Arts & Entertainment

Christmas Eve and Day church services

Published

16 years ago

December 23, 2010

Christmas Eve

The River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation (6301 River Rd.) in Bethesda will be holding two candlelight services today. The first service will be at 5 p.m. with a family candle lighting service with carols and the traditional River Road Christmas Eve Pageant and the second service will be at 8 p.m. and is for adults and older children and will feature songs, choral music, readings and an original story.

Foundry United Methodist Church (16th and P streets, N.W.) has a family-oriented service ideal for families with young children at 6:30 tonight. Then at 8, a half-hour concert featuring the church’s soloists will serve as a prelude to an 8:30 p.m. candlelight “lessons and carols” service. The choir will perform at the latter. A reception will follow each service. Foundry is an LGBT-friendly “open and affirming” congregation.

The United Church, a union congregation of the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church, has a bilingual candlelight service today at 5 p.m. The church is at 1920 G Street, N.W. Visit www.theunitedchurch.org for more information.

All Souls Memorial Episcopal Church (2300 Cathedral Ave., N.W.) has a children’s Mass and blessing of the creche (nativity) today at 4. Carols and preludes for Midnight Mass start at 10:30 p.m. Midnight Mass starts at 11 p.m. A low Mass will be said at 10 a.m. on Christmas Day. Lessons and Carols are at 11 a.m. on Dec. 26. Visit www.allsoulsdc.org for more information.

Metropolitan Community Church of Washington (474 Ridge St., N.W.) will be holding Christmas Eve worship tonight at 8. MCC-D.C. is the region’s largest mostly LGBT church.

Washington National Cathedral (3101 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.) will have its Christmas Eve Festival Holy Eucharist at 6 and 10 p.m.

Covenant Baptist Church (3845 S. Capitol St.) will be holding its Christmas Eve Service at 7 p.m. tonight.

National City Christian Church (5 Thomas Circle, N.W.) will be holding its Christmas Eve service today at 7 p.m., starting with a festive prelude followed by a candlelight communion.

The Christ Church on Capitol Hill (620 G St., S.E.) will be holding a Christmas Pageant and Holy Eucharist at 5:30 p.m. It will also have a choral prelude at 10 p.m., the Holy Eucharist at 10:30 followed by coffee hour.

Saint John’s Episcopal Church (3240 O St., N.W.) will be holding its Holy Eucharist along with a Christmas Pageant at 4 p.m. A Feast of Carols and Noels will begin at 8:30, followed by the Festival Holy Eucharist at 9 p.m.

Seekers Church (276 Carroll St., N.W.) will be holding its Christmas Eve worship tonight at 7.

First Trinity Lutheran Church (309 E St., N.W.) will have its Christmas Eve service at 7:30 p.m. following a pre-service of Christmas music that starts at 7 p.m.

Church of the Pilgrims (2201 P St., N.W.) will have its Christmas Eve service tonight at 7 p.m.

Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle (1725 Rhode Island Ave., N.W.) will be holding a vigil at 4:30 p.m. following a prelude at 4, Vigilia at 6:30 p.m. following a concerto at 6, and the main service at 10 p.m. with Cardinal Wuerl presiding.

Christmas Day

Washington National Cathedral (3101 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.) will have its Christmas Day Festival Holy Eucharist at 9 a.m. today. Its Christmas Day Holy Eucharist, Rite II will start at noon. There will also be a Christmas Day organ recital at 5:15 p.m.

Christ Church on Capitol Hill (620 G St., S.E.) will be holding its Holy Eucharist today at 10 a.m.

Saint John’s Episcopal Church (3240 O St., N.W.) will be holding its Holy Eucharist with traditional carols today at 10 a.m.

Dignity Washington will hold its Christmas Mass tonight at 6 p.m. at St. Margaret’s Church (1820 Connecticut Ave., N.W.)

Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle (1725 Rhode Island Ave., N.W.) will have multiple services today starting at 8:30 a.m. The other services are at 10 and 11:30 a.m. and a service in Spanish at 1 p.m.

Online Culture

Clavicular charged in alleged rape of teenage influencer

Online personality’s real name is Braden Peters

Published

8 hours ago

September 23, 2026

Joe Reberkenny

Braden Peters a.k.a. "Clavicular" (Screen capture via NBC News/YouTube)

Online personality Clavicular, whose real name is Braden Peters, has been accused of rape.

According to NBC, Aleksandra Vasilevna Mendoza, an 18-year-old influencer known online as Alorah or Alorah Ziva, accused Peters of sexual assault, and the case is making its way through the court system.

The alleged incident occurred on May 23, 2025, when Mendoza was 17.

According to a criminal complaint from the Chatham (Mass.) Police Department, Peters called her an Uber to his family’s home. Once there, he allegedly got her drunk on vodka while they livestreamed on Twitch and then raped her. His mother and grandmother were allegedly in the house.

The documents allege Clavicular committed rape, drugging a person for sexual intercourse, and procuring and providing liquor to a person under 21.

According to court documents acquired by NPR, Mendoza began communicating with Peters on Instagram, where he paid her to appear on his livestreams to help her “make her name known on social media.”

According to those documents, Peters arranged for the minor to come to Cape Cod home to participate in a videostream for his 437,000 followers on Kick, 1.2 million followers on TikTok, and more than 1 million followers on Instagram.

At his home, Peters allegedly instructed Mendoza to say she was 18 on his videostream and to claim the alcohol on camera was water instead of vodka. Mendoza said she felt peer-pressured to drink the spirit and that she became noticeably intoxicated after a couple of drinks.

The allegations go on to state that after stopping the stream, Peters and Mendoza kissed on a couch and then had sex in his bed without her consent. Mendoza said she did not receive a sexual assault forensic exam after the incident. NPR does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.

The charges come months after Mendoza sued Peters in Miami, accusing him of sexual battery in connection with the events of May 2025. The civil lawsuit also separately alleges that he injected her face with a non-FDA-approved fat-dissolving substance during a November livestream in Florida.

Peters is known for his “looksmaxxing” concept of vanity, which is at the core of his online presence. The “looksmaxxing” culture he has helped cultivate combines elements of incel culture and heterosexuality, with the stated goal of attracting the opposite sex. He has gone as far as to say he has undergone “bonesmashing,” or hitting his own face with a hammer; taken anabolic steroids to more rapidly grow muscle; and used crystal meth as an appetite suppressant.

At the same time, looksmaxxing has been described as having elements of homoeroticism, with “looksmaxxers” appearing more concerned with impressing other men than women. Peters has multiple times pointed to openly gay actor Matt Bomer as the gold standard for male facial aesthetics.

Peters’s arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 14.