They call it a "Time to Mourn at Christmas" and it's pretty blue if you ask me. But blue is what some of us need just to get through this season which is supposed to be homey, lovely, giving, caring and cheerful if you want to reduce the possibility of purple prose escaping from your mouth at the wrong time. Not everyone likes to be that way. It's tough when you have lost something and can't get it back. But if you still want to mark the season with something, what do you do?Do you lower your expectations of what the season holds for you? Can you find ways to lower the expectation that others have of you?
Sometimes it is simply a lack of funds to buy any of the stuff advertised in the many flyers that arrive at your door that causes embarrassment. Maybe you remember a lost loved one, lost employment, marriage or something very important to you.
A couple of hours may be helpful in pulling back from the noise of the season long enough to gain a sense of healing and affirmation that your hopes and dreams for your future are important and worthwhile. Take a break here.
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On the longest night of the year, Friday, December 21st, at 7:00 pm, gather in the sanctuary for a time of quiet reflection and holy embrace. In contrast to the pace of the sights and sounds of the frenetic rush toward Christmas, this gathering is an opportunity to get out of the way of the madness, for a time. For some of us, it is important to have the chance to take a deep breath, to acknowledge that this season is difficult at times. Losses in our lives make the societal demands feel like an obscenity in the face of our grief, our poverty, our relational strains or brokenness, our emotional or mental struggles. It is important to be able to be honest about the challenges we face when the rest of the world is celebrating. This is the time and space to do that. God knows we need it. Following the gathering in the sanctuary, all are invited to stay to share in a time of refreshment and conversation.
http://www.baptist.toronto.on.ca/whbc/
Woodbine Heights Baptist Church
1171 Woodbine Avenue (at Sammon)
Toronto ON M4C 4E1
416-467-1462
10 minute walk north of
Woodbine Subway Station
Limited street parking available
416-467-1462
