REGION – For many churches, attendance at their Christmas Eve service is historically one of the highest of the year. This year many houses of worship are not able to have their usual Christmas Eve services due to the Covid-19 restrictions. The Pandemic Grinch, however, has not stolen the Christmas Eve service entirely.
A virtual Christmas Eve service is the result of collaboration of members of five area churches. They all belong to a loosely formed group called ECCO, Experimental Covenantal Community Outreach. Members from the United Church of Ludlow, the First Congregational Church UCC of Springfield, the United Church of Bellows Falls UCC, the Grafton Community Church, and the Acworth Congregational Church in New Hampshire are all contributing to this unique virtual service. Each group is responsible for a segment of the worship service, which includes scripture readings and music. There is traditional Christmas music that you can sing to and special music that you can listen to. Patrick Cody of Okemo Valley TV has generously overseen the production of this virtual service.
There are many options for attending this Christmas Eve service safely from the comfort of your own home. It will be broadcast on three public access television stations serving the area at 7 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Okemo Valley TV (Comcast 1076 and VTel 166), SAPA TV (Comcast 1077 and VTel 160), and the Falls Area Community Television FACT TV (Comcast 1076 and VTel 172) have all agreed to broadcast it simultaneously, for which the participants are grateful.
If more flexibility in time is needed or if viewers do not have access to cable, it will also be available for viewing anytime on Christmas Eve from the websites of each of the stations, on Facebook, YouTube, and from each of the church’s websites.
While it will not be the same as an in-person Christmas Eve service, the members of ECCO wish you a safe and happy Christmas and hope this option will be uplifting during this unprecedented year of the Pandemic Grinch.