Christmas in a Nutshell

Dear all,

Thanks to Jane Gibbs at Poole Missional Communities for giving us 'Christmas in a Nutshell'. This cheerful YouTube clip packs a lot into 2min 4 sec!

Click here to have a look.

Happy Christmas,

Michael Ford (Communications Co-ordinator)

The Christmas Scale

To all you tired children and young people’s workers and clergy out there…

It is such a busy time of year for all of us but, if you can, do take 2 and a half minutes to stop and watch this short movie from Igniter Media, a great American company who create short movies, PowerPoint backgrounds etc for churches.

www.ignitermedia.com/mini-movies/2667/The-Christmas-Scale?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=mainad-2667&utm_campaign=120412

I’ve used quite a few of their seasonal materials - you can use The Christmas Scale as a preview but if you want to use it in church do pay the very reasonable download price. Have a look through the rest of the website, too.

With Christmas blessings, Barbara Meardon

Empty Stable at Wool

Do you remember the year Amy our oldest member, then 92, accompanied by the youngest child in church, carried the baby Jesus to the crib? There wasn’t a dry eye in the house!

With falling numbers and less regular attendance, our Sunday School nativity play was no longer viable. We needed a re-think, so a couple of years ago we scrapped the play and developed the Crib and Communion Service as a way of rounding off the term for the children and retaining their involvement in the main communion service on the last Sunday before Christmas.

All the children, both Sunday School regulars and visitors, are invited to be a part of the procession bringing the crib figures forward during the singing of a suitable carol. 

The nativity play costumes are available for those who would like to dress up and members of the Sunday School team sort out costumes, allocate figures, guide the children round the church and receive the figures to place them in the stable. 

If there aren’t enough children, then we co-opt the grown ups, some more enthusiastically than others but no one has said no, and once involved they love it too. We use an all-age communion format as the framework for the service, but it could work with any form that is child-friendly.

This year it takes place again at The Church of the Holy Rood, Wool on Sunday 23^rd December at 10.00am.   For more information contact Rhona Floate, 01929 462215, vicar@holyroodwool.org

WATCH OUT! Sheep about at West Lulworth !

Holy Trinity Church is taking part in a Nativity Trail this Christmas. 

All through November, people have been knitting sheep and now these are accompanying a Nativity set as it goes round the village, spending a night in different houses. 

Each host keeps a sheep and puts it in their window to show the Nativity set has been there.

On Christmas Day at 10am it will arrive at Holy Trinity Church and all the sheep and their new owners, along with anyone else who can make it, will be welcomed by Revd Nicola Coleman for the Family Service.

Presents for a Real Christmas

We’re all busy at this time of year and sometimes you just need something that will work with all ages or in school. Here is a simple interactive idea that went down well in both church service and collective worship in school but I’m sure it would also work really well at Messy Church, Sunday School or an after school club.

With my thanks for all the work you do with children and families especially at Christmas 
  

blessings 

Barbara Meardon

Adviser for Work with Children and Families for Salisbury Diocese

barbara.meardon@salisbury.anglican.org

* * *

Wrap four Christmas presents and hide/place them round the church/school hall:

A beautiful candle

A Flying dove cut out of card or a model

A balloon blown up

Lots of fair trade chocolate hearts

I started by talking about the giving and receiving of presents at Christmas then explained that God’s great gift to us at Christmas is Jesus and the gifts that he brings to us . . . Explain that there are four parcels hidden in the church/hall.

I sent children off to search for the first parcel, perhaps point them in the right direction. The first parcel is found and unwrapped.  Inside is a beautiful candle.  Ask a child to light it from the Christmas or Advent candle - 

I wonder what this candle reminds us about Jesus – that Jesus brings light to the world.

Set the candle on a small table.

I then sent the children off to search for the second parcel, pointing them in the right direction.  It was found and unwrapped and inside they found the flying dove decoration.  I held it up for all to see and asked: 

I wonder what  the dove is a symbol for? – The Holy Spirit, peace – Jesus brings peace to the world.

I set it on the table but you could hang it on the tree if there is one.

I sent the children off to search for the third parcel, pointing them in the right direction. The third parcel is very big.  The children found it and unwrapped it carefully.  Inside was a blown up balloon that popped out as they unwrapped it.   

I wonder when we have balloons? – we are celebrating Jesus’ birthday - Happy Birthday Jesus! The balloon is filled with air – it took energy to blow it up – Jesus brings us life.

I finally sent the children off to search for the fourth parcel, pointing them in the right direction. The fourth parcel was found and unwrapped.  Inside were red foil-covered chocolate hearts (if possible use fair trade and provide enough for everyone in the church) –  

I wonder what gift that Jesus gives us all is represented by the hearts?  Jesus brings us love.

I finished by getting the children to give out the chocolate hearts - a gift from Jesus – but you could invite them up to the from or the altar to receive them.

Don’t eat it yet - you’ve got to wait!

That was how advent prayers started for the Sunday Kids at Lady St Mary’s Wareham this week. 

12 children sat there, a fruit pastille or a minstrel sat on their out stretched hands - waiting - just as during advent we wait. We wait to celebrate the birth of Jesus, and we remind ourselves that we are also waiting for the day when Jesus returns. 

We prayed

Dear God

Thank you for the fun that is Christmas. Thank you that you chose to come to earth and be just like us for a while. Thank you that one day you are going to come back and be with us for ever. As we wait - help us to be more like you.

Amen

Then we ate the sweets!