Have a Merry Episcopalian Winter Solstice Roundup

Each year I publish a list of a few of the winter solstice celebrations to be found in Episcopal parishes. I do not agree with these services, and I print these as a warning to others that if you see anything like this promoted by your church, run for the hills.

First off, a new church makes the list, and it is a surprise. How could you, Bryan Owen?

Longest Night Service Dec. 21November 14, 2017
The St. Luke’s Episcopal Church community invites all greater Baton Rouge area residents to attend “Longest Night,” a special service of remembrance and healing on Thursday, December 21. Coinciding with the winter solstice, the annual “Longest Night” service is designed to honor and recognize “a loss of some sort, whether it’s a person, a dream, no matter the cause,” notes Becky Williams, pastoral care facilitator for St. Luke’s. 
 
“The service is a service of hope, and acknowledging that this can be a time of losses coming to the surface, as not everyone has the ‘Norman Rockwell’ type of celebration,” continues Williams. 
 
Open to anyone in the community, the “Longest Night” service will begin at 6:30 pm on December 21 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, located at 8833 Goodwood Boulevard.

The healing theme must have been part of a workshop because Palmer Memorial Episcopal in Houston has one too,

 The Longest Night Service will be held on Wednesday, Dec 21st at 6 pm in St. Bede's. This service acknowledges the physical reality of the longest night and shortest day associated with the winter solstice and the darkness some feel emotionally in the midst of preparing for Christmas. If the holiday season finds you experiencing concern or sadness due to illness, grief, loss or personal and family issues during this season, come for a quiet time of worship and acknowledgement of our need for hope and the coming Light of Christ. Special prayers and a time of remembrance will be offered along with healing prayer, Holy Unction and the Holy Eucharist. Plan to stay a few minutes afterwards for holiday refreshments.

St Luke's Granville Ohio has this,

The Health and Wellness Ministry recently met and planned several events for the upcoming months.
On Thursday, December 21, at 7:00 pm, there will be a Solstice Healing Service. Jimi James is leading the coordination of this service. It will include music, prayer, and blessings in our beautiful candlelit church. More to come as this service is finalized.

Meanwhile, in Oregon,

Music & Meditation: Winter SolsticeDecember 8 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pmSt. Aidan’s Episcopal Church presents its second Celtic-themed Music & Meditation (Winter Solstice) on Friday evening, December 8, from 6 to 7 p.m. The Music & Meditation hour is filled with readings, poetry, music, with an open mic for an opportunity for anyone to present their own offering of poetry or music. Music & Meditation is a multi-ethnic, multi-faith, and intergenerational time. In the Winter Solstice tradition a Wassail Party will follow Music & Meditation.

And in East Lansing Michigan, All Saints Episcopal throws in the labyrinth this year,

Candle-light Labyrinth Walk, Wednesday, December 20, 6 - 9 p.m. As we approach the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year, a self-guided, candle-light labyrinth walk will be offered in the church. 

From Frederick Colorado, we have a repeat offender,

 St. Brigit Episcopal Church invites the community to take a break from the hectic pace of the holidays and reflect on the cycle of nature. On Thursday, December 21, 2017, at 7:00p.m. St. Brigit will celebrate the Winter Solstice with a special contemplative service. All are welcome to attend.
The Winter Solstice Service is part of St. Brigit’s Áit Caol (Gaelic for “A Thin Place”) series. These are unique services marking the Winter and Summer Solstices as well as the Spring and Autumnal Equinoxes. The services incorporate live Celtic music, meditation areas designed to reflect the chosen scriptures and a contemporary liturgy (order of service). All aspects of the services reflect the seasonal theme, and are quite different from their regular services. Attendees sometimes travel as far as 50 miles to experience Áit Caol services.
Áit Caol services combine ancient Celtic spirituality with Christian theology. Although the ancient Celts regarded winter as the season of dormancy, darkness and cold, the coming of lighter days after the Winter Solstice brought a more festive mood. To the Celts, this return of the light was a reason to celebrate that nature’s cycle was continuing.
Some believe that Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus, the Light of the World, was set in synchronization with the Winter Solstice because, from that point onwards, the days began to have more daylight. The tradition at St. Brigit is to observe the Solstice by reflecting on God’s presence with His people, even in the midst of darkness.
Christmas also is referred to as Yule, a pre-Christian festival observed at the time of the Winter Solstice. Fires were lit to symbolize the heat, light and life-giving properties of the returning sun. St. Brigit’s Winter Solstice Service will end with a bonfire. Attendees will be invited to symbolically release anything that represents darkness in their lives by writing its name on a piece of paper and burning it in the bonfire.
St. Brigit Episcopal Church is located at 110 Johnson Street in Frederick

 As always, St. John the Divine in NYC has its extravaganza,

In ancient times, observers watched the sun sink lower in the sky each day, and feared it would disappear completely and leave them in darkness.
People practiced special rituals intended to entice the sun’s return. Bonfires and candles, with their imitative magic, helped fortify the waning sun and ward off the spirits of darkness. These symbols live on in our modern seasonal customs: the candles of Hanukkah and Christmas are kin to the fiery rites of old, which celebrated the miracle of the earth’s renewal.

And one last Celtic themed event for you from St, Andrews Lake Chelan WA,

Dec. 21 - Winter Solstice followed by Soup Dinner: Join us at 5 p.m. for a Celtic celebration to begin the Winter season. A celebration of lights will warm your heart and renew your spirit on the longest day of the year. Following the service, a soup dinner will be served in the Parish Hall.

I close with a warning from St. Paul.

"Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain." Galatians 4:10-11 (KJV).