Attending church services on or around Christmas is a tradition held by many families. The Era reached out to several local area churches to see what message they would be delivering to the congregation this holiday season.

Lay Worship Leader John Kearns, from the Emanuel Lutheran Church, said he’ll be focusing his sermon on how when the savior of the world was being born, there was no room at the inn.

“Are we making room for him in our lives at this point?,” he asked. “With all the things going on with COVID-19 and everything else, we need God in our lives now more than ever. We need to make sure we’re putting him first.”

The service, which will be held in-person and on the Emanuel Lutheran Church Facebook page at 7:30 p.m. tonight, is going to be a bit different this year, as part will be pre-recorded. Additionally, they will be sending the bells off, which they haven’t done in years.

“We’re going to send the bells off to ring in the birth of our savior,” said Kearns. “The community and ourselves have been through a lot. We want to rejoice that we’re still here and still together.”

The B-Free Church held its program on Wednesday night, entitled “Christmas Carols and Candles.”

“The story that my wife, Beth Lenaway wrote, takes us from carol to carol, with a narration in between that tells the Christmas story — from the angel telling Mary she’s going to have a baby, to Jesus being in the manger,” said Jim Lenaway, pastor.

Open Arms Church also held a Christmas Eve’s Eve program on Wednesday. Pastor Zoe Hatcher said the messages this month have been focused on being more present with loved ones.

The message Wednesday night discussed “how God is the very nature of presence,” she said. “In sharing the story of Mary, we see the example of how God came near and how we can open up and be more fully present with him.”