Churches find other ways to celebrate this Christmas
Pandemic safety rules necessitate virtual services for many
For the first time in more than a century, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church won’t be holding inperson worship services inside its downtown sanctuary on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
Because of the risks of the coronavirus, which remains a serious threat to San Antonio, the church pre-recorded its Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services, which will be streamed online, so worshippers can watch from the safety of their homes or virtually anywhere.
St. Mark’s is among a number of local churches pivoting to new ways of celebrating Christmas Eve or Christmas Day besides gathering in person as the virus shows no signs of slowing in San Antonio, the state and the rest of the country.
After filming St. Mark’s Christmas Day service on Tuesday, the
Rev. Beth Knowlton called the experience poignant and sobering.
“It’s definitely different,” Knowlton said. “Our worship is called ‘liturgy,’ which means literally the work of the people. So to have the congregation not
present with us is always really sad.
“It’s been an opportunity to remind ourselves that what’s most important is the birth of Jesus. I think we’ve come back to some very core issues of our faith. Sometimes having it be more simple has been a powerful reminder that our faith isn’t dependent on all those other things. I think there’s some wonderful lessons that are being learned.”
St. Mark’s pre-recorded Christmas Eve service will be broadcast at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Thursday, while its smaller Christmas Day service will air at 10 a.m. Friday on the church’s website, Facebook page, YouTube channel and on the St. Mark’s app.
The church, founded in 1858, also likely did not hold Christmas services in person during the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918.
At Cross Roads Church, a Presbyterian congregation on the Northeast Side, the building has been closed most of the year to in-person services. The church will hold its Christmas Eve service at 6 p.m. Thursday live on Zoom. Anyone wishing to
join in can send a private message to the church’s Facebook page requesting a link to the online service.
That service also will be posted on Cross Roads Church’s website and Facebook page for anyone wanting to watch it later.
The church has hand delivered bags containing bulletins and pre-packaged Communion cups of bread and juice to its members’ homes so worshippers can participate from a distance. The bags also contain candles, which the congregation traditionally lights at the end of the service before singing “Silent Night” together.
The Rev. Brian Diebold believes this is the first time in the church’s 54-year history that Christmas Eve services won’t take place in person.
Cross Roads has found inventive ways to keep the spirit alive this year, including drivethrough car parades and a live nativity scene in the church’s parking lot, which spectators viewed while remaining socially distanced from each other.
“It has not been easy,” Diebold said Tuesday. “There is no rule book that tells you how to operate through a pandemic. So we are all just making the best decisions that we can. One of the ways we honor God is by taking care of each other and loving
each other. That includes doing what we can to keep each other safe.”
The past year has been different and difficult, Diebold added.
“That’s part of what the Christmas story is about — if you go and read those stories, they’re not taking place in happy times when things are easy,” he said. “It’s kind of a dark time. The people are struggling. Mary and Joseph can’t find a place to stay. And it’s in the middle of that suffering and being apart that hope comes.
“So we’re finding that the same is true now. We may be apart and
we may be struggling through a difficult season, but the Christmas message is that while we are reaching out, we find God reaching back.”
Most Catholic churches in the Archdiocese of San Antonio have added additional Mass celebrations for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day since services will be limited to smaller crowds than normal. All churches will be sanitized between each Mass, a practice followed throughout the pandemic.
At San Fernando Cathedral, Christmas Eve masses will take
place at 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday; Midnight Mass will be at 12 a.m. Friday as usual; and Christmas Day masses will be held at 8 a.m., 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. Friday.
Due to the pandemic, Catholics remain excused from their obligation to attend Mass. Catholic churches will continue broadcasting Mass online for those wishing to worship from afar.
“Clearly, it’s going to be a different Christmas,” Archbishop of San Antonio Gustavo García-Siller said Tuesday. “It will not be the same. The way to celebrate it will be different. Our celebrations are more simple.
“We believe that it’s for the good of the people. It gives them hope to celebrate in the community and be able to hear directly the Word of God and to see other people and receive Communion.”
Concordia Lutheran Church will hold both online and inperson services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Anyone wishing to attend in person must register in advance through the church’s website. Those registered will be ushered to socially distanced seating.
This is the first Christmas that the church has asked people to register in advance before attending services.
Because of social distancing, the building’s capacity has decreased, church officials said.
Two of Concordia Lutheran’s in-person Christmas Eve services — those at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Thursday — are already full.
People may still register to attend in-person Christmas Eve services set for 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Thursday and the Christmas Day service at 10 a.m. Friday.
Christmas Eve services also will be streamed online every hour beginning at 1 p.m. Thursday through the church’s streaming site and Facebook page. And the Christmas Day worship service set for 10 a.m. Friday will be broadcast live on both sites.