St. Paul’s Episcopal Church to offer Blue Christmas and Solstice services

December services aim to provide comfort, reflection and hope for community members during the holiday season

File

Published December 7, 2025 - 9:00 a.m.

St. Paul's Episcopal Church will be offering two special services in December.

The first will be a Christmas Service for those who struggle with the holidays. It will be on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 6 p.m. and will be the second year this service will be shared with the community.

The Blue Christmas service is about making some personal space during a season that is noisy with celebration, busyness, and competition. Fr. Charles Wilson, St. Paul’s rector, says that by offering this service, the church “is acknowledging the ‘both/and’ of our emotions. It’s about creating space for pastoral care and compassionate community for those who are struggling. Some, perhaps, for a long time. Within the context of the service, there will opportunities to lay down our burdens.”

The service will be held at St. Paul’s, 101 E. High St., Mount Vernon, at 6 p.m. If you have never experienced this sort of service, or know someone who might benefit, join us on the 17th. You can find more information at stpaulsmtvernon.org.

St. Paul’s will then hold Service of Light on the longest night.

The shortest day of the year is also the time when the light begins to return. On Dec. 21, the sun will set at 4 p.m., followed by the longest night of the year. This Winter Solstice event is symbolic of our darker nights of the soul. Our human nature tends to fear the darkness and what that darkness may be concealing. Some would call any observance of the Solstice a pagan practice, but others see in this dark annual moment of God’s creation as something that naturally draws us together helping to prepare us for the bright light that shines in Christ.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church invites the community to join us for a "Service of Light on the Longest Night.” Fr. Charles Wilson, St. Paul’s rector, shares, “As darkness falls, our prayers will be filled with the hope and promise the light bears. ‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it.’”

The community is invited to this time of cider, snacks, Solstice, and (hopefully) snow. For more information check out St. Paul’s website: stpaulsmtvernon.org.