It’s the most wonderful time of the year
except when it’s not
When Christmas is Hard
Blue Christmas as The Refuge
The Refuge has been hosting Blue Christmas gatherings for over a decade now, creating a space for people to engage with the painful realities of the holidays in a way that is raw, honest, and experiential. Our Blue Christmas experiences have evolved, but have always centered on contemplative and experiential stations that people can engage with in any ways that work for them. Different people create stations based on themes of Blue Christmas and we have one night for a shared liturgy–Refuge-style–and hands-on experience and then keep some of them up for the remainder of Advent for people to continue to engage with. A lot of people’s favorite–smashing ornaments at the Anger station.
How Stations Work
Each station includes some creative elements that center on a specific theme (Loss, Pain, Fear, Forgiveness, Release, Waiting, Anger, etc.). We include a reflection flow for the station so they are each self-guided and participants can engage in any way they want. We try to always have an experiential element to it (pouring water, writing, creating, adding to a community art piece, tactile connection–anything the helps engage our souls not just our heads).
Adapting Stations to Use for Your Community
We have over 10 years of content that we’ve created collaboratively, and we’d love to have you use anything we’ve done as a launching point for your own creative contexts. We have a list of all of the stations we’ve done, along with flows that go with them, for you to download if you’d like. Our only request is that you make a small donation to The Refuge to honor people’s work over the years and keep this site moving. It can be as little as $1–we always want to make things accessible for all while at the same time honoring the creative efforts of many volunteers over the years and supporting our work as a Christian community and mission center.
A Weary World
A Weary World: Reflections for a Blue Christmas by Kathy Escobar is an excellent resource for ideas, and Westminster John Knox Press has created a whole folder of free digital downloads for you to access with images, sermon prompts, and weekly ideas for a Blue Christmas focus or service in your community. You can access that here.
A Weary World
A Weary World: Reflections for a Blue Christmas by Kathy Escobar
September 2020
During the holidays, so many of us can suffer for all kinds of reasons. The magnitude of our weary world weighs on our hearts and minds. We wrestle with chronic pain, broken relationships, shattered dreams, fragile faith, and unexpected losses. Our grief and sorrow feel particularly acute when compared to the festivity and joy everyone else seems to be feeling. More and more churches are acknowledging this fact with “Blue Christmas” services (also called Longest Night services) and offering resources to give particular support and comfort to those struggling during the most wonderful time of the year.
Kathy Escobar has been leading Blue Christmas experiences at her church for nearly a decade and just experienced her bluest season of all following the sudden death of her son. In A Weary World, Escobar provides twenty-eight daily reflections paired with prayers and practices to honor our struggles during the holidays. Weekly resources make this Advent devotional suitable for group study as well.
Download Free Digital Resources from WJK Books for your group or community here.
December 8th Blue Christmas Online
Join us for blue christmas online
A Virtual Contemplative Evening on ZOOM, free and open to all
Reflection, Music, Art, Community, Hope
2020 has been a hard, tiring year. We’re weary. The world is weary. An eclectic group of curators across the US with a passion for sacred spaces online and in real life have pulled together an interactive, experiential, contemplative evening for anyone who’s feeling weary this season and wants a space to gather some hope.
Come alone.
Come with your housemates.
Invite your friends, small group, of faith community members to join in from their living room but share in the experience together.
Registrations required to provide the link and details. We’ll be recording it if you can’t attend that night but want to participate later.
Facilitated by: Lilly Lewin and Free Range Worship, Kathy Escobar and The Refuge, Christine Sine and Godspace Light, Joanna Cummings and Sacred Home.
Special music with Heatherlyn, Kate Hurley, Archie Davis, and more.
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything (there is a crack in everything)
That’s how the light gets in
~ Leonard Cohen
Sample Stations
Coming soon – Images of Sample Stations From Blue Christmas at The Refuge
Connect
The Refuge
The Refuge is a Christian community and mission center hubbed in Broomfield Colorado since 2006.
Kathy Escobar
Creating Safe and Brave Spaces for Transformation and Healing in real life and online. Learn more about Kathy here.
A Weary World
A Weary World: Reflections for a Blue Christmas by Kathy Escobar, releasing September 2020 by Westminster John Knox Press. Email for information on group discounts. Free Digital Resources for groups and congregations available here.
Blue Christmas Online 