Cooler temperatures and shorter days signal the coming approach of Advent and the Christmas season. Plans are already being made for Advent music and children's Christmas plays, but one of the loneliest places on earth at Christmas is a nursing home or a skilled nursing facility. Facilities vary in their abilities to provide services for residents, and facilities with lower income residents often have the least amount of resources. Many nursing home residents may also not be able to "go home" for the Christmas holidays for a variety of reasons. In any case, remaining residents are in need of a Christmas celebration not just by secular parties, but also by the church bringing the full meaning of the incarnation of Jesus and the hope of his coming to them.

Residents need to see the light of Christ shining as they live with difficult challenges, including aloneness, long-term illness, disability, limited mobility, and the proximity of death. Many of these residents are longtime church attendees and servants of the church. For example, one resident at a nursing home served fifty years as a Sunday school teacher. Others are exploring faith for the first time. Into this opportunity the church is called to minister and "to visit the sick, to visit Christ" (Matthew 25:35, 43).

Although Christmas Eve can be a busy and hectic time for churches and pastors, holding a Christmas Eve service at a local nursing home is easily done. It can be a blessing rather than a source of stress. Here is a simple process for creating a Christmas Eve service for a nursing home. The first step is planning. In September or early October, send a cordial letter to both the nursing home director and the activities director offering to provide a Christmas Eve service with punch and cookies. Here's a tip: Choose a nursing home that needs you. A good time to hold a service is 2:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve, which avoids mealtimes, yet it is early enough to avoid conflict with church Christmas Eve services.

The next step in preparing a service is recruiting a team. Typically, you need a musician with a guitar or piano, or a person who can carry a tune, and someone to share a short message (preferably a pastor or lay speaker), Scripture readers and someone who can organize the details. Do not give up just because your first choices are unavailable. Think outside the box. One Christmas Eve, the local librarian served as the liturgist. He had a loud voice and excellent diction. He turned out to be oneof the best Scripture readers that I have ever heard.

Just before Thanksgiving, confirm your presence with the nursing home personnel, which will more-than-likely be the activities director. On the first Sunday in Advent, begin promoting your alternative Christmas Eve program, asking for families and adults in the congregation to join the team. The real blessing comes when the Christmas Eve service becomes a multigenerational family event. During the same week, provide postcard invitations to the activities director of the nursing home, which allows him or her to invite residents' families to the event.

The organizer gathers the names of individuals who are coming or providing cookies (without nuts). He or she will also verify the arrival time with the worship team leaders, copy the words (large print), and finalize/print the order of worship for the team. Please note that bulletins are not necessary. Many residents have difficulty turning pages.

The essentials include keeping it simple; keeping it short (30 to 35 minutes), and being organized. For an investment of less than two hours on Christmas Eve, you will turn the holiday into what it is all about, which is welcoming the incarnated Christ to dwell amongst us in Spirit and in truth.

See the sample "Christmas Eve Service at a Nursing Home" by Mari Ann Kusmertz-Chell.

Mari Ann Kusmertz-Chell is a 2005 graduate of Methodist Theological School in Ohio and is a staff member of Shiloh UMC in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the West Ohio Conference. You may contact her by e-mail at mchell55@hotmail.com.

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