Description: A Christmas gathering for young adults to share their favorite Christmas story and discuss why it’s their favorite.
Get Ready
- Prep Time: Preparation for this is paramount. Readings and reflections are needed in advance (or at least a confirmation of people willing to read and share). Any decor or food items will also need to be prepared. On the day of the event, plan an extra hour for setup.
- Volunteers Needed: Three-five volunteers are needed to do the readings and reflect. Others are needed to bake or prepare food. Others may be needed to provide decor or to decorate with the parish’s decorations.
- Supplies: Stories, food items, Christmas decorations.
- Reserve the Space: You need a space you can make festive. One room of the parish center or church hall would be a good setting. Microphones and a podium could be helpful, or you could circle up chairs for a more intimate experience.
- Ideal Group Size: 5 -50.
- Who is this for? All young adults.
- When is a good time for this? A weekday evening between the Fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve. Perhaps December 23rd so you could help decorate the church for Christmas.
- Publicize the Program:
- Parish bulletins
- Flyers to local writer’s groups/toastmasters
- Word of mouth
- E-newsletters
Prayer for Program Planner: God, you come to touch our hearts with your word. As the Word is made flesh this Christmas, we are reminded that you are always with us. Let us be mindful of that presence as we read and share tonight. Amen.
Community Building: The event could be part of a Christmas party or even just a small gathering of interested people. Make it festive with Christmas cookies, candy canes, and mulled cider. This program could also be done around the time the parish decorates the church for Christmas, taking care of that service for the parish and incorporating an element of fun.
Make It Happen
- Open the event with a welcome and perhaps some social time to eat cookies and have some cider before calling to order. Have the first reader come forward and present their story and why it is special to them. You may wish to have others react to the story or spend some time in quiet prayer after the reading of the story.
- Have volunteers consider presenting something autobiographical as well. For example: Friends of mine ran a “Give a Child a Christmas” campaign and had several touching stories to share around that effort.
- End the night with a reading of the Gospel for Christmas and continue to have informal conversation, trim a tree, or make other adaptations to keep the evening going as the official program ends.
Ideas
- Trim a tree for the parish before the stories are shared.
- Perhaps ending with a Living Creche scene is also appropriate where the story of the birth of Jesus is told or acted out. Reach out to a local acting troupe to present the story and partner with a local farm to bring animals.
Help
