Christmas Eve Services Moved to Online-Only

Dear Old South Church:

With considerable input from wise leadership, and due to the apprehension of some of our volunteers, we are reluctantly moving our Christmas Eve services to remote only. The spiking numbers in infections, the alarming transmissibility of the Omicron variant, our concern for our staff, volunteers, and our congregation (not to mention those who work in hospitals) have led us to this hard decision.

Stay home. Stay safe. Join us on-line for one or both of our festive services and our après worship Christmas Eve Zoom.

ONLINE PAGEANT
5pm on Vimeo (or anytime thereafter) | Tune in online to watch "A Very Mixed-Up Christmas Pageant", a hilarious and clever rendition of the Christmas Story, told by Old South kids. Click here to watch.

SERVICE OF LESSONS & CAROLS
6pm on Vimeo (or anytime thereafter) | An elegant telling of the Christmas story in carols and readings with music for choir and organ, culminating in the singing of “Silent Night” by candlelight. Worship leaders in the Sanctuary will present this service live for those joining us remotely. Click here to watch.

CHRISTMAS EVE ZOOM PARTY
7pm or following the service | Put on your Santa hat or gather by your tree, prepare eggnog, hot cocoa or a hot toddy and join us for an informal Christmas Party Zoom. Click here to join.

On Thursday, December 23rd, for our annual Blue Christmas Jazz Worship, we will offer hybrid worship (in-person and remote) as the numbers will be low and socially distancing will be easily achievable.

As to Sunday, December 26th and following, at least for now (this could change; we are taking it a day and an event at a time), we plan to return to our hybrid services (join us in person or remotely). If you plan to join us in-person, we urge you to be fully vaccinated (including the booster, if timing warrants it) and consider your own health. If you are experiencing any symptoms, even if mild, please stay home. Thanks for helping keep our community safe!

Wonder why we are singling out Christmas Eve for remote only? Because our Christmas Eve congregation tends to be larger with a lot of visitors, some of whom have come from parties, and many of whom are not used to Boston’s mask mandate. While we cherish these guests under normal circumstances, these are not normal circumstances. We are prioritizing the health and safety of our volunteers and staff.

We know how disappointing this is. This is not how we pictured it, but Christmas comes anyway - as it did on that first holy night.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! -Nancy

Nancy S Taylor
Senior Minister & CEO
OLD SOUTH CHURCH IN BOSTON