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I know it's early, but can we talk about Christmas programs?


athomeontheprairie
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If you are Christian and attend (or have attended in the past)a small church (under 100 people), can you talk to me about what your church has done for a Christmas program? anyone is welcome to comment, even if you attend a large church but I am most interested in that which works well with a small church.

 

The past several years we've done songs sung by the people mixed in with the kids performing individual instrumental pieces, a short one/two act play, followed by a reading of scripture and short message given by the pastor, and a closing hymn.

 

the previous director is stepping down, and I am in charge of filling that role. (I don't have to direct if I don't want to... I can find play,and give it to someone else to direct) out I can completely change things and do them differently.

 

What have you done/seen/lead that is good for ALL ages and focuses on Christ? Send me your inspiration!

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No, no we can't.

 

You may bring this topic back up in October like a rational human being and we will discuss it then.

Sorry, can't do it! If we go with another play I need to have the month of September to show around and decide so I can start working on it in October, and be ready for kids to begin in November. (And I get that I'm being irrational. I have so much going on in October I need to get ahead)

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I am just giving you a hard time~!

 

 

Sorry, can't do it! If we go with another play I need to have the month of September to show around and decide so I can start working on it in October, and be ready for kids to begin in November. (And I get that I'm being irrational. I have so much going on in October I need to get ahead)

 

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We have always just done a lessons and carols thing.  We have quite a few really good musicians, so we have nice music events.  No plays, no kids performing -  not because we don't like kids, but 90% of our kids are under the age of 6 and we haven't had a kids' choir or anything like that. 

 

So, the pastors/elders read scripture, and that is alternated with music.  We sing some songs together, some are just instrumental, and we have a solo or two.  That's about it.  I love the simplicity of it.  

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How about a service of lessons and carols? Here's a youtube video that shows one at Kings College, Cambridge

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QXJw9lB2p0

 

Obviously, this is not what you are going to do in your church, but you could adapt the framework and have people volunteer to read the lessons and small groups to perform some of the carols and mix it up with the whole congregation singing some of them. You can easily substitute better known carols for the ones in this video.

 

Oops, I was off looking for a video while marbel was posting.

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Sure, I did this for years.

It's so fun.

 

The program is mostly one Bible passage after another, read into a mike by the oldest kids you can hijack, OR by an adult.

It alternates with the kids singing Christmas songs that fit with the Bible passages.  You'd be surprised at how loud a 4 year old singer can be!  The congregation sings more complex hymns.  The kids act out the Christmas story as the passages are read. 

 

I modified it a little every year but that was basically it.

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A lot like Carol in CA. A high school kid reads the Christmas story from Luke. Younger kids act out what is being read--Mary and Joseph walk down the aisle and park at the manger. Angels appear to shepherds (like 3 angels and 3 shepherds in a small church). All the kids sing something like Angels We Have Heard on High. Musical interludes on piano, clarinet, trumpet, or by solo singers (kids who take music lessons). Congregation joins in on some hymns. Whole thing is finished within 1/2 hour--shortest service of the year. And now that we're down to just 4 kids who attend regularly, I hope we can just skip the kids Christmas program.

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A church I went to did a nativity play thing that had more modern music, it was called "A Strange Way to Save the World"---it used songs such as "Breath of Heaven" by Amy Grant, "Virgin's Lullaby", and some others. They had kids play the shepherds, the kings, the angels, and do most of the narration. There were adults playing the roles of Elizabeth, Joseph, and Mary (the role I had). I want to say we had about 8-12 children involved (pretty much any kid between 3 and 14 who was in town that night), but I don't remember exactly as it was several years ago. After we finished the little play/musical thing, the kids played the handbells and a few hymns were sung. 

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We do a few things.  I guess we are not a large parish, though larger for Anglican parishes, maybe 100 people on a fairly well attended Sunday - though Christmas is always busier than that.

 

There are always two lessons and carols services, which are a big deal for the choir.  One is in Advent, and one in Christmastide, usually about two weeks after Christmas day.  These are fairly long and formal, and there may be outside musicians. (Actually pretty much what they do in the link above.)

 

Christmas has two Eucharist services, the midnight and morning ones, which are regular services but Christmasy.

 

On Christmas eve there is a childrens' service at about 4, which is a short retelling of the Christmas story, mostly read from the Bible, and songs sung by the whole congregation, and a few prayers.  There is always a Mary and Joseph, and any other child that comes can be a shepherd or angel, and they all come in at the appropriate time in a big group.  It can be slightly wild but it is really just meant to include everyone - the most important thing is to have people who are unflappable as the lead shepherd and angel.

 

Last year we also had a little concert in the hall where anyone who wanted could present something, a song or poem or reading.  It was after the regular service the first Sunday after Christmas day.  Lots of kids and adults did a little something.

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We usually do the nativity story with the younger kids acting the parts. Sometimes, there is a play with the older kids that leads into the nativity story.

 

My youngest was a sheep for two years. She did not want to be a sheep. She couldn't wait until she was old enough to be an angel. The year she was old enough to be an angel, the church decided to take a break from the nativity and had an adult choir program instead. I enjoyed the music, but I missed the little kid program. They brought it back last year and dd got to be an angel.

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The Christmas pageant or the actual service on Christmas Eve?  They're two separate things at the churches I've attended.  The pageant occurs usually on the Sunday before Christmas and is the typical sheep/angels/Mary & Joseph/wisemen kid production with a high schooler reading short passages from the Bible and everyone singing kids' Christmas songs (Away in a Manger, Silent Night, etc).

 

Christmas Eve is a candlelight service and usually features a song from the choir and a handbell performance, but it's mainly everyone singing Christmas carols.  There's also the usual Bible passage and a very short (under 5 minute) sermon from the pastor.  At my childhood church, the service ended with everyone singing Joy to the World and raising the candles on the last verse ("He rules the world..").  The pastor would end with a special Christmas benediction poem that ended with "Let us go forth into the night / And bring with us our gift of light."  

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