Blue Christmas

On Sunday at 5 p.m., Haven Lutheran Church invites those who have lost loved ones to its Blue Christmas service. Blue Christmas services speak to the hurts and emptiness of losses sensed even more keenly at a holiday. Blue Christmas services offer a meaningful time of comfort and inspiration, compassion and prayer. If you are grieving a loss of any kind, you are invited to find a time of peace at the service. If you know someone who is struggling with sadness during the holidays, invite him or her to the worship.

shappell@herald-mail.com BOONSBORO - Not everyone has all happy memories during what is called "the most wonderful time of the year. " Michael Wingert, a Shippensburg, Pa., man who lost his father on Christmas Day last year, was one of about 20 at Mt. Nebo United Methodist Church for Sunday evening's service dubbed "Blue Christmas. " Washington County residents were joined by guests from Pennsylvania, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., for the one-hour service in Boonsboro.

BOONSBORO A grandmother was remembered for her strength. Murder and car crash victims were mourned as friends and family remembered the good times before senseless acts ended their short lives. Loss was on the minds of the 50 people gathered at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Boonsboro Sunday during the first "Blue Christmas" service at the church on South Main Street. Keedysville resident Stuart Brown said his family lost a loved one this year, and said the pain never really goes away.

Cavetown United Church of Christ, Sunday at 3 p.m., there will be a Blue Christmas service. Washington Square United Methodist Church, 538 Washington Ave., Hagerstown, Sunday at 6 p.m., a musical celebration of "Christmas, Once Upon a Miracle," will be presented. Music will be provided by the children's choir and bell choir, the senior bell choir and the adult worship choir, along with the Living Nativity. Mountain View Baptist Church, 12107 Walnut Point Road, Hagerstown, the children's Christmas program will be presented Sunday at 7 p.m. St. Peter's Lutheran Church, 30 S. Martin St., Clear Spring, a Blue Christmas worship will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday.

Disney promotion Maugansville Fire Co. has been accepted as a "Hands-On" Network Volunteer Verification Partner in the "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day. " The program celebrates and inspires volunteerism. Disney is working with the Hands-On Network to connect volunteers to community needs and is thanking those who volunteer (for an eligible volunteer opportunity) by giving them a free ticket good for a one-day admission to a Walt Disney theme park. The campaign starts Jan. 1. At that time, volunteers will be able to go to a Web site that will be published in a few weeks and find volunteer opportunities at the Maugansville Fire Station.

marlob@herald-mail.com CAVETOWN - Blue Christmas. Elvis sang about it and many people feel it, but the pastor of a local church decided to do something about it Sunday afternoon. About 10 people attended the first-ever Blue Christmas service, said Carol Hallman, pastor of Christ Reformed United Church of Christ on Cavetown Church Road. "I was pleased at the response," Hallman said. Hallman said she thought of the idea because she hears so often during the holidays that people are feeling sad because of the loss of loved ones or a job, or relatives are far away and cannot come home.

Pastor Jerry Lowans looked up at a cross inside Washington Square United Methodist Church Sunday night during a Christmas cantata and referred to the tragic shooting Friday of 26 people inside an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. Lowans talked about how the incident created a troubling weekend, but he said after the service that people must remember that they still can connect with God after such upsetting events. “We need to learn to look through the situation,” Lowans told about 90 people gathered for the service.

On Sunday at 5 p.m., Haven Lutheran Church invites those who have lost loved ones to its Blue Christmas service. Blue Christmas services speak to the hurts and emptiness of losses sensed even more keenly at a holiday. Blue Christmas services offer a meaningful time of comfort and inspiration, compassion and prayer. If you are grieving a loss of any kind, you are invited to find a time of peace at the service. If you know someone who is struggling with sadness during the holidays, invite him or her to the worship.

A 62-year-old Hagerstown woman is having a difficult time this Christmas season. The woman, who would only give her first name as Vicky, said she always spent Christmas with her sister. But her sister committed suicide on Halloween. "Christmas doesn't seem like Christmas this year, because it's just too full of sadness," Vicky said following a "blue Christmas" service Wednesday night at Washington Square United Methodist Church on Washington Avenue in Hagerstown. Vicky said her sister suffered for years from depression.

Christ Reformed UCC in Cavetown, a Blue Christmas program will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 19, for those struggling this holiday season. Church of Christ at Hagerstown, 10014 White Hall Road, Hagerstown, will present a children’s musical, The Plane Truth About Christmas, at 6 p.m. this Sunday. A Cry in the Wilderness Ministries, 15221 Wyndham Ave., Blue Ridge Summit, Pa., Children’s program, “A Christmas Present to the World,” at 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 19. The progam will be held outside.

Disney promotion Maugansville Fire Co. has been accepted as a "Hands-On" Network Volunteer Verification Partner in the "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day. " The program celebrates and inspires volunteerism. Disney is working with the Hands-On Network to connect volunteers to community needs and is thanking those who volunteer (for an eligible volunteer opportunity) by giving them a free ticket good for a one-day admission to a Walt Disney theme park. The campaign starts Jan. 1. At that time, volunteers will be able to go to a Web site that will be published in a few weeks and find volunteer opportunities at the Maugansville Fire Station.

Blue Christmas The Clear Spring Ministerium will hold a Blue Christmas Service Sunday at 3 p.m. at St. Paul's Church. There will be refreshments and fellowship after the service. The church is on the corner of U.S. 40 and St. Paul's Church Road. Game day The Clear Spring Library will hold a Nightmare Before Christmas Teen Game Day Friday. The game uses acting and drawing skills as well as knowledge of Jack Skellington, Sally and the others to help players enter into Halloween Town's spirit of Christmas.