A Thematic Idea for Advent

 

�The Amazing Story�

 

Note:  These ideas were developed by Marcia McFee (www.marciamcfee.com) in 2006 for a congregation in Florida.  While the scriptures used by the storyteller do not coincide with the lectionary for 2007,  they could certainly be used in conjunction with the lectionary readings later in the service. 

 

*  A costumed �storyteller� (old English feel, perhaps� or contextualize in your own way) gives continuity to the advent lighting time.  I�ve written some possible dialogue below and used Eugene Peterson�s biblical translation since it is also in the �storytelling� kind of mode.  That storyteller would use a big, oversized book that would have �The Amazing Story� on the front of it, which, on Christmas Eve would change to �Our Amazing Story.�  Or, the storyteller could carry a big scroll that he/she reads out of.

 

*  I�ve found a song in a little-known collection of Brian Wren that I�ve adapted somewhat to fit the theme� �Come and listen to the story�� that could be used each week to surround the Advent-lighting time (see below� the song is in 6/8 - very lilting - order information below).  Last year I was part of the advent candle-lighting at my church� we used lanterns in a hanging wreath and we danced each lantern in during the advent song.  Even if you don�t use lanterns, you could still have dancers dance in the candles to be placed in the wreath� one dancer the first Sunday and then add a dancer each Sunday, culminating in a longer dance on Christmas Eve (there is a tradition of a �candle dance� that is lovely in an evening service when you can make the sanctuary dark and have the dancers dance with lanterns or candles in glass containers.)

 

*  bulletins could be rolled like scrolls for each Sunday or the cover could look like the cover of the storyteller�s book.

 

*  small scrolls with contemporary messages (poetry, quotes) of hope/peace/joy/love could be given to people each Sunday to be passed on and given to others during the week.  These scrolls could also have the church�s information and service times on it and/or listing of special Advent/Christmas activities.  These could also be in a weather-proof box outside the church where passers-by could get one.  Perhaps there is a big book or scroll outside with the theme on it and an invitation to worship.

            e.g.  a poem for the �Hope� scrolls

                                    I was just thinking

                                    One morning

                                    During prayer

                                    How much alike

                                    Hope

                                    And baking powder are:

                                    Quietly

                                    Getting what is

                                    Best in me

                                    To rise,

                                    Awakening

                                    The hint of eternity

                                    Within.

                                                - Macrina Wiederkehr

                                                in Seasons of Your Heart

 

* Scrolls could be tied with gold ribbon and gold ribbon could also �wrap� (or simply drape) the pulpit, font, altar, altar rail, tree, etc.   Each person could also get a piece of gold ribbon as a Bible bookmark that had some calligraphy on it� �The Amazing Story�

 

*  The opening hymn each of the four Sundays could have something to do with �story:�

            e.g.      UMH 569 �We�ve A Story to Tell to the Nations�

                        UMH 156  �I Love To Tell the Story�

                        UMH 200 �Tell Out, My Soul�

 

* Christian education, small groups, choir, youth, committees, etc. could be given a page from a scrapbook for them to decorate about the �story of God�s work in us� with pictures, prayers, thoughts, hope for the future.  These could all be put together towards the end of the season for display (get someone who is into �scrapbooking� to take on this project).

                       

* A mission project could be based on books, literacy, after school programs, etc.

 

* Small booklets with scripture verses and lots of blank space could be placed in the pews for people to write in -- reflections, prayers� you could weave in some time in each service of reflection/prayer where people could be encouraged to write a sentence or two based on the focus of the day (hope, peace, joy, love).  These booklets could then be given for Christmas to persons in hospitals, nursing homes, etc. (You may have to switch the position of the booklets in the pews so different people write in each one each Sunday� we know how we like to sit in the same spot J)

 

Here is an idea for the lighting of the Advent wreath sequence:

1.  �Come and Listen� is sung by the choir and congregation as the light is processed in and the storyteller comes in (possibly followed by children).  He/she is carrying a big book.

 

�Come and Listen�

Words by Brian Wren; music by Susan Heafield, adapted

(To order  J

http://www.hopepublishing.com/html/main.isx?sub=31&workid=2221

 

Come and listen to the story

The light is arriving,

Shining to brighten the way.

We can be messengers today.

 

We are people with a story

We travel together,

Living the Jesus way.

We can be messengers today.

 

2.  �The story-teller� opens the big book and puts it on a stand and then reads the intro and scripture (adapted from The Message) related to Advent candle-lighting (see below). 

 

3. Then liturgy related to The Lighting of the Candles is read, followed immediately by the prayer for that Sunday.

 

4. �Come and Listen� is sung again as the storyteller and liturgists go back to their seats, substituting the appropriate words for the first verse:

 

Come and listen to the story

Our [hope/peace/joy/love] is arriving,

Coming to show us the way.

We can be messengers today.

 

 

Possible words for the Storyteller:  (the congregation and/or children could be asked to repeat �AMAZING STORY� every time the storyteller says it)

 

First Sunday:  Isaiah 40: 3-4

 

Once upon a time... a time of rough going for God�s people - a prophet named Isaiah brought an AMAZING STORY of Hope.  He spoke of God�s faithfulness in the midst of pain - of God�s promise of comfort and deliverance from hard times.  He wrote of a voice crying out like thunder in the desert!

 

�Prepare for God�s arrival! 

Make the road straight and smooth, a highway fit for our God.

Fill in the valleys, level off the hills,

Smooth out the ruts, clear out the rocks.

Then God�s bright glory will shine and everyone will see it!�

 

 

Second Sunday:  Micah 5:2

 

Once upon a time�  the prophet Micah told this AMAZING STORY.  A story of Peace among all people, brought by a leader who leads not with force, but with the peace of a sheepherder - steady, strong, yet gentle and loving!  An unexpected kind of leader from an unexpected little ole place - just a blip on the map!  And here is what Micah said�

 

�But you, Bethlehem, David�s country, the runt of the litter of clans of Judea --

From you will come the leader who will shepherd-rule Israel.

He�ll be no upstart, no pretender.

His family tree is ancient and distinguished.�

 

 

Third Sunday:  Luke 2: 13-18

 

Once upon a time�  there were shepherds who were camping in the neighborhood where Jesus was born.  These shepherds didn�t usually get much excitement and they didn�t have a lot of friends� on account of the smell, you know.  So when they got a surprise visit from a huge gaggle of angels singing right overhead, they got the �you-know-what� scared out of them!  And as the big and joyful hovering choir left them, they decided that this was such an AMAZING STORY that they just heard they had to go check it out!  And it was such an AMAZING STORY that they just couldn�t keep the joy to themselves!

 

�The sheepherders talked it over.  �Let�s get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us.�  They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger.  Seeing was believing!  They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child.   All who heard the sheepherders were impressed.  They were simply amazed!�

 

 

Fourth Sunday:  Luke 2: 8-11

 

Let me tell you an AMAZING STORY of love.  It�s so amazing because it�s God�s love we�re talking about here.  And when it�s God�s love being poured out, you better watch out� cause you are gonna hear about it.  You see, God has a way of sending important messages about love (and this one is about a bundle of love) in ways that folks will notice.  I�m talking about the �mother� of all voice-mail� yes indeed� the voices of angels!  Remember those sheepherders who were camping out in the neighborhood - you know, the little �runt� neighborhood of Bethlehem where the star was lighting everything up from here to Kingdom-come? (hee hee) 

 

�They had set night watches over their sheep.  Suddenly, God�s angel stood among them and God�s glory blazed around them.  They were terrified.  The angel said, �Don�t be afraid. I�m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide:  A Savior has just been born in David�s town, a Savior who is Messiah - Christ the Lord.�

 

 

Christmas Eve:  Isaiah 9:6

 

Ah�. It is the night - the night of the most AMAZING STORY we know.  And lo and behold, this is what we find:  That this is OUR AMAZING STORY.  It is our lives that hold the stories of hope, of peace, of joy and of love.  These are the pages of our life-story.  These pages of our lives are what God is writing upon� for you see it is written�

 

�For a child has been born -- for us!

The gift of a son --for us!

He�ll take over the running of the world.

His names will be:  Amazing Counselor, Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of Wholeness.

His ruling authority will grow, and there�ll be no limits to the wholeness he brings.

�Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting One, Prince of Peace.�

 

So it is written� and so it is.  And this is not the end� but only the beginning!

 

 

*  More liturgy/music ideas:

 

TFWS (The Faith We Sing) #2156  �Give Peace� could be used as a sung call to prayer by choir and congregation.  Each week substitute the appropriate word (hope, peace, joy, love) for the word �Peace.�  This is a chant from Taize and can be done as a round�. Lovely!

 

1st week:  Hope

rewrite Communion Prayer to incorporate language about �the amazing story.�  (see below)

TFWS #2186 �Song of Hope�  (this needs strong song leadership but is great with

some small percussion)

 

2nd week:  Peace

            TFWS #2157 �Come and Fill Our Hearts with Your Peace�

            TFWS #2232  �Come Now, O Prince of Peace�

 

3rd week:  Joy

            TFWS #2284  �Joy in the Morning�

 

4th week:  Love

TFWS #2218  �You Are Mine�  (angels:  �Do not be afraid��)

            TFWS #2073 �Celebrate Love�

 

 

 

[these are just some brainstorming/thesaurus notes]

Amazing

 

a�maz�ing adj

1.         so extraordinary or wonderful as to be barely believable or cause extreme surprise

2.         outstandingly good, skillful, or admirable (informal)

 

Encarta� World English Dictionary � 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

 

 

Astonishing

Astounding

Remarkable

Wonderful

Incredible

Startling

Marvelous

Miraculous

Surprising

Mind-blowing

Mind-boggling

Staggering

 

Ant. Unremarkable

 

 

Story

 

sto�ry1 n

1.         a factual or fictional account of an event or series of events

2.         a work of fiction in prose that is shorter than a novel

3.         the plot of a novel, play, motion picture, or other fictional narrative work.

Also called story line

4.         what somebody says has happened

5.         something that one person tells another that is not true (informal)

6.         a report in the news of something that has happened

7.         a subject or material for a news report

8.         traditional tales and legends, or the literature based on such tales

 

vt

1.         to decorate something with images of scenes from history or legend

2.         to tell something as or in a story (archaic)

 

Encarta� World English Dictionary � 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

 

Tale

Narrative

Account

Yarn

Legend

Fairy-tale

Chronicle

Anecdote

 

 

 

 

 

A Great Thanksgiving for the �Amazing Story�

            [traditional Great Thanksgiving adapted by Marcia McFee]

 

The Lord be with you

And also with you

Lift up your hearts

We lift them up to the Lord

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

 

It is right, and a good and joyful thing,

always and everywhere

to tell the Story of your undying love, O God.

This morning we give thanks to you,

Almighty God, creator of this Grand Narrative of our lives - of our salvation.

From the beginning You wrote upon our hearts,

forming us in your image

breathing into us the breath of life,

giving us a life to live and stories of love to tell.

When we thought we could write You out of our stories, and our love failed,

we turned the page and You were still there�

Your love and presence in our lives remained steadfast.

You delivered us from captivity,

made covenant to be our sovereign God,

and spoke to us through your prophets.

You rewrite our unfortunate endings time and again, giving us fresh starts and a clean page.

 

And so,

with your people on earth

and all the company of heaven

we praise your name and join their unending hymn:

 

Holy , holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,

heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest!

 

Holy are you, and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ.

You came into our lives, O God, with a first-person Narrative

            that we anticipate yet again in this Advent season.

Your Spirit anointed him

to bring the message of good news to the poor,

to proclaim release to the captives

and recovering of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

and to announce that it was time to live

the Chapter of Salvation for Your people.

Jesus healed the sick, fed the hungry, and ate with sinners.

This lived-and-true Story changed our lives forever,

and we can never forget.

 

Your church�s Story was birthed

by the baptism of his suffering , death, and resurrection.

The life-filled ending to all our stories was set in stone

as You delivered us from slavery to sin and death,

and made with us a new covenant

by water and the Spirit

 

When the Lord Jesus ascended,

he promised to be with us always,

in the power of your Word

and in the continued authoring of the Holy Spirit.

 

[this next paragraph could be read by the Storyteller as he/she brings the Amazing Story-book to the communion table]

Here, my friends, is a Story to be told forever and ever.

We tell it just as the earliest Christians sat around their tables

and retold the Story time and again.

This is the Story that was handed down to them

by those who ate with Jesus that night.

By telling it here, every time we eat this Holy Meal together,

we too hand it on to those who will come after us -

those who will need this transforming Story just as much as we do now.

 

[The pastor reads the words of institution from the Amazing Story-book]

On the night in which he gave himself up for us,

he took bread, gave thanks to you, broke the bread,

gave it to his disciples, and said:

�Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you.

Do this in remembrance of me.�

 

When the supper was over, he took the cup,

gave thanks to you, gave it to his disciples, and said:

 

�Drink from this, all of you;

this is my blood of the new covenant,

poured out for you and for many

for the forgiveness of sins.

Do this, as often as you drink it,

in remembrance of me.�

 

[the Storyteller takes the book back to its stand and the pastor continues�]

And so we tell this Story again,

in remembrance of your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,

and we offer ourselves as a holy and living sacrifice,

in union with Christ�s offering for us,

as we proclaim the mystery of faith.

 

Christ has died; Christ is risen;  Christ will come again.

 

Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here,

and on these gifts of bread and wine.

Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ,

that we may be for the world the body of Christ,

redeemed by his blood.

 

By your Spirit make us one with Christ,

one with each other,

and one in ministry to all the world,

until Christ comes in the final spell-binding

and liberating chapters of this story

and we feast at his heavenly banquet.

Through your Son Jesus Christ

with the Holy Spirit in your holy church,

all honor and glory is yours, almighty God,

now and forever.

 

Amen.