News Photo by Julie Riddle Congregation members join a song leader in a Christmastime hymn at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Alpena on Sunday.

ALPENA — This Christmas season, local churches have had to decide if Christmas Eve will be a silent night.

Throughout 2020, local churches have tried to find the balance between protecting people’s physical safety and filling a spiritual need that, some feel, supersedes even the threat of COVID-19.

As at many other congregations, leaders at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Alpena have wrestled with how best respond to the health concerns and mandates in the state since the coronavirus began sickening Michiganders in February.

Neither the executive orders put in place earlier this year nor recent directives from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services have extended to churches, which are exempted from penalty for not following the rules that dictate other types of public gatherings.

Leadership groups at Resurrection have repeatedly hashed over whether they should remain open for in-person services when schools, restaurants, government bodies, and other groups had to conduct their business via videoconference or drive-through.

They’ll have an in-person Christmas Eve service, but this year they’re taking reservations.

Intentional interim pastor Steve Abend said he would support completely closing the church’s doors.

He worries about devout worshippers who will be in church no matter what — even if it’s not in the best interest of their health.

At the same time, “part of healthy and safe is coming and worshipping,” Abend said.

Many congregations in the area have developed a hybrid of in-person and online worship options, livestreaming or posting pre-recorded video as well as allowing people who feel comfortable doing so to attend in person.

Hugs, handshakes, and post-service chats over coffee have been cancelled at most churches, and pews are often marked off to keep people separate.

Some congregations have temporarily stopped or reduced singing, recognizing that the extra exhalation in such activities is believed to spread the virus more than regular speaking.

That’s a tough blow for many church attendees, for whom worship and music are intrinsically intertwined, according to Abend. At Resurrection, the congregation still sings on Sunday morning, but fewer songs and fewer verses than before.

“The bottom line it comes down to, for me, is, how do I love my neighbor?” Abend said. “How do I love the people of this community? Part of that means opening up and giving them an opportunity to worship, safely.”

TriPoint Church of God, which shares the same building as Resurrection, hasn’t met in person for the past month after being notified of some COVID-19 diagnoses in its ranks.

An annual living nativity hosted by TriPoint had to be cancelled this year as a safety precaution, but passers-by are welcome to stop by the church’s lit, outdoor life-size re-creation of the biblical Christmas story. An accompanying narrated soundtrack that plays in a loop sounds a bit like the voice of God as visitors stop in the church’s parking lot to enjoy the scene.

“Christmas isn’t cancelled,” according to a sermon series being broadcast by Living Hope Church in Alpena.

The congregation returned to online-only services in late November, when local coronavirus cases began to increase rapidly.

Even Christmas Eve services will be online, a decision pastor Lee Blanchard said was incredibly difficult.

As his congregation’s shepherd, Blanchard said, it’s his job not only to give his people spiritual nourishment but also to protect them.

“Finding that balance is what is most difficult,” Blanchard said in an email. “Learning how to discern what is fear and what is wisdom — and then choosing to fight fear and walk forward in wisdom.”

Pastor Jeff Ryan of Calvary Bible Church in Rogers City hopes his members will exercise wisdom in deciding whether to come to a worship service, even on Christmas Eve, when churches are traditionally packed full.

Calvary is conducting in-person services, but members who don’t feel safe being there can watch from home, as long as they have an internet connection and are comfortable using online livestreaming services like YouTube, Ryan said.

At his other church, St. Peter Lutheran Church in Metz, they’re not holding a children’s Christmas Eve program, a cherished tradition of the congregation.

It’s a tough loss, and the changes to treasured holiday traditions and worship opportunities aren’t easy at a time when many are reaching out for a spiritual connection, Ryan said.

Still, as church members and community members take care of each others’ needs in a difficult time, there’s cause for optimism.

“The Lord ministers in unexpected ways, even through a service being put out by video,” Ryan said. “That’s just the way God works.”