Unique Christmas Services

Whatever your faith or struggles with it (or the holiday season as a whole), area churches are offering Christmas services to suit your particular season.

By Ross Boissoneau | Dec. 21, 2019

As the cast of A Charlie Brown Christmas sings, “Christmas time is here.” And at churches across the area, that means special services: Maybe bigger music — with brass, winds and percussion joining piano, organ, or even drums and guitars. But sometimes the special services mean scaling back rather than scaling up, as the emotions stirred by the holidays run the gamut from joy to sadness. Here, a look at some unique services churches around the region are designing to help attendees celebrate, grieve, or simply honor the holiday in a way that feels right to them.
 
ANGELS, HYMNS & DRUM KITS
At Sojourn Church in Traverse City, pastor Matt Herron said the church’s 3pm and 5pm Christmas Eve services will include guitars and drums while being led by piano. Most important is the human voice. “The service is planned in a way to accompany singers. The priority … is the voice of our congregation.”
 
At The Tabernacle in Buckley — a progressive church that embraces the teachings of Jesus and Scripture, “not man’s religious traditions” — religion Pastor John Vermilya says the sounds of the season will also include voices, drums, and guitars. “We’ll have a full band” at each of its three Christmas Eve services.
 
He said the three services — one in the afternoon, one in the evening, and one at midnight — are necessary because last year the location held two services, and both were so crowded they had to set up chairs in the lobby. That’s a necessity with as many as 900 attending service in Buckley, and another 300–400 people at The Tabernacle’s second location in Manistee. The church draws attendees from as far away as Cadillac, Manton, Cedar, Traverse City, even Houghton Lake. And this year, the Manistee location will have its own service for the holiday, mirroring the service in Buckley; typically the pastor’s sermon is live in Buckley and streamed to Manistee.
 
The music and the instrumentation typically differ at Catholic churches, where tradition tends to reign supreme — less contemporary Christian; more well-known and well-loved hymns. Many Catholic churches augment the sound of organ, piano, and/or acoustic guitar with brass, wind, even percussion for the holiday celebration. That’s the case at St. Philip Neri in Empire, which music director Peter Bergin said will begin mass with Christmas carols and add select instruments to his piano and organ.
 
A VERY POLISH CHRISTMAS
Did someone mention Christmas carols? Kelly Lauster from the Diocese of Gaylord pointed to Holy Rosary Church in Cedar, which will start its holiday services on Christmas Eve with Polish Christmas carols at 3pm, followed by a kids’ Christmas play before Mass begins.
 
And it’s not that there is no room for technology: Lauster said St. Francis Xavier in Petoskey will simulcast its 10pm mass on 96.3 FM.
 
Most Catholic Churches hold mass on Christmas Day as well on Christmas Eve. At St. Mary’s in Gaylord, for example, Christmas Eve services will take place at 5pm and 10pm, with 8am and 10am masses on Christmas.
 
FOR THOSE ON FAITH’S FRINGES
Speaking of innovation, Pastor Patrick Holden at Kensington church in Traverse City — a Protestant church with eight locations around Michigan — that both its Sunday services on Dec. 22 and its 4pm Christmas Eve service will take place in the round, creating a different atmosphere. Holden said their typical service is a big production, with a large screen, motion, and graphics. “We keep in mind our audience: 30 percent are on the fringes of faith,” he said.
 
In contrast, the 11pm Christmas Eve service, dubbed “Render,” will take place in a separate, smaller room, creating a more intimate experience. It is geared toward traditional church-goers. “The 11 o’clock “Render” service is more traditional. The content is different,” he said.
 
A LIVING NATIVITY
Bayview Wesleyan offers a unique presentation to coincide with the season and its services. Its Living Nativity has been a staple at the Traverse City church since 1974. “It’s meant to be a living Christmas carol,” said Pastor Chris Emery.
 
The 30-minute outdoor show includes two different human casts as well as a four-legged cast of ponies, sheep, goats, and other animals, all in a wood stable built to resemble the stable in which Jesus was said to have been born. The presentation runs from 6pm to 8pm Dec. 22 and 23, and 5pm to 6:30 Dec. 24. It is followed by cookies and beverages inside the church, or at the last presentation by the Christmas Eve service.
 
Emery said between 300 and 500 people typically attend the event nightly. “It sets the tone for what Christmas is all about,” he said.
 
HEAL THY HURTING HEART
Recognizing that the holidays aren’t always happy occasions for everyone, some churches offer special services for those whose Christmases may feel more blue than white. At New Hope in Acme, a Remembrance Service will be held in the church’s lobby on Dec. 22. It will be an intimate service offering music and a safe place to grieve for those struggling with the loss of a loved one this holiday. It will be led by Tim Manzer, the church’s care pastor.
 
Sojourn Church in Traverse City also offers a similar service on Dec. 22, this one coinciding with the winter solstice, the longest night of the year. “The goal is to create space for those experiencing the holidays as a challenging time, for people to come where little is expected of the participants. It’s a time to be comforted,” said Herron.
 
CAROLS & CANDLELIGHT
The Christmas Eve celebrations end similarly at many churches, regardless of the denomination. The “Candlelight and Silent Night” Christmas Eve service at New Hope will include familiar Christmas carols, vocal and instrumental soloists, and conclude with the congregation lighting candles together and singing “Silent Night.”
 
Ditto Kensington and Bayview Wesleyan.  “All our services end with candlelight,” said Holden.
 
“Four-hundred people singing — it’s a great way to put the star on Christmas,” said Emery.
 
Whatever their differences in presentation, pastors say it is important to share the message of the birth of Christ, one of the two most significant events in the history of Christianity (the other being his resurrection at Easter). “It’s a pretty special time for the church,” said Herron. “We turn up the joy. It makes for a special time.”