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Three webinars are being organised to help churches make the most of the new resources in services, schools, or at home, with both children and adults. The theme of this year's Christmas campaign is Follow the Star: Join the Song. Inspired by Luke 2.20 (GNB) it highlights how singing can draw us closer to God and to each other as we journey from Advent to Epiphany and celebrate the birth of Christ. Read more on the campaign story here. An invitation to all choirs and singing groups to sing a new version of ‘The First Nowell’ – listen to a preview.
Assistants to the Three Kings, the helpers drive much of the story. There are speaking lines for 10 children, but this number could easily be reduced or increased.A key element of the campaign is the invitation to all choirs and singing groups to sing a new version of 'The First Nowell.' There are free resources available to support choirs of all ages and stages to learn and perform the carol. Perhaps your church can find some creative ways to showcase your choir or singing group this Christmas. What about their being kings? Probably not. Matthew calls them “wise men from the East”– MAGOI in the Greek (which is where we get our term MAGI) – probably astrologers which explains why they would have noticed and then been so excited about coming across something unusual in the sky. As they would later say to Herod, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.” Not unheard of in that day – the idea that heavenly signs marked the births and deaths of great leaders was widely accepted.(3) What they saw excited them, even enough to make them drop what they were doing and follow the star.
The family prayer card contains an angel-themed activity, either to be given away or made during a service. Digital promo planner, blogs and bitesize videos from Digital Labs to support churches in using the digital resources available. William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Vol. 1, Daily Study Bible Series, rev. ed., (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1976), p. 31 The partnership with BBC Sunday Worship and Daily Worship resulted in millions of people hearing the #FollowTheStar reflections Is it too early to talk about Christmas in September? We don’t think so … and with new resources announced from the Church of England, there’s plenty of ideas to help you get ahead and ready to ‘Join the Song’.Working with local churches, dioceses, colleagues across Church House Westminster, Lambeth Palace and Bishopthorpe we were able to build a campaign that engaged people across England and the Diocese in Europe. A huge thanks to everyone who got involved in shaping the strategy and being so enthusiastic throughout. Our aims were to: Lesson 1: Just as the Wise Men, be ready to meet God in the midst of our everyday activities, then get up and follow the star; AN AUTUMN heatwave may be spreading across the UK, but the Church of England is already preparing for the long winter nights of Advent and Christmas.
Finally, we’d again like to thank everyone who got involved in #FollowTheStar. The insights from 2018 will be used as we start to shape the approach to Advent and Christmas 2019. In the meantime, you can find out more about our Lent Pilgrim and Easter Pilgrim campaigns. Lesson 3: Scripture is a wonderful resource if you want to know God’s direction for your life; get good directions, then follow the star; If you share a Christmas event link from AChurchNearYou.com, the link preview will carry a “You’re invited” link preview graphic. More than 120,000 copies of Church House Publishing’s #FollowTheStar booklet were sold – 50% more than the figure for #GodWithUs in 2017. The reflections written by Revd Dr Isabelle Hamley, chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury, were very positively received and widely used in print, our app and AlexaLast Christmas, churches across the Diocese of Gloucester extended ‘The Great Invitation’ from the Church of England to Follow the Star to their local church in person once again. The O little town of Bethlehem Christmas carol was a major success – used by Classic FM on social and radio and played on BBC Radio 2 There is a wonderful lesson for us right there – these three (or four, or however many) met God in the midst of doing what they were supposed to do: they were at work. God is not limited to meeting with us in a certain place (a church) or at a certain hour (11 AM Sundays). God can and does speak to us ANYWHERE and ANYTIME. The lesson is BE ALERT!
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