Photo provided The Bartholomew County Public Library will offer a family event of lantern making and then a lantern walk during “The Longest Night” tonight at the library’s 850 Tipton Lane location.
For those wishing to have some time of reflection, or find solace from grief this holiday season, nature offers one night that has been set aside for that, known as the “Longest Night.
Asbury United Methodist Church, 1751 27th St., and the Bartholomew County Public Library are having events to mark the longest night of the year, which is tonight.
Held in the back of the sanctuary, Asbury United Methodist Church will host a Longest Night service tonight. This service will include a liturgy, quiet, simple music led by an acoustic guitar and candlelight. Pastor Nick Robinson said this service provides a quiet, reflective atmosphere for people to feel challenging emotions that may get shouted over this time of year.
“Now, we’re supposed to be happy, we’re supposed to be excited to see family and we’re supposed to be going to all these parties and everything and shopping all the time, but we’re carrying grief and depression and doubt and all those kind of things with us too,” Robinson said. “So, this is a chance for us to be in a still place and acknowledge that together.”
A tradition held by many churches in both the area and the country, Robinson and another layperson of the church decided to hold the first Longest Night service at Asbury about three years ago to see what people thought. He said this service is much smaller than the church’s Christmas Eve service, with 10 in attendance last year.
The Longest Night service will be held 6 p.m. tonight.
“The people who come have appreciated it a lot,” Robinson said. “Ones I’ve talked to that have came to our service and then I’ve talked to people who have gone to the Ecumenical Love Chapel’s service too, and oftentimes they’re smaller services but that just kind of feels right for where people are with the things they’re wrestling with.”
Robinson said everyone is welcome to attend the Longest Night service to worship and it is not just for church members. He said the service gives people permission to acknowledge difficult emotions and helps them know they are not alone, while also gently pointing to the hope people have in God.
“Like, I want to say Jesus helps us with all of this, but doesn’t make it all go away. If you’re missing your mom or your dad or child that you’ve lost in grief, thinking about Jesus doesn’t magically make that grief go away, but it means you don’t grieve alone,” Robinson said. “If you’re depressed or anxious at this season, focusing on Jesus for a little while doesn’t cure your depression, but it helps you know Jesus is there with you in the challenge that you’re facing.”
As the sun sets on 850 Tipton Lane, the Bartholomew County Library’s newest location, children of all ages will grab their newly crafted lanterns and head outside for a walk with their families, their faces illuminated by the tea lights in their lanterns. Tonight, the Bartholomew County Public Library will be hosting its Longest Night Family Lantern Walk, a chill winter event the whole family can enjoy. The event is from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Children’s programming librarian Kate Grafelman decided to hold a lantern walk at the library a couple of years ago after she could not find one that worked for her and her family. The event will feature a lantern-making craft, which will be lit by battery-operated tea lights, snacks, a storytime corner and the science behind the Winter Solstice and how people around the world celebrate it, she said.
“And once everybody’s done, probably about 45 minutes into the program, as long as it’s not raining, we’ll all head outside and do a lantern walk through the grounds, which is really the perfect place because the grounds are not lit at all, so we’ll get kind of a nice, dark, wintry feeling and we’ll all have our lanterns with us,” Grafelman said. “And then we will share the poem called… ‘The Shortest Day’ and it is written by Susan Cooper, so we’ll be sharing that on our lantern walk.”
Grafelman said this year’s lantern walk will be bigger and better than previous years as she is partnering with school-age children’s programming librarian Annemarie Wallace and adult programming librarian Erica McFarland. As they are all experts in programming for different age groups, she said they can guarantee the event will be fun and interesting for all ages.
“… it’s a nice, calm, low stakes winter thing to do and I think when it’s such a busy time of year, it’s nice to have something where the whole point is to just be together and slow down and make a craft and take a nice, slow walk,” Grafelman said. “It’s a nice contrast to the hustle and bustle of December.”
Those attending the Longest Night Family Lantern Walk will meet in the foyer of the library’s new location, 850 Tipton Lane, at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Registration is not required, but is requested to ensure enough snacks and craft materials are avaiable. To register, visit mybcpl.libnet.info.
