Gift-giving, family traditions, visiting friends, nativity scenes, days off work, good food – there is much we look forward to at Christmas time. Yet this time of year can also be the most lonely, painful, and sorrowful. If you’ve suffered any kind of loss – the death of a loved one, divorce, a breakup, illness, cancer, injury, physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, unemployment, or financial strain – then you know how hard it can be to put on a smile and sing Christmas songs. But what if Jesus came into the world for this very purpose: to comfort the afflicted, to care for the downcast, to face our sorrows with us, and ultimately die to kill death? Christmas is a holiday of joy only because Jesus comes into the world to deal with our greatest pains, sufferings, and sorrows. We can come to feel joy again because Jesus came to conquer suffering.
Join us Tuesday, December 22, 2015 from 6:00-7:00pm at Riverside Covenant Church for our Blue Christmas service, an evening of worship for those experiencing grief and sadness this season. We are a community of those grieving their losses while yet sitting at the manger, clinging to the hope that Jesus entered this world to love the hurting and make all things right again.