Wednesday, November 29, 2000
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Wednesday, November 29, 2000 |
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Christ Our Shepherd Lutheran will offer special Advent service to help Christmas blues' Dec. 4 By SALLIE SATTERTHWAITE Christmas is wonderful, but can be tough when it arouses painful memories. So say counselors, pastors, and others who are often called upon to help people come to terms with seasonal sadness. Christ Our Shepherd Lutheran Church will offer a special Advent healing service next Monday at 7 p.m., both for members of the congregation and for the community, says Rev. Miriam Beecher, the Peachtree City congregation's associate pastor. The first holiday season following a losswhether by death, divorce, a move, or a job change is often the hardest, but there is no statute of limitations on grieving, she said. Some call their annual struggle with depression "the Christmas Blues." "For all of us, Christmas brings thoughts and sentiments to the surface about the ones we love," Beecher said. "Even if someone dear to us passed away years ago, preparations for Christmas have a way of bringing memories and feelings to mind." Expectations are high. Television, magazines, and movies paint pictures of perfect families and healthy relationships. Every story has a happy ending. Because real life is not always like that, the church is offering a "reflective, instructive, prayerful, uplifting service," the pastor said, with gentle music and an opportunity for personal prayer and a blessing at the altar. Several of the church's ministriesincluding the pastoral care, healing, and prayer ministries, as well as the Stephen's Ministry worked together to bring this healing service about. The church is located at the intersection of Peachtree Parkway and Georgia Hwy. 54 in Peachtree City. For further information, call the office at 770-487-8717.
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