A long-standing tradition for thousands of Calgarians during the holiday season, Christmas Eve church services are going ahead but will look, feel and sound a bit different this year.

Some Calgary churches have opted to keep their doors open, adhering to strict provincial limits on capacity for in-person worship services, while others have stayed entirely online since March.

The Advent Lutheran Church of Calgary is one of the latter.

“It’s obviously not the same as being together, but we really have embraced all the goodness we can in this Zoom experience,” Pastor Daranne Harris said.

“We won’t be in the sanctuary together but we are suggesting people tuning in turn down the lights in your home and create that idea and tradition we all treasure on Christmas Eve,” she said. “For people to have a lit candle at home and see the glow on the screen of all those other people engaged in the familiar piece of the liturgy together — and we are together, even though we’re not in the same room.”