[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":3,"doc-seo-201070-105":53,"doc-detail-201070-en":127},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,14,19,24,29,34,39,44,49],{"id":8,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":11,"show_sort_weight":12,"slug":13},11,1,"Template","Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":15,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":16,"show_sort_weight":17,"slug":18},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":20,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":21,"show_sort_weight":22,"slug":23},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":25,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":26,"show_sort_weight":27,"slug":28},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":30,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":31,"show_sort_weight":32,"slug":33},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":35,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":36,"show_sort_weight":37,"slug":38},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":40,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":41,"show_sort_weight":42,"slug":43},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":45,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":46,"show_sort_weight":47,"slug":48},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":50,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":51,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":52},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":54,"data":55},"ok",{"site_id":56,"language":57,"slug":58,"title":59,"keywords":60,"description":61,"schema_data":62,"social_meta":120,"head_meta":122,"extra_data":124,"updated_unix":126},105,"en","blue-christmas-longest-night-advent-service-worship-script","Blue Christmas - Longest Night Advent Service - Worship Script","","A worship service script for “Blue Christmas” (also called “Longest Night”) that invites congregants to “make space for grace” amid grief, loneliness, exhaustion, anxiety, and other difficult December realities. It includes opening hospitality guidance, accessibility and neurodiversity-aware welcome, a call to worship shaped by the experience of loss, responsive reading for the Christmas season, and a musical and congregational flow designed to provide a safe, supportive time of prayer and worship.",{"@graph":63,"@context":119},[64,80,102],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":41,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/letters/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/blue-christmas-longest-night-advent-service-worship-script/201070/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"image":82,"author":87,"headline":59,"publisher":90,"fileFormat":93,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":94,"datePublished":95,"encodingFormat":93,"isAccessibleForFree":96,"interactionStatistic":97},"DigitalDocument",{"url":83,"@type":84,"width":85,"height":86},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/blue-christmas-longest-night-advent-service-worship-script/201070.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":88,"@type":89},"Grenda","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document","2026-10-19","2026-09-04",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":101},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",6,{"@type":103,"mainEntity":104},"FAQPage",[105,111,115],{"name":106,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":108},"What is the purpose of the “Blue Christmas” or “Longest Night” Advent service?","Question",{"text":109,"@type":110},"The service is designed to create a safe, supportive space to acknowledge grief and difficult feelings in December without pressure to “pull yourself together.” It frames the gathering as holy time in the presence of God who accompanies those who suffer.","Answer",{"name":112,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":113},"How should hosts welcome visitors with practical and accessibility-focused information?",{"text":114,"@type":110},"Hosts should welcome attendees, announce locations of washrooms, and share details about accessibility equipment such as elevators and ramps, including sensory or hearing support options when available.",{"name":116,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":117},"How does the service support neurodivergent or anxious congregants?",{"text":118,"@type":110},"It encourages comfort by giving an overview of the service structure and, if using an intergenerational version, offering a brief welcome for children/youth while reassuring adults about intentional family welcome and developmentally appropriate participation.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":121,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":91,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":123,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":125,"site_id":56},201070,1790551047,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":128},{"doc_id":125,"user_id":129,"nickname":88,"user_avatar":130,"doc_module":9,"category_id":40,"category_name":41,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":131,"file_id":132,"file_url":133,"file_type":134,"file_size":135,"view_count":101,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":136,"language":137,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":138,"faqs":139,"seo_title":140,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":141,"read_time":76},7971474921005,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0","“Blue Christmas” or “Longest Night” Advent Service\nWritten by Rev. Dr. Lisa Waites for Advent Unwrapped 2024\nGod Gathers Us\nMusical Prelude\nQuiet instrumental Christmas music (live or prerecorded)\nWords of Welcome/Introductions\nPractical hospitality: welcome visitors, give a clear announcement about the location of washrooms, any accessibility equipment (e.g., elevator, ramps, location of accessible washroom, hearing loop, sensory break room) and any resources for children/families.\n“Make space for grace” in grief: begin the service by inviting people to feel their feelings and to take care of themselves however they need to as the service progresses. Have you prepared any pamphlets or digital resources about grief/loss that congregants can take home with them? Do you have a contact list for community groups, the local food bank, domestic violence shelters, mental health crisis support, and online resources that you can share with those present? The church cannot provide everything that people in pain may need, but we can be part of a supportive network of care.\nHelp neurodivergent or anxious congregants to feel more comfortable by giving an overview of the service structure. If you have chosen the intergenerational version of the service, you might also share a few words of welcome for the children/youth present, and put their adults at ease (and simultaneously remind congregants) by describing how your church offers an intentional welcome to families and expects young children to act in developmentally appropriate ways. Various noises, movement, questions, and enthusiastic participation in the service is not only tolerated; it is encouraged!\nStatement of Purpose/Call to Worship\n(Reader 1 or Worship Leader)\nAll around us we see festive Christmas lights and beautiful displays of trees and ornaments, special foods and gifts; everywhere we turn, we enounter people and places carrying an unrelenting message that shouts at top volume, “TIS THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY!” Yet we recognize that the month of December is also difficult for many people, for many different reasons. Christmas may not be as joyful for us as it seems to be for others.\n(Reader 2)\nAs the nights grow longer, sadness and emptiness, loneliness and pain intensify in the hearts of many people. In this season of longest nights, some of us struggle to put into words what it is that causes us to feel blue. But whether we can describe how we are feeling, or not, the reality is that for some of us gathered here, a loved one has died, and we are grieving.\n(Reader 1)\nFor others, a dear friend or family member has moved away. Maybe you’ve lost a job, or your dream was crushed, or your health has declined, or your pain is unrelenting, or maybe you are simply exhausted by the effort it takes to navigate around the ableist attitudes that are deeply entrenched in so many of our communities and churches. Perhaps this Advent season has left you feeling as desolate as the December landscape, and your heart wonders if you’ll ever sense God’s hope and peace again; maybe, after the year you’ve just endured, joy and love seem like alien concepts, like ideas you don’t even recognize.\n(Reader 2)\nMaybe you are feeling worried, trapped, insecure, or lonely. Perhaps you are grieving what might have been, but will not be, or mourning what used to be, but is no longer possible. Maybe you simply need a place of quiet and calm, a safe place to reflect and to be centered. A safe place to grieve, without any pressure to “pull yourself together” or any expectation to “put on a brave front.” This church, this intentional gathering to “make space for grace” is a place for each of us to find real rest, the kind of rest that the Holy Spirit offers us, rest for our bodies, our minds, and our souls, rest in an otherwise hectic and often overwhelming season.\n(Reader 1)\nThis next hour we’ll spend together—this night of worship, in the midst of our sorrow and suffering—this is holy, blessed time. This sanctua","cbCaia845ipx9ugx","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaia845ipx9ugx","docx",50353,8,"English","# God Gathers Us\n## Musical Prelude\n## Words of Welcome/Introductions\n## Statement of Purpose/Call to Worship\n## Opening Hymn\n## Opening Reading (Responsive)","[{\"question\":\"What is the purpose of the “Blue Christmas” or “Longest Night” Advent service?\",\"answer\":\"The service is designed to create a safe, supportive space to acknowledge grief and difficult feelings in December without pressure to “pull yourself together.” It frames the gathering as holy time in the presence of God who accompanies those who suffer.\"},{\"question\":\"How should hosts welcome visitors with practical and accessibility-focused information?\",\"answer\":\"Hosts should welcome attendees, announce locations of washrooms, and share details about accessibility equipment such as elevators and ramps, including sensory or hearing support options when available.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the service support neurodivergent or anxious congregants?\",\"answer\":\"It encourages comfort by giving an overview of the service structure and, if using an intergenerational version, offering a brief welcome for children/youth while reassuring adults about intentional family welcome and developmentally appropriate participation.\"}]","Blue Christmas - Longest Night Advent Service - Worship Script | DOCX",1788518256]