On Saturday, Dec. 1 at 4 pm, St. John the Divine Anglican Church will be hosting a Blue Christmas Prayer Service. This year’s service will include the Comox Valley Threshold Choir, a group of women with compassionate hearts and voices who bring the comfort of song to those at the threshold of their lives.
The idea of this service is to acknowledge that Christmas season can be a difficult and painful time for some people. It may be the first Christmas without a family member who has recently died. It may be a time that has always been difficult emotionally. Whether it is the death of a family member, relative, or friend, the end of a marriage or relationship, the loss of work, illness, depression, or the moving away from places that have been secure and welcoming - all these can make us feel very alone in the midst of the celebrating and spending.
A Blue Christmas Prayer Service is for those for whom the Christmas season seems more filled with sadness, stress, and loss than celebration. It is a service that focuses on God’s gifts of comfort and hope to all who struggle at this time of year. Through prayers, scripture and music, this service affirms how the good news of Christmas is for those who struggle and mourn - and that God’s word comes to shine light into our darkness. Please stay for refreshments which will follow after the service.
St. John the Divine church is located at the corner of 5th Street and Harmston Avenue in Courtenay. Entrance to the church is on Harmston. For more information,call 250-334-4331 or 250-897-8569.