Looking for suggestion on where to hold a Christmas eve service

debodun

debodun

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Location
way upstate in New York, USA
My cousin, the pastor, is looking for a venue for his Christmas eve midnight service, without charge. His usual site is not available then. I am at a loss of what to suggest - most places are either closed or busy at that time or want a lot of money. Any ideas?
 

He is a Baptist pastor, but now leads a non-denominational Christian worship group. He was let go by the last church he served at and now conducts services in a local building that also hosts wedding receptions, parties and the like. This will not be available for his late service.
 

Oh, I see now Debodun.Does the congregation pay for the room he conducts services in? There must be some public room in town he could use? I suppose all the municipal ones will be closed though?Does anyone have a large house you could use? Or a large garden, and make it look beautiful?It would have to be a short outside service with a few sung carols, as I am guessing it gets freezing in upstate NY.
 
I was also going to suggest a garden setting...it could be made to look really special up there where there's most likely going to be snow. Is there a member of his congregation who might have a house on a big lot? A lot wouldn't have to be anything except there and could be made into whatever setting they would like. Then a little chatting it up, mention in the local newspaper, and people who might not go to a service in a church may decide that "One is closer to God's heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth."
 
How many people are you talking about? How about the bus station or airport, or hotel lobby, the place of travelers. How about a business with"Star" in their name and hold it outside by the sign? ...with permission of course.

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We are in a small community in upstate NY. We want to keep it local. There will probably be anywhere from 20 to 50 people. Many of the congregation are elderly and don't like to travel out of town at night or be outdoors in what will probably be cold weather by then. There are no airports, depots or hotels nearby and would probably be too noisy and busy anyway.
 
debodun said:
We are in a small community in upstate NY. We want to keep it local. There will probably be anywhere from 20 to 50 people. Many of the congregation are elderly and don't like to travel out of town at night or be outdoors in what will probably be cold weather by then. There are no airports, depots or hotels nearby and would probably be too noisy and busy anyway.
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Truuuuue! But it would be very much like the first Christmas.
 
Is there a hospital in your town? Maybe a hospital chapel would suit.

I understand the elderly not wanting to be out at night or outdoors in cold weather, but surely if they were appropriately dressed being outdoors for a short time would be okay, and no doubt there would be members of the congregation willing to pick them up and take them to a service.

Run all these ideas past your cousin. Maybe something will click with him and lead him to an idea that will serve them.
 
Here, several of the churches meet together for a midnight service. Perhaps his congregation could join in services with some of the local churches there.
 
Is timing of the service important? Is it a vigil or could it be held earlier?

I was originally thinking about one of the local schools with an assembly hall but I forgot about how literally Americans take the idea of separation of church and state.

How about a private child care centre? People would have to bring a chair though unless you could organise some benches to sit on. Those teeny chairs are murder on big bums and arthritic knees.

Our local council has a directory of community venues with contact numbers. Perhaps you could let your fingers do the walking?

Another thought - some restaurants have two levels and often let out the upper level for a private function. You might have to have a luncheon first, then an afternoon service might be possible. Sharing a meal together would really enrich the event and it wouldn't matter if some just came for the service.
 
"Because of "separation of church and state" he can't use the local civic center "

That's a bit extreme.

Presumably they don't allow any Christmas decorations either, as it's a church festival?
 
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