to once again gain strength as it slowly moves through winter toward spring. Symbolically, this longest night comes to stand for our own dark times, the “Dark Night of the Soul” when we experience loneliness or despair, when we are anxious about our health or jobs or relationships. For those who are grieving or suffering, the light-hearted commercialism that often comes with the holidays can make us feel like we’ve been left out or are invisible and alone in our grief and lament.

How healing it can be for your heavy heart to acknowledge the darkness that surrounds you and then choose to light a candle. Choose light. Light a candle for every loss you’ve experienced over the past year. Light a candle for the loved ones you still mourn. Light a candle to know, fully know, that where there is light the darkness retreats.

Choosing the light even while we still feel the loss is a powerful action toward recovery. This Longest Night Service is a peaceful space in which to worship and heal.

This year we are having a FB Live service instead of having people come into the church. We encourage you to light candles at home and post the pictures of the flames in the live chat. You can also simply type a message about what you are lighting a candle for—a remembrance of a loved one or a prayer, personal or for others. If you want your prayer spoken aloud on FB Live by a member of the Beautiful Minds Coalition and a candle lit in the sanctuary, please send your short remembrance or prayer to BMC@covenantcares.org between now and December 21st at noon so we have time to print them out and ensure we have enough candles for each and every prayer sent in.

If you or someone you know needs a service like this, please make plans to attend via Facebook Live http://www.facebook.com/Covenant.satx/live at 7PM on December 21st.