BRIDGEWATER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

The Congregation of Bridgewater Presbyterian Church
110 East College Street, Bridgewater, Virginia, invites you to
“A Longest Night Service” (A ‘Blue Christmas’ Service)
Friday, December 21, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.

     Friday, December 21st, is the “winter solstice,” the shortest day of the year. Nine hours of light, fifteen hours of darkness.
     Humanity has always had a tenuous relationship with the dark. “Being in the dark” has many layers of meaning, and in this time of winter and holiday, our dealings with “darkness” can prove difficult.
     Christmas is often symbolized with candles and light. We celebrate the Light of the World. Yet, for many, this is not necessarily a season of joy.
     This “longest night service” is an opportunity for us to gather with others to contemplate what this season means to us, and how might we journey through it as well.
     Come, then, and invite someone you know. This is a service to acknowledge life as it to us. For many, a season of joy; but for some, a season of sadness, loneliness, guilt, displacement, and loss. These may be some of the shades of darkness that too often are too difficult to express, especially when surrounded with both the religious and secular Christmas.
     This “Blue Christmas/Longest Night Service” includes Scripture, prayer, quiet and music so as to set aside a time and space for reflection into our own lives, and to hopefully hear and feel God in this season. It is open to seekers as well as believers, in the hope that each will be able to find and name that which is happening in their lives.
     There are two services being offered in our community; this one on Friday, December 21st and one at the Bridgewater United Methodist on Wednesday, December 19th at 7:30 p.m. Johnson Funeral Service has helped share these dates in our community as well.

Bridgewater Presbyterian Church
Rev. M. Kerry Foster, Pastor