Any Protestant churches avoiding services on Christmas Day?

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VociMike

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Last year there was a bit of a dust-up over some churches that announced that they would not hold services on Christmas Day, to free up that day for family time (I’m paraphrasing the exact reasoning). Anyway, I wonder if they got burned by the reaction and will be having services on Christmas Day this year, or if perhaps the trend towards no services will increase? Anybody heard anything?
 
Have heard of a few Protestant churches cancelling services on the weekend of Christmas, or planning candlelight services Saturday or Sunday prior to Christmas. Most of them don’t have services on Christmas if it is midweek.
Have you noticed that a substantial number of non-Catholics attend midnight Mass? In addition, of course, to the Christmas-and-Easter Catholics:D .
 
mystified said:
Have you noticed that a substantial number of non-Catholics attend midnight Mass?
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Actually I didn’t know this, but I’m delighted to hear of it.
In addition, of course, to the Christmas-and-Easter Catholics:D .
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Yes, them I know about, having been one in the past.
 
mystified said:
Most of them don’t have services on Christmas if it is midweek.
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Exactly. The OP seems to make the same mistaken Catholic assumption that I shared until just a couple years ago: that Protestants have services on Christmas like we have masses. This may be the case with Old World denominations like the Episcopalians, Lutherans, Presbyterians, I’m not sure. But it is rarely true for American denominations like the Baptists, Methodists, Churches of Christ, and various generic evangelical churches.

What was remarkable last year was that there were no services on Sunday, not that there were no services on Christmas.
 
Right, to my knowledge, growing up in a Southern Baptist church, we didn’t have a service for a mid-week Christmas…We just celebrated it the Sunday before…

I can’t remember what we did when Easter fell mid-week, though…

😃
 
I saw a sign on a church the other night, not sure of the denomination, but it said they are having a service, but no sermon. Maybe they think the shorter service will get more people there…
 
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Sandusky:
Last year there was a bit of a dust-up over some churches that announced that they would not hold services on Christmas Day, to free up that day for family time (I’m paraphrasing the exact reasoning). Anyway, I wonder if they got burned by the reaction and will be having services on Christmas Day this year, or if perhaps the trend towards no services will increase? Anybody heard anything?
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No services at my church this Christmas, as Christmas is on a weekday.
Brian C:
I can’t remember what we did when Easter fell mid-week, though…
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Easter Sunday—get it?
 
sandusky said:
Easter Sunday—get it?
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I take it you missed the smiley at the bottom of the post.😃

I was waiting for someone to notice.😃

It’d cause a bit of a problem if Easter came on thrusday just before Good Friday…😛
 
djrakowski said:
Note that Kensington planted K2, and both churches require folks to have tickets (!) to attend Christmas eve services.
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lol. Must be an awesome show! We can’t have everyone trying to worship God all at once!
 
Unfinished said:
lol. Must be an awesome show! We can’t have everyone trying to worship God all at once!
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Can you imagine someone driving around on Christmas eve, looking for a church, and they get turned away at the door because they don’t have a ticket? “Sorry sir, this show is all sold out.”

I’ve been associated with KCC in the past, and I believe that they at least reserve some seats for folks who wander in on Christmas eve, but still, there’s something a bit cold and sterile about handing out tickets to a celebration of the birth of Our Lord.
 
Brian C:
I take it you missed the smiley at the bottom of the post.
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I saw it; I didn’t connect way down there; I just thought you were happy. 🙂
djrakowsi:
Why should that make a difference?
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It’s just a tradition.
 
My friend who is Methodist is going to Church twice this year on Sunday. Sunday morning is the regular Sunday Service (they don’t have vigils on Saturday like Catholics do and some Lutherans in my city). Then he is going to Church on Sunday night for candlelight Christmas Service. He never goes to Church on Christmas Day, even though his Church has a service Christmas morning.

I never go to Mass on Christmas Day either. I go to Christmas Vigil or Midnight Mass. But I’m not going Sunday morning. I’ll be at the Vigil Mass on Saturday for the Fourth Sunday of Advent.
 
lak611 said:
I never go to Mass on Christmas Day either. I go to Christmas Vigil or Midnight Mass. But I’m not going Sunday morning. I’ll be at the Vigil Mass on Saturday for the Fourth Sunday of Advent.
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Heh… I’ll probably be going 3 times in a 24-hour span - once for Sunday with the family, by myself to midnight Mass to sing with our men’s choir, and once on Monday, again with the family. Our extended family already thinks we go to church too much - wait 'til they get a load of this weekend’s schedule 😃
 
djrakowski said:
Heh… I’ll probably be going 3 times in a 24-hour span - once for Sunday with the family, by myself to midnight Mass to sing with our men’s choir, and once on Monday, again with the family. Our extended family already thinks we go to church too much - wait 'til they get a load of this weekend’s schedule 😃
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I always go to Christmas Mass with my parents at their Church. I’ve never been to mine for Christmas. They prefer Christmas Eve so that’s what I’m used to. Fourth Sunday of Advent, I’ll go to the Vigil Mass at my Church, then go over their house on Sunday and go with them to whatever Christmas Eve Mass they are going to. Although, on Easter, I always go to Mass on Sunday by myself at my Church, then I meet my parents later. They go to their own Church for the Easter Mass without me. Generally, the only time I go to Mass with them is on Christmas.
 
VociMike said:
Last year there was a bit of a dust-up over some churches that announced that they would not hold services on Christmas Day, to free up that day for family time (I’m paraphrasing the exact reasoning). Anyway, I wonder if they got burned by the reaction and will be having services on Christmas Day this year, or if perhaps the trend towards no services will increase? Anybody heard anything?
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I do not think most Protestants have services on Christmas day. I would be curious as to which ones do…
 
BrianH said:
I do not think most Protestants have services on Christmas day. I would be curious as to which ones do…
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I’m pretty sure that Episcopalians, and perhaps other liturgical Protestants, have services on Christmas day.
 
There is a big non-denom. down the road from where I live and they don’t have Christmas Services. They say everyone should stay home and be with the family. Lots of people in this area go there. My neighbors keep trying to talk me into going there instead of driving 20 miles to my Catholic Church.
Not a chance of that.
 
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