How Modesto region churches are handling Christmas traditions during COVID
The pandemic goes on, but so will Christmas at churches in the Modesto region – albeit with altered traditions and celebrations.
COVID-19 has churches planning for outdoor services, curtailing advent celebrations and moving to online events.
And while some church leaders contacted are optimistic that the joy of the season remains despite the pandemic, others do feel spirits are less bright this year.
Despite the challenges, Tammy Menezes, director of operations at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Modesto, said she believes parishioners are still feeling the spirit of Christmas.
“It’s changed but the joy is still there,” she said.
While the pandemic may be a damper for many people in general, “In terms of the spirituality at St. Joseph’s, it’s almost been the opposite,” she said. “It’s palpable, the joy, even with the outdoor Masses, people are joyful, they’re grateful to be able to come to church.”
Still, there have been changes. St. Joseph’s did not collect toys or clothing for children this year but instead is focusing on collecting food for the needy, including its annual canned ham drive. They put out a request for 350 hams and already have about 440, Menezes said. They also are seeking nonperishable food.
Donations can be taken to the parish office, 1813 Oakdale Road. The door is locked, but they will answer if people ring the doorbell, she said, and will continue to collect throughout December.
The church’s traditional Christmas Concert was canceled, but the “Children’s Cheribum Choir has produced a series of individual compositions – from instrumental to soloists – on a lovely video, viewable on our STJMOD website and Facebook pages,” Menezes said separately in an email.
In addition, there will be an outdoor Christmas Carol Concert on Dec. 24 at 3 p.m. followed by a 3:30 outdoor Mass. Both events also will be live-streamed on the parish Facebook and YouTube pages.
Several Christmas Day Masses will be held outdoors with a 10:30 a.m. Mass live streamed.
Scaling back at Sacred Heart
At Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Turlock, things have been altered “quite a bit,” according to Pastor Pat Walker.
There will be no traditional 11 p.m. Christmas Eve Mass. Outdoor Christmas Eve Masses will be held at 4:30 p.m. in English and 6:30 p.m. in Spanish.
All Christmas day Masses will be held outdoors, as well. People can stay in their cars to attend, and they also have a large tent with heaters for those who choose to take their own chairs and gather there, Walker said.
They will live-stream one Mass in Spanish and one in English on Christmas Eve and live stream a Mass in Portuguese on Christmas Day.
Normally, Sacred Heart holds several Posadas, when people recreate the night Mary and Joseph went to different homes to find a place to stay for the birth of Jesus. “That’s being very trimmed down this year,” Walker said.
There only will be two Posadas, Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 21-22, after the daily 5:30 p.m. Masses, weather permitting.
The church’s food drive was canceled this year, as was the Knights of Columbus dinner that normally features gifts handed out by Santa Claus.
At Big Valley Grace Community Church, they have had to “gracefully pivot” since March, and the Christmas season has been no different, Bobby Kirchner, executive pastor, said in an email.
The biggest change was canceling its “Celebrate Christmas” productions featuring a choir, orchestra and band, he said. The show typically draws 8,000-9,000 people over multiple gatherings over four days.
The pandemic has made things more challenging for the staff and congregation ... “most of all because of the amount of people in our community that are hurting,” he said.
“But at the end of the day, we have been able to have lots of joy – but not joy that is dependent on our circumstances – joy that only comes from having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He is our joy – during this Christmas season – and all year long.”
Christmas Eve services at Big Valley are at 2 and 3:30 p.m.
Church lights up holiday
There will be no live Christmas Eve services held at Shelter Cove Community Church this year, where a huge light show is taking up most of its parking space area, according to Executive Pastor Ed Kelley.
That light show has been an outlet for people who are feeling the strains of the pandemic, he said. “You can’t do your normal Christmas routines to keep your spirits up.”
So the show has been extremely popular, with thousands of visitors driving through the nightly display, Kelley said.
The Christmas Eve service can be viewed online at 6 p.m. Dec. 24, he said.
Not held this year was the traditional collection of gifts for children whose parents are incarcerated, Kelley said. Other things the church has done in the past like food and clothing drives also did not happen.
College Avenue United Church of Christ is working with Family Promise, an agency that houses homeless families with children, according to Rev. Michael Schiefelbein.
Since the pandemic, Family Promise is housing people in apartments and the church is collecting toiletries and food-related gift cards.
The church will hold its annual Epiphany Shoe Drive right after Christmas, he said, and ask people to donate shoes or money to buy them for children.
The church will hold an online Christmas Eve service at 5 p.m., including a recorded Christmas pageant, Schiefelbein said. He also will offer small outdoor communion services on Christmas Eve for groups of 8 to 10.
Schiefelbein said that while it’s difficult for people this year, “I think that there is this kind of sense of purpose and sacrifice overall that it makes Christmas more poignant. There’s a kind of bittersweetness behind it, but I think there is a kind of energy that this time brings to us ... I feel that in our congregation.”
Modesto Covenant celebrates light
Modesto Covenant Church Lead Pastor Mark Krieger said the church chose the theme “Light in the Darkness” this year.
“I think certainly there’s hardship ... yet at the same time, we celebrate the light, we celebrate Jesus coming. I think there’s a heaviness, but we still celebrate.”
He said it’s an inner joy “that God gives even in hard times. I wouldn’t say people aren’t joyful, it’s just different.”
Instead of a planned in-person concert, they streamed Christmas carols and a live Nativity, Krieger said. The church’s annual Angel Breakfast with family activities was canceled. Instead they held an outdoor event, “Follow the Star,” with families going to different stations to hear the Christmas story.
Christmas Eve service will be at 5 p.m. in the Modesto Covenant courtyard. It also will be live streamed.
Pastor Joshua Trautmann at Geneva Presbyterian Church said “just about every tradition got canceled.”
“The thing that has most of us hurting is we can’t have our Christmas Eve candlelight service,” he said. But they will deliver candles to congregation members so they can light them while watching the live streamed Christmas Eve service at 7 p.m.
While the season has been overshadowed by the pandemic, “we’re still trying our best to be joyful, to put our focus where it needs to be,” Trautmann said.
At Trinity United Presbyterian Church their Service of Comfort and Hope was not held, a prayer service for people who have experienced loss that was “probably more needed this year,” said Pastor Tres Adams. Other events also were canceled.
A 4 p.m. Christmas Eve service will be live-streamed. Adams said they’ve had more people participate in online services than the congregation’s membership.
He attributed that to those who are not comfortable going into a sanctuary, but online services “opened the door for people who want to worship.”
For Adams, it doesn’t feel like Christmas throughout the community. “I would say there seems to be a lack of joy this year. I believe it becomes our job as a church ... to keep that joy alive.”
“We still have hope, we still have joy, it is the season to celebrate the coming of Jesus,” he said. “It still is the season of hope and we can’t give up on that.”
Jewish holiday also changed
Congregation Beth Shalom also altered its Hanukkah observance, which ended Friday, Dec. 18.
Rather than its public Hanukkah candle lightings traditionally held across the region, CBS offered eight nights of online events on Zoom and Facebook, Rabbi Shalom Bochner said in an email.
“We have recently also made the decision to pause all in-person outdoor Shabbat Services and events at least through mid-January due to the pandemic “surge” and ICU availability situation,” he said.
“For us, as important as prayer and Torah study are, protecting a life and preserving health are always more important and we are encouraging all of our members to stay at home as much as possible over the coming weeks.”
