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.
Barbara Clark / news@barnstablepatriot.com
It’s been a challenging year for face-to-face activities, never more so than in the many communities of faith on Cape Cod, in this unique COVID year.
The Rev. Dr. Bruce Epperly, pastor at South Congregational Church, Centerville, said that the Cape’s faith communities have had to “deal with so many things happening at the same time,” from the spread of the pandemic to the social and political crises criss-crossing our country this year, yet congregations “have remained active in all sorts of different ways.” The December religious calendars bear this out, with celebrations and special services, albeit many holding to a virtual format.