Dear Friends,
Christmas is just around the corner, but COVID cases are on the rise in our community. After consulting with our Re-Entry Team, staff, and healthcare professionals, we believe that the safest course of action is to worship virtually for Christmas Eve. I know that for some of you this is a deep disappointment. But Silver Spring UMC has always placed the well-being of our neighbors above our own interests, and this is another opportunity to live out that commitment.
So, to be clear, our Christmas Eve services will be VIRTUAL ONLY. The services will still be live streamed from the sanctuary, but there will not be a congregation. We invite you to participate from the comfort of your homes for one of these two service options.
Our 4 p.m. service will be specially geared toward families with younger children, including carols that will be more familiar to them and the Christmas story in language that they can understand. Families will likely want to have a candle or glow sticks on hand to use as we celebrate the light of Jesus Christ.
Our 9 p.m. service is a traditional service of carols and Communion. For this service, you’ll want to have juice and bread (or an equivalent) on hand to serve as the Body and Blood of Christ for the Lord’s Supper. You’ll also want to have a candle nearby to light as we sing “Silent Night.”
Both services will be livestreamed to our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjjI7Fz4EI3Q4ZrIoaKblow) and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/SilverSpringUMC) thanks to Buzz365 Media. We are thankful for their help to make this streaming worship experience possible!
On Sunday, December 26th, we will have a single worship service at 10 a.m. via Zoom. You can log into the service here. The Zoom will also stream to our Facebook page.
I look forward to joining with you as we celebrate Christmas wherever we are on Friday evening!
Rev. Alex