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December 18, 2009

First Presbyterian Church to offer special grief service

First Presbyterian Church of Dalton will offer The Longest Night: A Service of Hope and Remembrance, on Sunday at 6:30 p.m.

Are you feeling blue this holiday season? If so, you are not alone. Not everyone is upbeat and cheery for the Christmas holiday. Many persons find themselves dealing with the death of a loved one, facing life after divorce or separation, coping with the loss of a job, surviving the holidays without loved ones who are serving in the military, or living with cancer or chronic disease that puts a question mark over the future. Any number of these difficult human situations can make coping with the holidays painful and depressing.

Many people find that the joy and celebration, which others appear to experience at Christmas, serve only to heighten their own personal sense of isolation, sadness or loneliness. It is for those who grieve this holiday season that First Presbyterian Church is offering The Longest Night: A Service of Hope and Remembrance. As we move from the last day of autumn to the first day of winter, we experience the longest night of the year. Yet it is in our darkness and loneliness that we encounter the Christ child.

This will be a meaningful service of prayer, music and candle lighting that will give people an opportunity to acknowledge the grief and loss that persons feel so acutely during the holidays. For many, the sense of isolation and loneliness is heightened when the expectation of merriment, family and tradition is the greatest for others.

This service is not only a memorial to those you have lost recently or in years gone by, but it offers an opportunity for you to acknowledge your own feelings amongst others who share similar feelings to your own. It is also a testimony to your faith, your hope and your desire to regain meaning and purpose for your life. We invite everyone in the community to come.

Trained volunteers and grief counselors will be on hand. The church is at 510 S. Tibbs Road (just behind Kmart).

For more Information or directions contact First Presbyterian Church at (706) 278-8161.

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