Six New Things – Week of September 11, 2023
Advent and Christmas are approaching at an alarming rate!! The program year is barely under way and Holiday resources, events, and even a nifty-gifty Great Idea, are popping up all over!!
ONE
Keys to Advent hope and Christmas joy lie in the home. Families Celebrate Advent & Christmas (Augsburg Fortress) is a colorful deck of cards full of rituals, prayers and reflections – ready to share any time in a busy family schedule: create anew after-meal ritual, decorate with them, or carry them on the go. Explore the Seasons of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany!
Find additional Intergenerational Activities in our lib guide.
TWO
Faith leaders: support at-home faith practices throughout these seasons with inspiration and affirmation from Traci Smith’s (of the Faithful Families at Home series) IDEA LAB: ADVENT/CHRISTMAS EDITION.
Discover additional Seasonal Offerings on our webpage and Preparatory Tips in our lib guide.
THREE
Stay Awhile: Advent Lessons in Divine Hospitality (WJK) invites preparations that ‘take time and care’, and ‘presents a banquet table of… weekly reflections for personal and small group use, brief daily devotions, and ideas to involve the whole congregation; …liturgies, sermon starters, children’s moments, and even a no-rehearsals-needed Christmas pageant’. A rich banquet, indeed!
Find additional Study & Small Group materials in our lib guide.
FOUR
Many of our favorite publishers are unveiling a rich banquet of seasonal devotionals:
- Abingdon’s Experiencing Christmas: Christ in the Sights and Sounds of Advent asks: ‘What signs do you see during the Advent and Christmas season that point you to the divine?’
- A leader guide and DVD/video turn this into a four-week small group study
- Augsburg Fortress’s Come, Emmanuel: Devotions for Advent & Christmas 2023-2024 encourages us to, ‘Rejoice and share the good news!’ that Emmanuel came that first Christmas, comes to us today, and will come again.
- Also available in Large Print & as an eBook
- Chalice’s Abide with Us: An Advent Devotional reflects on what we can do to create a welcoming space for God in our hearts and our world.
- Pilgrim’s Glow celebrates the “O” of yearning and then, the “O” of realizations ‘as we grasp the season’s meaning: everything has changed’.
Find more Advent and Christmas Devotionals in our lib guide.
FIVE
If you’re looking for the whole package, the beautiful resources of How Does a Weary World Rejoice? (A Sanctified Art) is a bundle of 12 multimedia resource (plus free supplements) for the first week of Advent through the Baptism of Christ (7 weeks), including:
- Advent Devotional Booklet
- Words for Worship
- Children’s Curriculum + Pageant
- Sermon Planning Guide
- Advent Calendars for Children & Adults
- Liturgy for the Weary (aka ‘Blue Christmas’ or ‘Longest Night’)
- Visual Art Collection
- Banner Design
- Children’s Worship Bulletins
- Advent Poem Prayers
- Branding Bundle
- Theme Song + Music Video
Discover a wide range of Worship materials and Pageant ideas in our lib guides.
Our latest Great Idea: Sewing Machines Change Lives is a nifty way to help weary souls rejoice. Check it out here!
SIX
And of course, Illustrated Ministry has their ever-popular Nativity Sticker Sheets – complete with ‘no white Jesus, a Mary who actually looks like she just had a baby, and authentic illustrations of Biblical characters’. These sell out fast!
Discover Children’s Books & Multimedia offerings in our lib guide.
There’s sure to be more – but here are the initial offerings from some of our favorites. If you don’t get inspired here, let us know and we’ll connect you with ideas and resources tailored just to your context!
