The Christmas Eve service at Duke Chapel has been a tradition in the Triangle for more than 40 years. The Service of Lessons and Carols begins at 11 p.m. and if history repeats itself, the sanctuary will be packed.

Time Warner Cable TV channels across the state will carry the service live.

The instrumental prelude will begin at 10:30 p.m. Attendees should plan to arrive at least 30 minutes in advance as the chapel that seats 1,580 is expected to be filled.

Dean Sam Wells will lead the service and will be joined by readers from the university and the Durham community and by a volunteer community choir of about 110 singers.

The chapel holds two other Christmas Eve services, all open to the public.

The first is at 3 p.m. and is suited for families with young children. At the second service at 5:30 p.m., Dean Wells will preach and lead a Service of Carols and Holy Communion.

In addition to these Christmas Eve services, the chapel will gather for a Christmas Day service at 11 a.m. on Sunday. The Rev. Bruce Puckett, pastor of the Congregation at Duke Chapel, will preach. All are welcome.

Weekend services celebrate Jesus' birth

University United Methodist, 150 E. Franklin St., will celebrate the birth of Jesus with three worship services on Christmas Eve and one on Christmas Day.

A service for families with young children is at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. This is a 30-minute participatory service with children and their parents invited to sit on the steps in front of the church for story reading and Christmas carols. Communion will be offered afterward in the chapel at 6 p.m.

Traditional Christmas Eve services will begin at 8 and 10:30 p.m. They will feature a sermon by the Rev. Carl King as well as hymns, Holy Communion and a soloist singing "O Holy Night." The congregation will sing "Silent Night," in a candlelit sanctuary.

On Christmas Day, all are invited to an informal service at 10:55 a.m. Participants are to come as they are after having gift exchanges at home. The offering may include gifts of winter clothing for the women and children of Home Start.

Christmas includes child-friendly service

Christmas Eve events at Binkley Baptist, 1712 Willow Drive, include a 4:30 p.m. service for children, families and extended families. This is a child-friendly service with opportunities for children to move, interact and sing.

A traditional service of lessons, carols and lights is set for 7 p.m. The service at 11 p.m. is vigil-type worship that includes readings, quiet prayer, Christmas carols and candle lighting.

On Christmas Day the church will hold its regular 11 a.m. worship service with Chin worship set for 2 p.m.

Children's Ministry sets worship service

The Children's Ministry of United Church of Chapel Hill, 1321 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., will host a 4 p.m. Christmas Eve worship service designed for children. Children will be invited to participate as one of the characters in the Christmas story. Costumes will be available. Worship will be followed by a "birthday party for Jesus."

The church will have a Christmas Eve candlelight service at 7 p.m. during which Crooked Creek, an a capella quartet, and the Chamber Singers will offer music. Pastor Richard Edens will preach.

The church's Christmas Choir will sing at the 11 p.m. Christmas Eve Candlelight and Communion service. Worshipers are invited to come early as the choir will sing carols before the Ringing of the Hour. Pastor Edens will preach and the service will be interpreted in American Sign Language.

Christmas worship services scheduled

Newhope Church, 7619 Fayetteville Road in Durham, is offering a unique Christmas worship schedule that will accommodate Christmas being on Sunday.

Christmas weekend worship celebrations will be offered on Friday, Dec. 23, at 4 and 6 p.m., and on Christmas Eve at 3, 5, and 7 p.m., all in the worship center.

All five services are family friendly with childcare available for children two years old and younger.

To better accommodate members and guests, free tickets for these services are available at the church.

Mitzvah day of service to be held Sunday

The Durham-Chapel Hill Jewish Federation has announced the 6th Annual Mitzvah Day to be held on Christmas Day.

This has become a treasured tradition in the Durham-Chapel Hill Jewish community where hundreds of volunteers join together on Christmas Day to help their neighbors in need. Projects range from feeding the hungry to visiting the elderly to cleaning up parks or making blankets to warm the homeless.

Those who can't take an active part in these service projects are invited to become a Mitzvah Maker by donating to the Online Tzedakah Box. A donation of $18 per family can help pay for fleece for blankets that are delivered to the homeless, flower pots and craft supplies for nursing home projects, food for local shelters and the community breakfast and "Got Mitzvah? T-shirts for all volunteers.

Gracie Robinson, who works in donor services in the Jewish Federation office, said that doing mitzvah is following the commandments.

"Colloquially, the word 'mitzvah' is used to mean doing a good deed," she said. "In Judaism, we are judged for the deeds we do, not only going to worship and praying, but doing those things we are commanded to do to help heal the world."

Moravian Christmas services to be held

Two authentic Moravian Lovefeasts and Candlelight services will be held at Christ the King Moravian Church in Durham on Christmas Eve. The services are at 4 and 6:30 p.m. The church is located at 4405 Hope Valley Road.

Mugs of warm coffee will be served with sweet buns, said Pastor Frank Venable, who noted that those wonderful Moravian sugar cakes are not served at Christmas, only at Easter time.

The services will feature traditional Christmas hymns, accompanied by the church's brass band. The pastor will give a brief Christmas message and the church's youth orchestra, violins and cello, will play during the time the coffee and buns are being served.

The church will serve breakfast on Christmas morning, beginning at 9 a.m. with a service of lessons and carols to follow at 10 a.m.

The community is invited to all church events.

The congregation is now winding down its Christmas tree sale.

"Anyone who does not have a tree by now should come by," Pastor Venable said. "We will be clearing the lot and you can name your price, or make a donation. All proceeds will go to missions."

Christ the King is the only Moravian congregation in the area and serves members from Orange, Durham, Chatham, Alamance and Wake counties.

Joint service marks 'Longest Night'

University United Methodist and Amity United Methodist will hold a joint "Longest Night" service today at 7 p.m. at Amity, located at 825 N. Estes Drive.

"This can be a time of sadness, especially for those who have lost loved ones in the last year or for whom the holidays bring back memories of lost loved ones," said Delores Langley, senior associate pastor at University UMC.

"This service provides an opportunity for remembering, which can lead to healing. It helps to know you are not alone in this time and that others do understand and care," she said.

The service of prayer and remembrance will feature prayers, Scripture readings and carols.

Services include children's pageant

St. Benedict's Anglican Church, 870 Weaver Dairy Road, will celebrate the birth of Christ on Christmas Eve with a children's pageant at 4 p.m., a sung Eucharist at 5 p.m., especially for families with small children, and with the traditional Midnight Mass at 11 p.m.

On both Christmas Day and New Year's Day, the church will hold only one service at 10 a.m. with music and preceded by Morning Prayer at 9:15 a.m.