Attending Christmas Eve church service is a holiday tradition for many, but in the midst of a pandemic, many churches are changing their traditional format to offer different options for attendees.
First Presbyterian Church of San Luis Obispo conducted their 4 p.m. service over Zoom this year.
Pastor of the church, John D'Elia, greeted and welcomed guests to his church's virtual gathering.
"In many ways this is a typical Christmas Eve service," he says.
He described what the evening will look like for virtual attendees.
"We will have readings and carols, we will have the story of the birth of Jesus as it’s told in Luke’s Gospel and in between the readings we will have time to listen to beautiful music and even to sing along with some Christmas carols."
Mountainbrook Church also changed their traditional indoor Christmas Eve service this year by offering a distanced, outdoor service.
“Traditionally Mountainbrook has been a place that experiences Christmas Eve for the whole community and people come from all over and we feel like this is really the year to make sure we can do anything to just encourage people,” says Pastor Rick Olmstead.
Requiring RSVP's, keeping socially distanced and asking attendees to wear masks, were some of the modifications they made to host service this year.
"Some people stay in their cars, there might be some people tonight that stay in their cars and roll down their windows, so we love that we are providing different types of access points to worship,” Pastor Olmstead says.
If you would like to access the 2020 Christmas Eve Zoom service for First Presbyterian Church, you can find it here.
Mountainbrook Church's services can also be accessed on YouTube.
