There is something about worship on Christmas eve that is so cozy. And it’s not just a Broad Street thing… I felt this way going to midnight Mass as a child and at the Methodist church in NJ that my Grandpa went to.
Meriam Webster defines “cozy” as an adjective:
: enjoying or affording warmth and ease : SNUG
a cozy lakeside cabin
: marked by or providing contentment or comfort
won by a cozy margin
: marked by the intimacy of the family or a close group
We had a cozy dinner with the whole family.
There is something special about being in a dark sanctuary surrounded by music, people both familiar and not, and Christmas lights and candles twinkling around me. When the sun appears less and less these wintery days, cozy is what gets me through until Spring. And I love cozy worship! I find when I read scripture, pray or think about God in unfamiliar or unusual places, it jars me out of routine and captivates me in a unique way. That is why I think Christmas Eve worship captures me, it’s so different (even if not really) from Sunday morning worship. I show up pretty tired from the season, with a hint of loneliness and grief that linger from the past, and overstimulated from the crowds and loudness of the season, and worship is just quiet, warm, familiar, and cozy.
Wherever you will be or how your Christmas Eve will take shape, I hope you find a way to worship and embrace cozy worship.
- Maybe you are traveling and will show up as a stranger in a Church… I bet it still feels cozy and familiar.
- Maybe you are traveling or sick or too tired to leave home, you can live-stream our worship at 8:00 p.m. while wrapped in a blanket and sipping warm tea on your sofa… I bet it still feels cozy and familiar.
- Maybe you are making dinner reservations now and planning family get-togethers around worship here at BSPC at 8:00 p.m., where you will get to walk into our building, see the familiar narthex tree, the familiar faces, the cookies that taste so delicious, and sit in (or near) your familiar pew… I bet it still feels cozy and familiar.
Also, if cozy and quiet isn’t your thing, you may love the 4:00 p.m. worship experience outside with petting zoo animals… I also love that chaos too! Chaos and cozy all in one night, that sums up my love language haha.
What do you love about worship on Christmas Eve?
-Written by Brittany Porch
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Thank you, Brittany.
I love seeing the big kids who are home from college, or their new lives in other cities. They find each other, catch up, pose for a family photo in front of the beautiful tree.