sustain:if:able kiwi

journey of the magi church service

Some ideas from Sunday’s service on the theme of Magi:

1. Question on large screen for people to consider as they arrive: Ponder this … To get to church today, did you travel from the North or South, East or West.

2. Sing O Come O Come emmanuel and use different languages for the first line of each verse. We used English, Korean, Tagalog and Maori. Make a verbal link to the Magi story, people who no doubt spoke a different language in their “coming” to Jesus.

3. Make stars in four different colours. Display again the opening question (Ponder this … To get to church today, did you travel from the North or South, East or West). Get the kids to give out the stars, a different colour for each direction. It takes a bit of time, but the kids love it.

4. Invite people to write on the stars something that might distract them from their journey toward Jesus this Christmas.

5. Place four Christmas trees at the compass points around the church. Have an appropriate coloured star on each one to help people’s direction finder. Invite people to place their stars on the tree in the direction of which they are heading home after church. Sing some carols while people do this. This allows space for lots of people to mingle and move. (175 people on Sunday.)

6. For the benediction, invite people to face “their” tree as they are blessed into their week of journeying toward Christmas.

All of this can be easily laced through singing, lighting of Advent candles, preaching, Scripture reading. All allow multiple ways to participate and response. Connections are made to people’s coming and going, with diverse cultures, with people’s hands and feet.