Liturgy School does Christmas

Those who know me know that I love to plan ahead. I like developing calendars and making sure they are accurate and up to date. I like teaching from a curriculum and making scripts for services in advance. All this preparation helps me feel comfortable when I am leading; this way I know that I am ready. Despite all this planning, sometimes things change and so you have to roll with it.

Our liturgy school schedule for December is one of those things that has changed. I didn't know way back in September that the liturgy school class would be such a success; that the students would be so engaged and capable of excellent contributions to our worship. But it has been and they are and for this reason, I had to make sure they made a contribution to all of the Christmas services happening at St Philip's this year.

Certainly, the Christmas Pageant service has the most visible involvement from children and youth on Christmas Eve and this year this will be even more true as the children and youth will make a special musical contribution to the service. In addition, the liturgy school class wrote a prayer last Sunday, which will be used in the Pageant service as well as our other Christmas Services. It will also be found in the Children's Bulletin made especially for children at these services. Here is the prayer they wrote:

Shepherd of Peace,

who shows us the Way. 

Lead us to faith, 

so that we can follow the angels, the shepherds and the magi 

who traveled to welcome the unknown infant Messiah; 

we ask this in your name, 

our God, born in a stable in Bethlehem.

Young people will also contribute as servers at our other Christmas services and some will participate in services with their families as their Christmas worship.

So, despite my original planned curriculum for liturgy school in December, which was to learn more about the music we use in worship, our new plan is to spend time preparing for the Christmas Pageant service, working on readings and music so that we are ready to lead the congregation in worship.

On the final Sunday of Advent, Dec. 22nd, the liturgy school students and the whole Church school will have a special opportunity to walk through an Advent Garden. This is a quiet experience of the coming of Jesus, the light of the world, into all of creation. It originally comes from Waldorf schools, but has been adapted by KAIROS for their Advent resource and so it goes along with our Advent Wreath Lighting Liturgies this year. While this activity is particularly accessible to children, we would also like to invite any parents or other adults who would like to participate in this unique opportunity to join us during Church School that morning. Janet England will lead us through the Advent Garden as she has in the past; I hope that many will be able to experience the quiet wonder of advent in the Advent Garden.