Meeting at Trinity Lutheran Church to prepare for Sunday night's joint Longest Night Service at Trinity are Lutheran pastors, from left, the Rev. James Higgins, retired; the Rev. Randy Gullickson of Camp Lutherlyn; the Rev. Joel Benson, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church; the Rev. Kimberly van Driel, pastor of First English Lutheran Church; and the Rev. Cynthia Baxter, pastor of Rider Lutheran Church in West Sunbury.

A group of Lutheran churches is banding together to offer light on the eve of the shortest day of the year.

Sunday's Longest Night Service, sometimes called the Blue Christmas Service, is staged close to the eve of the winter solstice, which falls on Monday this year.

It's designed for those facing the loss of a loved one, divorce, long separation, serious illness or the loss of a job, said the Rev. Joel Benson, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, 120 Sunset Drive, where the service will take place.

“The whole idea is to give folks who aren't feeling like celebrating a place to worship where they are not feeling like they have to be forced into the holiday spirit with other people,” said Benson, who will conduct the service with the Rev. Tara Lynn, pastor of Grace @ Calvary Lutheran Church, 123 E. Diamond St.; the Rev. Kimberly van Driel, pastor of First English Lutheran Church, 241 N. Main St.; the Rev. Cynthia Baxter, pastor of Rider Lutheran Church in West Sunbury; and Trinity Lutheran lay person Diane Petrack.

“The service will be quiet, reflective. There will be minimal music and not a lot of singing, which is uncharacteristic of Lutherans,” said Benson.

“There will be the use of candles and the use of darkness and light,” said Van Driel. “It is a service designed to honor the grief that people feel.”

“It is difficult for grieving people to walk into a worship service that reminds them of everything that used to be,” she said.

“We are providing a way. We are worshipping in a way that honors that loss,” said Van Driel.

“The service is built around Advent candles,” said Baxter. “As each of the candles is lit, there will be a Scripture reading and a time of reflection.”

The ministers said the service will stress that God is available to us in difficulties.

“It has to be emphasized that this is open to everyone regardless, not just Lutherans,” said the Rev. James Higgins, the former pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chicora.

Benson said at the end of the ceremony there will be plenty of time for people to speak to a minister.

“We will be there, the five of us, available at the end,” he said. “People will know they are not alone in that pain or loneliness.”

The concept of the Longest Night Service is not just a Lutheran one, said Van Driel, but one that is emerging among all Christian churches.

“I think as the celebration of Christmas has gotten overwhelming, this has taken hold,” she said.

“Many of us as pastors have done it in other places, but not at First English,” Van Driel said.

The churches taking part in the service, as well as the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Worthington, Camp Lutherlyn in Prospect, Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Prospect, St. John Lutheran Church in Connoquenessing and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chicora, are members of Butler Area Lutheran Ministries.

Van Driel said, “My sense is as a group we are trying to find a way to minister more effectively together than as separate congregations. Most pastors are aware of the need for this kind of thing. By being together we are able to tap into a deeper well of grace to reach people with the good news.”

All BALM churches are members of Evangelical Lutheran Churches of America.

WHAT: Longest Night ServiceWHEN: 7 p.m. SundayWHERE: Trinity Lutheran Church, 120 Sunset DriveThe Longest Night Service will feature candle lighting, Scripture readings, silent reflections and music by Kevin Mathias and Jessica Sanzotti. The service is for people suffering grief or loss who would find it difficult to attend a traditional holiday religious service.