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The Longest Night
LaSalle Street Church
Chicago, Illinois
December 20, 2006

This service of lament and longing for God's light was held on the night of Wednesday, December 20—the night with the least sunlight of any day on the calendar in the Northern Hemisphere. It is reprinted here by permission of LaSalle Street Church.

Singing Together
"Come and Fill Our Hearts with Your Peace"

Candle Lighting

Singing Together
"Our Darkness Is Never Darkness in Your Sight"

Prayer

Singing Together
"Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child"

Psalm 77

All: I cry aloud to God
I cry aloud, and God hears me.

Men: In times of trouble I pray to the Lord;
All night long I lift my hands in prayer,
But I cannot find comfort.

Women: When I think of God I sigh;
When I meditate I feel discouraged.

Refrain: Sometimes I feel like a motherless child.

All: This keeps me awake all night;
I am so worried that I cannot speak.
I think of days gone by and remember years of long ago.

Women: I spend the night in deep thought;
I meditate, and this is what I ask myself:

All: Will the Lord always reject us?
Will God never again be pleased with us?

Women: Has God stopped loving us?

Men: Does the word of the Lord no longer stand?

Women: Has God forgotten to be merciful?

Men: Has anger taken the place of compassion?

All:
Then I said, 'What hurts me the most is this—
That God is no longer powerful.'

Refrain: Sometimes I feel like a motherless child.

All:
I will remember your great deeds, Lord.
I will recall the wonders you did in the past.
I will think about all that you have done;
I will meditate on all your mighty acts.
Everything you do, O God, is holy.
No god is as great as you.
You are the God who works miracles;
You showed your might among the nations.
By your power your saved your people.

Song: "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child"

Psalm 23

Prayer
Eternal God, shepherd of your people,
we feel the fleeting passage of life,
and we know how fragile is our existence
on this tiny planet amid the spinning galaxies.
We confess with the prophet:
“All flesh is grass,
and all its glory is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall. . . .”
Yet we also confess:
“The word of our God stands forever.”

Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
We look to you as frightened children look to their mother,
for you alone can comfort us.
Have mercy on us, O God.
See our tears and hear our cries
and lead us all, as pilgrims,
through this valley of death’s shadow
into the light of the resurrection
of Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen

Singing Together
"Come and Fill Our Hearts with your Peace"

Reflection

Singing Together
"In God Alone My Soul Can Find Rest and Peace"

Reflection and Sharing

Singing Together
"O Come O Come Emmanuel"

Prayers

Singing Together
"Dona Nobis Pacem"

Benediction