Madison-area churches adapt to Christmas Eve like no other

In some ways the pandemic has been good to the South Side Madison church, with people from around the country logging on the church’s live-streamed weekly services.

Initially, “we were getting 4,000 or 5,000 people a week,” Allen said. “Now they don’t have to be in person. They can be virtual.”

Sun Prairie United Methodist

Amanda Hinthorn, director of Christian Education at Sun Prairie United Methodist Church, similarly said there have been some upsides to doing church in a pandemic — specifically, how the flexibility of it provides ways to expand one’s faith life beyond Sunday mornings. Her church has been pre-recording full services from the church building and posting them to YouTube.

“There’s not that rush to get out the door and be somewhere,” she said. “Faith can really happen at any time.”

Christmas Eve will be no different, said Pastor Jenny Arneson, but it’s not the only Christmas tradition the church has adapted to the moment.

On Friday, the church offered a two-hour drive-through live nativity — complete with three sheep, one miniature cow, two miniature steers and a miniature horse — on the church grounds. Arneson said six vignettes from Jesus’ birth story were acted out, and the line of cars to see them stretched about a third of a mile south from the church at 702 North St. to Windsor Street.