SOUTHERN COLORADO — Churches are preparing for their Christmas Eve services, which is one of the times when the pews are most packed.
Christmas is the time for people to celebrate the beginning of the Christian story.
"This is a time of celebration, it's a time of great joy," Pastor Brady Boyd, Senior Pastor with New Life Church.
While people show up to celebrate, Pastor Brady Boyd says they are still aware of the health and safety concerns when getting large groups of people together.
"We've created a very safe environment, we sterilize every chair, all of the building has been thoroughly cleaned, we still have hand sanitizer stations, we encourage people that are compromised to use common sense before they come to a large gathering," said Boyd.
Pastor Boyd has seen many of his members switch the way they take in the service.
"We'll see three or four times more people watch online than in person," said Boyd.
For other churches, things have been a little different over the course of the year, Father David Price at the St. Mary's Cathedral says they have stopped having people sign in when they arrive and in-person attendance has increased significantly since May.
"We've kind of been open like normal now for several months and the attendance is more of less back to normal," said Father David Price.
Both men are confident that their Christmas Eve services this year will be a success no matter how people choose to partake.
"It's a great opportunity for people, maybe if they haven't been willing, or felt safe enough to come to church for a while, it's a great opportunity to come back to church," Price said.
"If you end up at a small community church or if you end up here at New Life, you're going to hear the same story of hope on Christmas Eve," said Boyd.
