Christmas Eve at Westminster

Absolutely everyone is welcome at Westminster for our three services of worship, music, and celebration on Christmas Eve.

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4:30p: Family service

Our family service at 4:30p is appropriate for all ages, and features interactive worship—including music by the Cherub and Carol choirs. Nursery care is provided for infants through age three.

8:00p: Festival service

Our festival service at 8:00p is our biggest service—including music by the Sanctuary Choir, Kirk Singers, and Alumni Singers. Nursery care is provided for infants through age three.

Attendance at the 8:00p service is usually very high, and we advise you to arrive at least 30 minutes in advance for seating in the sanctuary. Additional seating with a high-definition video feed will be available in our chapel.

11:00p: Candlelight service with communion

Our candlelight service at 11:00p is a quieter and more reflective service, including the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper—also known as communion—and music by Andrew and Leslie Wilkinson on flute and violin.

I haven’t been to your church before; what should I expect?

Above all, know that absolutely everyone is welcome at Westminster.

Our Christmas Eve services are a time of worship and celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Our services have a traditional, liturgical form with genuine warmth and thoughtful, emotional resonance that empowers genuine human connection.

In our understanding, the audience of worship is God. As such, we do our best not to make it a performance, but rather a participatory, community experience that uses traditional forms and contemporary language. Music is a foundational part of our worship—and music is a central component of our Christmas Eve services, including many of our children and adult choirs.

Every church says they welcome people—but am I really welcome here?

Absolutely. No matter who you are or what you carry with you through the door, we hope to welcome you, just as we ourselves have felt welcomed. We hope and pray that we will serve you with Christ-like love, humility, and integrity.

You can be angry at God, not think there’s a God, afraid of dying, going through a divorce, completely upset about church, or completely excited to worship. If you’re any of these things, you’re one among many who are just like you and are sitting in the pew on Sunday.

We advocate for all who worship with us—regardless of history, lifestyle, gender, race, sexual orientation, etc.—to have a safe and welcoming place to worship the risen Jesus Christ. Westminster is a place where people can be free to be afraid. You won’t be judged here.

More visitor information

Map and directions

Westminster is located at 47 Jefferson Ave SE in downtown Grand Rapids, near the corner of Fulton and Jefferson.

The main entrance to our church is off the parking lot. You can also enter through the doors at the corner of Weston and La Grave, or through the doors on Weston across from the Grand Rapids Fire Department.

Map and directions

Parking

Our parking lot is off Jefferson Avenue, across from State Street and the old Public Museum. If the parking lot is full, there is also parking on the streets around the church (parking meters stop running at 5:00p), and in the Spectrum Health lot off La Grave Ave, which opens to the public at 5:00p.

Transit

Westminster is near many bus lines on The Rapid transit system in Grand Rapids. Route #3 and Route #4 stop right in front of the church. Route #14 and Route #15 stops one block north of the church on Fulton. Route #1 stops two blocks west of the church.