PENN TWP — For some people, this holiday season is anything but merry and bright. Circumstances such as illness, unemployment, grief or depression can make the Christmas season extremely difficult.

To offer solace, two churches will host Blue Christmas services on Wednesday, Dec. 21.

Pastor B.T. Gilligan of the Nixon United Methodist Church, 334 Airport Road, will preside over the church’s fourth annual Blue Christmas service.

Gilligan said it is appropriate that the service will take place at the church at 7 p.m. Dec. 21, the day of the winter solstice, meaning it’s the longest night of the year. The church always tries to have it on or near the longest night of the year.

“It’s a very somber service for people who don’t feel the Christmas spirit at this time of the year,” he said. “There won’t be any preaching. There will be a lot of prayer, a lot of readings and a lot of candle lightings for specific reasons.”

For example, Gilligan said, the inability to have children can be particularly painful during a season centered around children. Other candle lightings could highlight violence or unemployment. In the past, candles were lit in remembrance of those who died of COVID-19.

The Rev. B.T. Gilligan, pastor of Nixon United Methodist Church in Penn Township, said his church will again have a Blue Christmas service at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 21, the winter solstice and the longest night of the year. BUTLER EAGLE FILE PHOTO

The church will also place the Blue Christmas service online on the church’s Facebook page. Gilligan said the service is one the lowest attended of the year, but the online service has the highest viewing of the year.

“It’s very emotional,” Gilligan said of the service. “A lot of people walk away crying from it. We think a lot of people don’t want to cry in public.

“It’s important that we keep doing this regardless of how many people are in the building,” he said. The service is open to all.

The Rev. Brian Hauser of Mars United Presbyterian Church, 232 Crowe Ave., Mars, will preside over the church’s second Blue Christmas service also at 7 p.m. on Dec. 21.

“We recognize the Christmas season is not a joyful time for everybody,” Hauser said. “But I hope people take away from the service is the promise and the hope we have in the coming Savior.”

Hauser said the service is open to everyone.

“Whether you go to our church or go to a different church or don’t go to any church, we would love to have them at our church,” he said.

The pervading atmosphere of holiday cheer coupled with the decided lack of sunlight increases attendance at support groups and the number of calls seeking referrals for health care, confirmed Donna Lamison, executive director of NAMI Butler County PA, an organization that works to reduce stigma and build better lives through educating and supporting people affected by mental illness.

“It’s a little of both,” Lamison said. “With the holidays coming up, those aren’t always happy memories for some because of childhood trauma or the loss of a loved one.

“And the lack of sunlight and the shorter days can cause seasonal affective disorder in some, and here in Western Pennsylvania we don’t get a lot of sunlight in the winter,” she said.

Symptoms of seasonal affective disorder include: feeling listless, sad or down every day, losing interest in once-enjoyable activities, low energy and sleeping too much.

Lamison said people affected should try to shake the disorder by using light therapy, taking vitamin D, exercising and making an effort to connect with other people.

Gilligan hopes the Blue Christmas service can also help.

He said he hopes attendees of the service, whether in person or online, can gain some comfort in the acknowledgment that having a struggle is OK and that they are not alone in those feelings.

Nixon United Methodist Church has been hosting a Blue Christmas service since 2018.

“I don’t know how common it is,” Gilligan said. “I’ve seen it done in various churches all over the country.”

Gilligan hopes Blue Christmas service attendees “will come away with some comfort and understanding that God is with them in their pain and it is OK to have these struggles.”

Mars United Presbyterian’s pastor Hauser said, “The Blue Christmas service is important. Christmas is portrayed as filled with joy all the time, but that’s not the reality for all.”