Never fault Odessa for not being Christmasy enough because of all the towns and cities in Texas, it is no doubt one of the most Christmas-minded.
Start with the city parks and recreation department’s famous Starbright Village on the southwest side of town with its fantastic array of brightly twinkling, colorfully lit Christmas displays, then check out the Saturday Christmas Eve and Sunday Christmas Day events at many of the city’s 100-plus churches.
The Second Baptist Church at 711 E. 17th St. is staging its 67th annual live nativity scene with Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus and the shepherds from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday and a candlelight Christmas Eve Service at 6 p.m. Saturday followed by the concluding nativity scene with actors, actresses and livestock from 7-8 p.m. that night.
Second Baptist Ministry Assistant Elizabeth Rivera said a woman had called from Dallas to say that she and her daughter, former Odessans, would fly in for it. “It’s cool that we have repeat guests who tell us how they grew up watching the program and now they are passing that family tradition down to their children,” Rivera said.
“It’s definitely a family event.”
For those who find the holiday trying because of a sad experience like the death of a loved one, the First United Methodist Church is offering a “Blue Christmas” service at 7 p.m. tonight (Dec. 20).
The 415 N. Lee Ave. church will have a contemporary Christmas Eve candlelight service at 4 p.m. Saturday and a traditional observance at 6 p.m.
Odessa Christian Faith Center’s “Feliz Navidad” holiday programs at 4 and 6 p.m. Saturday will feature original music, dancing and an abuelita, or beloved grandmother, reading the Christmas story to her granddaughter.
Mary Caywood, chief of staff at the 9000 Andrews Highway church, said the story “will tell from the beginning of the world how we got to the birth of Jesus, how he came to earth and how Christmas truly evolved through the Word.”
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church at 7601 N. Grandview Ave. will have a children’s Christmas Eve Mass with a children’s choir singing at 5 p.m. Saturday, a Spanish Mass at 7 p.m. and a midnight Mass at 9 p.m.
St. Andrew Cumberland Presbyterian Church at 1415 N. Grandview will have a Christmas Eve candlelight communion service at 7 p.m. Saturday.
