There was plenty of social distancing and almost no socializing, but the members upheld their tradition.
The parishioners of St. Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Church kept up their tradition of the annual Christmas concert, albeit with a few tweaks for 2020.
On Dec. 11, attendees paid their admission (an unwrapped toy to donate to a local charity for Christmas) and filed into the church to find their seats. Normally, the concert is held in the Father Edward Pick Fellowship Hall, but the church allows for more spacing between attendees. Organizer Mary Elizabeth Carey thanked everyone for distancing so well as they settled in.
"This is a little different than concerts in the past, but we're still going to make sure we have something for you more important than cocktails and wine," Carey said when addressing the crowd before the concert.
Singer Anne Tormela and pianist Lee Dougherty Ross moved through traditional Christmas songs before moving onto jauntier carols. At the conclusion of the concert, the musicians received a standing ovation from the crowd and a gift of an orchid from the organizers.
After the performance came to a close, parishioners filed out slowly to allow for social distancing, and rejoined friends they hadn't seen in a while outside the church to briefly catch up before parting ways again.
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