Funviralpark With the public holiday falling on a Sunday this year, more churches are canceling Christmas Day Mass in anticipation of low attendance.
A study conducted by LifeWay Research found that only 84% of pastors plan to hold services this year, compared with 89% who said Christmas was on a Sunday in 2016, as the pandemic has impacted how people worship. It was the last day. Only 60% of pastors schedule services on both Christmas Eve and Christmas.
The Real Life Church in Macon, Georgia tweeted that it will hold services on Christmas Eve but not on Christmas morning.
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New Covenant Christian Church Pastor Josh Camody posted a video on Twitter showing there will be no service on December 25th.
The Mecklenburg Community Church in Iowa holds in-person services on Christmas Eve, but Christmas Day services are online only.
More churches are canceling Sunday services this year than in 2016, the last time Christmas fell on a Sunday.
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“Families have many traditions on Christmas morning, and most pastors admit that many members do not attend compared to services on Christmas Eve or the beginning of the month,” said Lifeway Research executive. Director Scott McConnell said in a report, “But churches that don’t hold services at Christmas remain the exception.”
The Catholic Church believes that Sunday Mass is non-negotiable, even if Christmas falls on a Sunday. In contrast, only 61% of nondenominational evangelical pastors said they would lead a service this year, according to a Lifeway survey.
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Additionally, churches with 250 or more attendees are more likely to have Sunday services at Christmas than churches with less than 50 attendees.
According to a tweet, Winter Park, First United Methodist Church in Florida, canceled Sunday’s service and instead encouraged its congregation to “spend time with loved ones and celebrate the birth of Christ” at home.
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The Walnut Gardens Community of Christ in Independence, Ohio, said it would not host a service on the 25th, but said, “For those wishing to attend a Christmas service, the Mission Center is open to the Grandview Community of Christ. There is.”
“Plus, there will be services at Beacon Heights, Colonial Hills and Woods Chapel Community of Christ,” the tweet added. “Check with that congregation for details on specific times.”
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According to the report, 85% of Protestant pastors plan to hold services on New Year’s Day this year, just as their last holiday was on Sunday six years ago.
The All Saints Community Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma will be closed on Christmas and New Year’s Day and will instead hold a Christmas Eve service and “Worship Night” on January 1st.
“Some churches gather for service on New Year’s Eve before having fun and fellowship,” McConnell said. “Others have late-night or watch services that reflect on the past year by observing spiritually significant prayer times and communion.”
Inside the bright church
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Some pastors took to Twitter to speak out against the church’s cancellation of Christmas services, seeing it as an insult to the cause of the Christmas season.
Pastor Nathaniel Jolly of Homer Reformed Baptist Church in Homer, Alaska, said, “Canceling churches to celebrate ‘Christmas’ doesn’t make sense to any believer.
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“Isn’t it tragically ironic that some churches will be closed next Sunday because Christmas is that day?” Senior Pastor of Spanish River Church in Boca Raton, Florida David Cassidy tweeted: “In some places, sorcerers may show up at services and find the doors locked. Ironically, they will find that the church has no place for them.”
