Quiet Christmas Service Outline

Christmas is often associated with joy and celebration, but for some, it can be a season or time of year they find difficult. Quiet Christmas Services, often referred to as Blue Christmas Services, help provide a more reflective space for those who find Christmas brings painful memories to the fore, or for whom Christmas is a point in the year marked by loneliness, fear, loss, or grief.

Part of reflecting on the joy of Christmas is embracing the reality of the pain and sadness we all experience, as we wait for that joy. A Quiet Christmas Service can therefore also be helpful in creating a safe space where we can all acknowledge such feelings together and where support can be offered to those who may be particularly struggling at this time of year. Practically, such services usually combine music, silence, Scripture reading, prayer, times for reflection and symbolic actions. Below, you will find a service outline (with notes) incorporating each of these elements. Our hope is that this resource will enable you to run a short Quiet Christmas Service lasting forty-five minutes to an hour in length.