For the third year in a row, I’ve been asked to be the musician at the Blue Christmas service that All Saints Episcopal Church in Atlanta offers as an alternative to the festive Nativity of Our Lord on Christmas Eve.

Blue Christmas is an intimate service that both honors the presence of sadness and darkness in our lives while looking forward towards the dawning light.

This year, I arranged the traditional tune of “Lo, how a Rose e’re blooming” for my voice and violin; I sang “Silent Night” with adapted verses a capella, and ended with “Away in a Manger.”