Tickets for Masses, virtual holiday concerts, video Christmas cards, and drive-by nativity scenes: it’s beginning to look a lot like a different sort of Christmas.

With Covid-19 contributing to the cancellation of  Christmas pageants, caroling, and some of the season’s most familiar traditions, many parishes in the Archdiocese of Newark have risen to the challenge and found creative new ways to engage the faithful this Christmas.

At Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Ridgewood, every parish household received a gift bag hung on their front door. In it was a Nativity scene Christmas tree ornament, information about the parish, and a heartfelt message from the pastor, Msgr. Ronald Rozniak.

“In the world in which we live, it is more important than ever to remind ourselves of what’s important in life,” wrote Msgr. Rozniak in the letter. “At the top of that list, besides God, of course, is family. As we celebrate a season that has its origins in and on a special ‘Holy Family,’ we here at Mount Carmel are thinking of all of you, our family, the family we call Our Lady of Mount Carmel.”

Concert and tree lighting

The parish Christmas concert at Our Lady of Mount Carmel was held in person this year, but due to the pandemic, attendance was severely limited. 

The event was livestreamed to reach more parishioners, but instead of the entire choir, it featured the parish cantors. The traditional Christmas tree lighting in front of the church followed, but it was handled differently this time.

“We normally march out of the church singing Christmas carols and then gather around the tree and light it right after the Christmas concert,” explained Msgr. Rozniak, noting that approach didn’t work this time because of social distancing concerns. Instead, parishioners watched the spectacle on television monitors inside the church or over the livestream feed at home.

Nativity scenes

An extended Nativity scene was constructed at the church featuring the life of Jesus. It includes scenes from the Incarnation in Nazareth, the Savior’s birth in Bethlehem, and the Resurrection in Jerusalem.

Parishioners can visit the display in person or watch a narrated video featuring a virtual visit to the Nativity scene. This video and a “making-of” clip will soon be available on the parish website.

Parish staff also organized a front yard Nativity scene contest in Ridgewood. On the weekend before Christmas, parishioners are invited to visit select homes featuring Nativity scenes and to vote for their favorite. The winners are rewarded with gift cards.

Virtual Christmas cards

This season, parishioners of Our Lady of Mount Carmel were encouraged to share virtual Christmas cards. Families were asked to submit a 10-second video clip of themselves sharing a message or singing a carol. The virtual messages will air before and after in-person Masses, livestreams, and will be available on the parish website and Facebook page throughout the Christmas season.

“I’m really looking forward to that,” said Msgr. Rozniak. “I think that will really create that sense of connectedness with the parish. They can sing a carol. They can be dressed in Christmas PJs, around a tree. Whatever they want to do. It will be a Christmas greeting from their family to the parish family.”

Creating faith connections

Msgr. Rozniak explains that the point of all these efforts is to foster greater connectivity with the faithful despite a pandemic that discourages community. That was a key takeaway from a virtual workshop entitled, “ReThink Advent and Christmas: An Innovation Workshop!” organized by Bishop Michael Saporito.

The workshop inspired many of these creative ideas at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, explained Msgr. Rozniak, and was meant to help pastors, parish staff, and lay leaders explore best practices and creative ways to help people experience Christ and be Christ-like to others at Christmas.

Sacred Heart Church in Bloomfield

Fr. James Brown, the pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Bloomfield, also attended the workshop with members of his parish staff. His team came up with several creative Christmas projects of their own including a giant outdoor Advent display.

They kicked things off with a communications initiative called “Hearts Connected” in which staff reached out to every parish household with a postcard and phone call. This was a way to check in with parishioners, to pray with them, and also update email addresses.

“One of the things that the pandemic is letting us know is that things are not really going to go back exactly the way that they were,” Fr. Brown said. “The technology and those avenues of communication are going to be even more important.”

Outdoor Christmas displays

The parish installed four large banners that promote the message of, “Hope,” Love,” “Joy,” and “Peace” on light poles in front of the church. On display h are also four giant homemade Advent candles made of PVC pipe with glass fishbowl tops that light up using solar power.

“They are really neat looking candles,” Fr. Brown said. “They’re like five feet tall and we happen to have four concrete planters outside on the front steps of the church, so we planted one in each planter.”

Sacred Heart is located in downtown Bloomfield across from the town green near the main street where lots of people drive by. The banners, candles, and a large sheet metal nativity set on the back lawn serve as great ways to evangelize to the community, said Fr. Brown.

“You have everybody at the stop light and at the bus stop looking up, ‘Gee, what are those Catholics up to now?’,” he said. “But those simple things are great evangelizing opportunities and I hope that it catches somebody enough to say, ‘Gee, I want to check them out, see what they’re doing,’ and then maybe they’ll stay.”

Christmas photographs

This year, Sacred Heart Church is collecting family photographs to be hung on the parish Christmas tree in the sanctuary.

“We’re trying to still be somehow connected,” Fr. Brown said. “It’s challenging, but I think also in all of this, God is giving us opportunities if we strive to rise to it, and some good things are happening. It’s been challenging and rewarding and interesting. It 

runs the whole gamut.”

Advent videos

The music ministry at Sacred Heart created several Advent related videos. The first is a brief introduction to O Come, O Come Emmanuel, that explores its origins and hidden meanings. Director of Music, Jennifer Behnke, who created the video, describes O Come, O Come Emmanuel as, “the most ubiquitous song of Advent.”

Beginning Dec. 17, the first of seven videos about The O Antiphons will premiere on YouTube. They will include a brief explanation of the ancient text and will be chanted by Behnke, and Sacred Heart music ministers Linea Rondael and Kevin Brown.

Tickets and extra Masses

Christmas Mass is the highest attended service of the year but because of the pandemic and capacity restrictions pastors aren’t sure what to expect this year. Some parishes are adding extra Masses while others are giving out tickets to parishioners in advance.

Nativity Church in Midland Park has added two Christmas Eve Masses and an extra Mass on Christmas for a total of 10 services. The plan is to livestream two Masses on Christmas Eve and one on Christmas day, said Fr. George Klybus, the pastor of Nativity in Midland Park.

The parish recently held their outdoor Christmas tree lighting ceremony, but the Christmas pageant and Christmas concert likely won’t be happening this year.

“There are some things we cannot do because of the restrictions. There are some things that we can alter, and it’s important to be creative,” Klybus said.

Saint Luke Church in Ho-Ho-Kus instituted a ticketing system for their six Christmas Masses this year to help manage attendance. The tickets are free and limited to 100 people per Mass.

The 4 p.m. Christmas Eve service immediately “sold out,” but it’s too early to tell if the others will fill up, said Fr. James Manos, the pastor of Saint Luke.

“The other ones are filling up but not like the 4 p.m.,” he said. “We still have a lot of people calling up and saying they are afraid to come. People are getting nervous now again because of the pandemic.”

The noon Christmas Mass will be livestreamed.

Season of hope

Whatever happens, Jesus is still here with us, said Bishop Saporito.

“Whatever that celebration of Christmas will look like this year, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “The truth of the Advent/Christmas Seasons still lives. Jesus became one of us to save us from our sins, to inspire our everyday living and to lead us home to eternity. As we reflect on this Christmas season, acknowledging how much this pandemic has impacted us and how hard we are trying to deal with all the difficulties presented by it, let’s remember that there is hope, even in the darkness. The light that is the Christmas celebration is the hope that Jesus brings to us. Let’s recognize it, embrace it, allow it to guide us as we bring it to others.”