By LINN ANN HUNTINGTON
Special to the Hays Post
Three Hays churches are collaborating to present the annual “Blue Christmas Service” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 10, at First Presbyterian Church, 2900 Hall St.
In addition to First Presbyterian, the other two churches are St. Michael’s Episcopal Church and Trinity Lutheran Church.
The Rev. Brenda Roger, pastor at Trinity, said, “While society pushes this to be 'the most wonderful time of the year,’ that isn't true for everyone. For many, it doesn't matter how festive and bright the surroundings are or how joy-filled and triumphantly we sing the familiar hymns; people can be weighed down by their own circumstances with loss, grief, and despair.
“The Blue Christmas Service offers a safe space to mourn the losses past and present and acknowledge those feelings that keep us from feeling jolly and bright during this season.”
The service will last an hour and will include music, scripture readings, and prayers. A combined choir from the three churches will be featured, under the direction of Ash McKinley, director of sacred music at St. Michael’s.
The Rev. Ben Houchen, pastor at First Presbyterian and St. Michael’s, said there will be an opportunity for attendees to light memorial candles from one central candle.
Houchen said, “The Advent season is one of anticipation. For some, that anticipation is joyous and bright. Others wait in more somber spaces. Pain, loss, and the weight of this life hang heavy on them. Oftentimes that weight can feel like a wedge between us and this time of Christmas cheer.
“The Blue Christmas service is an invitation into this season on more tender terms. It is a service where we encourage people to enter and exit quietly,” he added.
Roger stressed that the community is invited to attend. “This is a service for everyone, as we have all suffered a loss of some kind.”