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CASSOPOLIS — Over the weekend, residents at Cass County Medical Care Facility were able to get into the Christmas spirit, thanks to a visit from a local church group.

Saturday, members of St. Paul Lutheran Church, 305 W. State St., Cassopolis, visited the Cass County Medical Care Facility to fulfill a Christmas tradition. For more than 20 years, the church has visited the nursing home to perform Christmas carols for its residents. This year, due to COVID-19 precautions restricting visitors inside the facility, the church needed to get creative to continue to deliver their dose of holiday cheer. The group of nearly 20 people chose to carol outside of residents’ windows.

“Every year, we come out here. It’s been a tradition for a long time,” said Paul Doellinger, pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church. “We know the whole [pandemic] has been really hard on people in long-term care facilities. We thought this would be a good way to spread some Christmas cheer.”

Joyce Kerr, head of St. Paul’s board of ministries, was one of the individuals who helped plan the outdoor caroling session at the medical care facility.

“We wanted to volunteer our time and be able to give something to these people who are not able to be with their loved ones this season,” she said.

Both Doellinger and Kerr said they were happy to carol for Cass County Medical Care Facility residents, believing it was more important this year than ever before.

“This is important because it reminds us that we are not alone,” Doellinger said. “Spreading Christmas cheers shows that there is hope in Christ and the love of God.”

Staff at the Cass County Medical Care Facility said they were grateful to the members at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church for volunteering their time to help bring a smile and some Christmas cheer to their residents.

“This is really helpful for our residents. It’s a bit of normalcy for them,” said Diana Masters, director of activities at the facility. “We really appreciate this.”

In addition to the carolers from St. Paul, Masters said many individuals and organizations, including the road commission, VFW and American Legion, have been by the facility to offer support throughout the holiday season.

“The community has been wonderful, just really helping out,” she said. “I’m just amazed at what a good community we have. We are very grateful for everyone’s support.”