Sharing the season of hope

Christmas might be a time when many people emphasize “holiday cheer,” but for some, it is not that easy to summon the Christmas spirit. 

For individuals who have suffered a significant loss or life change, Christmastime can just be a reminder of those struggles, said Pastor Mark Puckett of Morningstar United Methodist Church.

“I just know that a lot of people, especially if they’re experiencing a first Christmas without a loved one, … it doesn’t hold as much joy as it should,” said Puckett, adding that familial troubles, a divorce, job loss and many other changes can make it difficult to get through the holidays.

That’s why, to help community members going through a period of grief, Morningstar UMC held its first Blue Christmas service in 2015. The service was established to help individuals regain joy in the Christmas season, Puckett said, and he first got the idea while standing in line for a Black Friday sale in 2014.

There were more than 100 people in line for the sale, he said, and everyone he passed looked devoid of any sort of holiday cheer.

“I just noticed how miserable people seemed to be. You had Christmas music playing in the background, decorations everywhere and this was Thanksgiving Day, a day in which we were supposed to be grateful,” Puckett said. “There just wasn’t a lot of joy.”

He also overheard someone in line comment on how this Christmas would be different because a loved one had died.

 “There, in the oil section of Walmart, the gears began to turn, so to speak, and that’s what really lubed up the idea for me,” Puckett said.  

He knew it would not be possible to establish a new Christmas service in less than one month’s time, but he reflected on the idea over the next several months. In 2015, their congregation suffered a lot of loss, Puckett said, and they decided to hold the first Blue Christmas that year. 

Puckett said he reflects on the biblical passage John 11, the story of Lazarus’s death, when thinking of loss. When Jesus sees grief over Lazarus’s death, “he groans in the spirit,” which Puckett said shows that even Jesus did not have the right words to say.

“I just find that a lot of people are at that point in life, that they really don’t know what to say, and they really don’t know what to do, but [here] they have a safe place to try to figure it out,” he said.

While the past two years have involved a regular service, this year, Morningstar UMC will hold what Puckett described as a “prayer journey.” The idea came from feedback from individuals who did not like being emotional in public, and wanted a way to grieve more on their own.

“Sometimes people, they don’t want to hear a long message,” he said. “They just want to think and have time with God.”

Instead of a typical worship service, the church will be open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Dec. 21, which is also the day with the longest night of the year. At the church, they will have a journey through Psalms and the gospel, information on the reality of grief and printed prayers, as well as Holy Communion and candles available to light in remembrance.

“You come as you want to, and you take as much time as you need,” Puckett said. 

 No one will be rushed through the process, Puckett said, and the church will be open to everyone, not just members and not just Methodists. Ultimately, for those who are skeptical about church or religion or just holiday cheer, they hope the Blue Christmas event will help some of the people who need it most this Christmas season.

“We want to let people know that even though they’re in a dark time, or they feel like they’re in a dark time, this is still a season of hope, and it’s not about a concept of doom and gloom,” Puckett said.

Blue Christmas will be Dec. 21 from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Morningstar UMC, which is located off of Shelby 11 in Chelsea. 

For more information, contact Puckett at 678-2572 or mark.puckett@umcna.org.