BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:icalendar-ruby CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20261115T095842Z UID:10-277155@smumcic.com DTSTART:20261222T003000Z DTEND:20261222T013000Z CLASS:PUBLIC CREATED:20261113T223338 DESCRIPTION:About Blue Christmas:\nBlue Christmas is a one hour evening ser vice to acknowledging the difficulties of grief &\; loss\, especially a round the holiday season. This service provides a safe\, sacred space for individuals who are mourning the death of a loved one\, dealing with a rec ent divorce\, facing illness\, struggling with financial stress\, feeling isolated\, or any number of other challenging circumstance.\nDecember 21st is the longest &\; darkest night of the year in the Northern Hemispher e\, symbolizing the intersection of human darkness &\; sorrow with the promise of coming light.\nReflective Atmosphere: Our service features low lighting\, gentle scripture readings\, guided storytelling\, &\; lighti ng of candles to honor grief &\; remember loved ones.\nA Message of Hop e: Rather than forcing fake happiness\, the theology of the service affirm s that God is present in suffering &\; that "joy comes with the morning " (Psalm 30:5)\, holding sorrow &\; Christian hope side-by-side.\nEvery one is welcome to join.\n*This service is not live-streamed. LAST-MODIFIED:20261113T223338 LOCATION:St Mark's United Methodist Church Iowa City SUMMARY:Blue Christmas URL;VALUE=URI:https://www.smumcic.com/events/blue-christmas/2026-12-21 ATTACH;FILENAME=Blue-Christmas-2026-1.png;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://dq5pwpg 1q8ru0.cloudfront.net/2026/11/12/17/18/37/8d6ea8de-49ed-4266-bc5a-19f6dfe2 9f85/Blue-Christmas-2026-1.png ATTACH;FILENAME=IMG_1094.jpeg;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://dq5pwpg1q8ru0.clou dfront.net/2026/11/14/04/33/06/140c6f97-0a63-4d06-91ba-16ae5818ebdb/IMG_10 94.jpeg ATTACH;FILENAME=IMG_0805.jpeg;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://dq5pwpg1q8ru0.clou dfront.net/2026/11/14/04/33/06/c389e114-579c-4de7-88a1-702300450e50/IMG_08 05.jpeg END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR