2021 Watch Night Service

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elders and communion table

On January 31, Southeast SDA received a fortified spiritual preparation for the New Year at the 2021 Watch Night service.

Senior Pastor Stan Hood and First Lady, Elder Alisa Hood, led the service that incorporated traditional hymns, a timely message, a special remembrance of the saints and Holy Communion. Due to Covid-19 restrictions and to ensure the safety of those traveling on New Year’s Eve, the whole service was scheduled for and remarkably completed in one hour. It was a beautiful and powerful service that accomplished what it set out to do.

The Watch Night service is believed to have originated in the 18th century when churchgoers began holding vigils to reflect on the past year and to contemplate on the approaching year. The service gained deeper significance among African Americans on December 31,1862. According to tradition, on this date slaves in the Confederate states came together in churches and private homes anticipating President Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. The soon-to-be-free slaves stayed awake all night and watched the night turn into a new day, while awaiting news that they were finally free. The Watch Night was also known as Freedom’s Eve.

Pastor Hood’s message, “Redeeming the Time” emphasized the freedom and happiness available to those who make their calling and election sure (II Peter 1:10). Pastor Hood pointed out that we don’t know when our final hour will come, so we must redeem the time, make it lasting. God wants us to come to Him while we still have time. God needs us to say, “Lord I’m sorry for everything that I know about and help me with the stuff I don’t know about.” Pastor Hood went to say that God “sits on the edge of the Mercy Seat…He can’t wait to hear us confess our sins. He has more grace than you have problems. He has more salvation that you have issues. God has more healing than you have hurts.”

In concluding his message, Pastor Hood issued a sobering pronouncement. We still have work to do, “but the Watchman is not on the Wall. Where is the Watchman? You are not relieved until the battle is won. We are admonished to “get the word, give the word, then go to sleep. Your reward is the crown.

“The reason we have Watch Night is a reminder to always watch and pray.”

--Cecily Bryant, Communication Leader

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