Every Christmas Eve, Pastor Reed Baer and the West Parish of Barnstable hold two services with more than 300 people in attendance. They tell the story of Christmas, sing carols with a bell choir and light candles. This year, however, the church had to slightly break from its tradition.
Because of the pandemic, churches on the Cape changed the way they normally hold Christmas services by moving to virtual or outdoor spaces.
The West Parish of Barnstable held a short, outdoor Christmas Eve candlelight service at 4:30 p.m. that was also streamed live, Baer said. He gave a 20-to-25 minute service, and the small group of attendees sang some Christmas carols while masked and socially distant, he said.