“I’ll have a blue Christmas without you”, crooned Elvis. Most of us know people who struggle to celebrate at Christmas, who feel blue rather than full of good cheer. Maybe that’s how we feel ourselves. Often it is because we are missing someone we love. Broken relationships, financial difficulties, ill health can all make it hard to put on the smiling face that is expected of us. Christmas is especially hard for those who mourn.

This year, on the evening of 23rd December at 6pm at St Michael’s, we are going to hold a Blue Christmas Service. This will be an opportunity to put aside the pressure to be upbeat and acknowledge some of our deeper concerns. We will hear again the Christmas story: that Jesus wasn’t born to a life of ease, security or comfort, but came to share our sorrows. We will sing some of the quieter carols.  And we will hang prayers for the people and situations that concern us on a special ‘Blue Christmas Tree”. We will leave them in Church throughout the festivities as a symbol of our ongoing prayer.

If you are not able to be with us on the 23rd, but you have prayers that you would like included, please let Johanna know and she will add tags for them.