The last time we followed
year B in the RCL (2011) Christmas was on Sunday which meant there was a clear
need in most congregations for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
services. This year Christmas falls on a
Thursday and most congregations will have only a Christmas Eve service. If you do have Christmas Day services you
might want to go to Christmas Eve and Day 2011 for ideas about including children in both. The suggestions for this year assume that
most children will be in worship on Christmas Eve only.
* If you have been moving crèche figures
around the sanctuary during Advent, tonight is the night to add the baby and
move the shepherds, sheep and angels into place. If you have not displayed a crèche, add one
tonight. During a children’s time have
the children help you retell the story as together you move or place the
figures. An unbreakable crèche is a real
asset on this night when “accidents are prone to happen.”
* Begin the service with Advent paraments (or at least the worship
leaders’ stoles) in place. Sing or read the first verse only of “O Little
Town of Bethlehem”. Recall how quiet
Bethlehem was that night. Shepherds were
taking care of sheep, travelers come to pay their taxes had settled into their
hotel rooms – or if they were not lucky enough to find a room, into the stable
out back. King Herod was resting in his
palace. “The hopes and fears” that
everyone worries about everyday were there.
It was a purple/blue night. As
this is said, light or have lit the four Advent candles. Then insist that this was about to
change. Read the Luke story, change the
paraments, and light the Christ candle.
* Fran Woodruff offers a simple children’s time during which Advent is reviewed and the Christ candle is lighted at On the Chancel Steps.
* Christmas Eve is also a good night for reading a
children’s Christmas story. Check out my evolving list at Christmas Story Books for Worship.
On Textweek.com I found two plans
for child-focused Christmas Eve services or children’s times. Though I have not experienced them, they
looked worth sharing.
* “The ABCs of Christmas” at Interactive Christmas Eve builds an entire family service around telling the
nativity story using the alphabet. Be
sure to follow the link in the first paragraph to the original version.
* Kathleen Sheets folded colored paper cranes to match
the birds in The Birds of Bethlehem, by Tomie
de Paola, and involve the children in telling the story. Find her plan at The Birds of Bethlehem.
The Texts
for Christmas Eve/Day
There are three sets of texts
to choose from for Christmas Eve and Day.
Below find suggestions for most of them.
I chose one of the psalms and one of the Isaiah texts.
Isaiah 9:2-7
* This is the most child-friendly of the three Isaiah readings. Unfortunately, it is so long that children
get lost in the middle. For their sake,
edit it to Isaiah 9:2, 6-7.
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| Used by permission. Find at janrichardsonimages.com |
* Display Jan Richardson’s painting “Shines in the
Darkness” telling worshipers you have a very unusual picture of
Christmas to show them. Point out that
there is no baby, no barn, no shepherds….
Ask why you know it is a Christmas picture. If no one else does, point to all the
gold. Ask what in the Christmas story it
reminds you of – the star? the
angels? Then point to all the dark paint
and repeat the question. Work around to
the fact that the light did not totally end the darkness. The dark is still there, but so is the
light. And, the light makes a big difference. Imagine the painting without any gold. Imagine a world without Jesus and God’s
love. Finally, reread Isaiah 9:2 and
6-7.
This
discussion might more easily take place on the Second Sunday after Christmas in
connection with the light in John’s prologue.
Psalm 98
* This is the best of the three Christmas psalms for children. It offers many short praises that children
can join the congregation in reading.
Groups 1 and 2 might be the congregation and the choir or two halves of
the congregation. The reading is
probably better suited to Christmas Day, but could also be a psalm for
Christmas Eve.
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Psalm 98
All: O sing to the Lord a new song,
for the Lord has done marvelous
things.
Group
1: The right hand and holy arm of the Lord
have won the victory
The Lord has made known this victory,
And
showed righteousness
to all the nations.
Group
2: The Lord has remembered steadfast love
and faithfulness to the house of
Israel
All: All
the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.
Group
1: Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all
the earth;
break forth into joyous song
and sing
praises.
Group
2: Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody.
All: With
trumpets and the sound of the horn
Make
a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.
Group
1: Let the sea roar, and all that fills
it;
the world and those who live in it.
Group
2: Let the floods clap their hands;
let the hills sing together for joy
at
the presence of the Lord;
who
is coming to judge the earth.
All: The
Lord will judge
the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.
Based
on the NRSV
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Luke: 2:1-20
* For the children on Christmas Eve, it is all about Luke’s story. They are well
served by services of lessons and carols that walk them through the story. Do take care to select a few carols they
likely know. Go to Singing Christmas Carols with Children in Worship for an annotated
list of carols from which to choose.
* For family oriented services, lessons and carols
invite some visual drama to grab
the attention of children hyped up on Christmas Eve. As each lesson is read, costumed youth and
adults move around the sanctuary as the stories are read. (Christmas Eve excitement makes this not a
good night for a children’s pageant.
Children do best watching the youth and adults who are the age of the
originals walk through the story. A
child shepherding with a parent is one exception.) Actors may speak or simply walk through their
part as readers read. Mary and Joseph
walk up the center aisle leave out a side door.
Shepherds, angels and their reader may appear in the balcony. The Magi may come one at the time bearing
their gifts regally up the central aisle and bow in front until the end of the
reading. It is often easier not to build
a final scene, but to have the characters leave the sanctuary after their
reading. This leaves space in the front
for choirs, extra musicians, poinsettias, etc.
I have posted the script for such a service that was developed at
Trinity Presbyterian Church in Atlanta.
Find it at Family Friendly Christmas Eve Service.
* If you follow a more “standard” order of service, consider having the gospel read by several costumed shepherds. They could be members of one family (families
often stayed out together to care for the sheep) or a group of teens (bet they
often got the overnight shift). This
version is set for three readers. It
could easily be adapted for more or fewer.
It would also be possible to have one reader read verses 1-7 about the
birth, then let the shepherds take it from there. The shepherds could read from the usual
upfront Bible or around a microphone in an unexpected corner of the sanctuary.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luke 2:1-20
Shepherd One: In those days a decree went out from Emperor
Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first
registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to
their own towns to be registered.
Shepherd Two:
Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the
city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and
family of David. He went to be
registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.
Shepherd Three:
While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and
wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no
place for them in the inn.
Shepherd One:
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch
over their flock by night.
Shepherd Two: Then an angel of the Lord stood
before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
Shepherd Three:
and they were terrified.
Shepherd Two:
But the angel said to
them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for
all the people: to you is born this day
in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This
will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and
lying in a manger.”
Shepherd Three: And suddenly there was with the angel
a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he
favors!”
Shepherd One:
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said
to one another,
Shepherd Two: “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing
that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.”
Shepherd Three:
So they went with
haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.
Shepherd One:
When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this
child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and
pondered them in her heart. The
shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and
seen, as it had been told them.
All
shepherds:
This is the Word of the Lord!
From
The New Revised Version
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John 1
* When to read John’s Prologue this season?! It is listed in the lectionary for both
Christmas Eve/Day and the Second Sunday After Christmas. Luke’s story serves children better than
John’s abstract poem on Christmas Eve.
But, there are ways to read John on Christmas Eve that will draw the
children in. For them, John is simply
telling us who that little baby is and why we celebrate his birthday.
* Jesus, the Word is
Mark Francisco Bozzuti-Jones’ presentation of this text. It is wonderfully stated and beautifully
illustrated. It begins introducing the
Word, then tells that Jesus was the Word and lists many of the things he did
during his life. It briefly recounts his
death and resurrection and insists that he is still with us now. The story is held together by the Word’s
repeated promise, “I will set you free.
I won’t let you be anything by holy, good and free.” Read it in worship to answer the questions
“who was Jesus?” and “why was the baby Jesus so special?” Worshipers of all ages respond warmly to it. It might be read and savored as either the
sermon or a children’s sermon. If you
project images in worship, scan the pages for projection so everyone can see
them. (I am told that if you do not
share your scanned version with anyone, ever, this is not copyright
infringement.) If you do not project
images simply read the book with gathered children so they can see the
pictures. (Can be read aloud in just
under 5 minutes)
* “Once in Royal David’s City” is a child friendly singing version of John’s poem. The words and ideas are simple enough for
most children to follow without introduction.
In many congregations it is the children’s job to sing the first verse
with the congregation joining in or the remaining verses. These children may be a choir or a
class. They need to be standing together
rather than scattered through the sanctuary in the pews.
* To introduce the Word in John’s Prologue to the children, start with familiar phrases about
people and their words.
She’s
as good as her word
You
have my word for it
Do
as I say (as well as as I do)
Actions
speak louder than words
“Don’t
speak of love, show me” – My Fair Lady
In
response to words (about something), “Prove it!”
(show me with your actions)
He’s
all words (and no action)
Insist that on Christmas when
Jesus was born God made good on all God’s promises and words and that
everything God had ever told people was poured into Jesus of Nazareth.
Hebrews 1:1-4 (5-12)
* This could be called God’s proud parent
speech. Use verses 1-3 to
explore why Jesus and his birthday are so important. Verses 2a -3 are an ancient hymn (for today’s
purposes one of the first Christmas carols).
Using the script below, one leader could put the lines of the song into
his/her own words to clarify them for the children while reading the psalm. Or,
one leader could read the psalm with a second leader offering explanations in
response to each line. Particularly if
you chose the latter, it might be wise to reread the text uninterrupted afterwards.
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Hebrews 1:1-3
In the past, God
spoke to our ancestors many times and in many ways through the prophets,
Recall Moses, King David and other a
familiar prophet who were God’s leaders
but in these last
days he has spoken to us through his Son.
Jesus is different from all these
wonderful people in the past.
He is the one through whom God created the
universe,
Jesus was present
at the creation of the universe
the one whom God has chosen to possess all
things at the end.
Jesus will be
there at the end of the world.
He reflects the brightness of God’s glory and
is the exact likeness of God’s own being,
Jesus isn’t like
God, Jesus IS God. Every story about
Jesus is a story about God.
He sustains the universe with his powerful
word.
Jesus is present
right now holding things together.
After achieving forgiveness for human sins,
he sat down in heaven at the right-hand side
of God, the Supreme Power.
Jesus died on the
cross and rose again forgiving us and now is with God.
Based on Today’s
English Version
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Titus 2:11-14 and 3:4-7
* Titus’ call for sober, upright living is not going to grab the
attention of worshipers of any age on Christmas Eve. But, he unintentionally offers children an interesting comparison between Jesus and Santa. Santa brings
toys only to the good. Jesus comes to
love us not because of anything we have done to earn it but because God loves
us. That idea would however be more
interesting to children “after” Christmas when Santa’s next visit is a year
away.
*
The CEV make more sense to
children than the NRSV. Rather than
read the whole text to them, select key verses, e.g.
God our Savior showed us how good and kind he is.
He saved us because of his mercy,
and not because of any good things that we
have done.
Jesus
treated us much better than we deserve.” (CEV)
* Out of the sanctuary note: Providing child care for infants and toddlers on Christmas
Eve allows parents to take their older children to worship. Many families will decide to stay home rather
than risk taking their youngest to the sanctuary and thus miss out on Christmas
worship. And, some families try to bring
children who are too tired and off schedule to make it through the service
without causing pain to all around them.
So, hiring child care workers at even twice their normal hourly wage is
a significant gift to the entire congregation.
If your usual staff are made aware of this well in advance, many will
gladly arrange their plans to be at the church and reap the extra financial
reward. Another out of the sanctuary note: If you expect to provide overflow seating, go to LINK for ideas about making this area more worshipful for children (and adults too.)
* Another out of the sanctuary note: If you expect to provide overflow seating, go to THoughts About Overflow Seating and Children for ideas about making this area more worshipful for children (and adults too.)
Merry Christmas!
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