By Phil Haslanger
Collaboration Project Story Team

As the days keep clicking away on the calendar and the prospects of the pandemic settling down by December diminish, a number of pastors and worship leaders are pondering how to make the seasons of Advent and Christmas meaningful when all the traditional ways of gathering may be off the table.

Here’s one idea that could allow congregations to collaborate in bringing a bit of light to a season that more than ever could feel very dark.

The beginnings of the idea come from a Methodist pastor in the area. Some congregations have a special service on the evening of the Winter Solstice - Dec. 21 - perhaps called Blue Christmas or Longest Night. And some congregations use luminaries - lights inside bags - to brighten the walkway into the church on Christmas Eve. 

This builds on those ideas. 

There is a recognition that in this time of turmoil, people more than usual may look for the kind of solace that can come on the Longest Night. They may be looking for a way to connect with one another when social distancing makes that so hard. 

So think about making luminaria bags available to members of the congregation and inviting them to decorate the bags they take. They would bring them back to the church and volunteers would array them outside on the longest night with LED lights inside. 

Volunteers would take pictures of the illuminated, illustrated bags and post them on social media. Members of the congregation would be invited to drive by to experience the light shining on the longest night of the year. 

Here’s a way to take that a step farther. If there are other churches in a neighborhood, they could do this as well. (That would take some collaboration to make it work.) Then on Dec. 21, people could drive from church to church to see the luminaria. Word could be put out to folks not part of the churches to drive by as well and enjoy the lights. 

It’s a fairly simply idea, but one that might offer a way to honor the spirit of the season. 

There are lots of ideas bubbling up these days. The Wisconsin Council of Churches has a page on its web site with many resources for Advent and Christmas. You can find that page here.