Advent and Christmas

This resource and brainstorming list has been created by WCC staff and pastors in idea sharing conversations during Wednesday Clergy Check-in. Bookmark this page for updates.

General Articles

• It’s Time to Talk About Advent in a Pandemic – Faith & Leadership

Worship and Other Resource Kits

• Brim 2020: An Unexpected Gift
• Worship Design Studio : I Believe Even When
• Illustrated Ministry: Do Not Be Afraid
• Illuminated 2020: An Online Journey into the Heart of Christmas, Jan Richardson (individuals, with discounts for groups/congregations)
• Episcopal Relief & Development: free Advent crafts
• How-to: Advent & Christmas Faith Practices in a Box, Traci Smith
• Advent Conspiracy
• Maya Angelou and the Freedom Poetry of Advent devotion from *salt
• #adventword A global Advent calendar
• Those Who Dream aSanctified Art devotional
• The Womb of Advent a devotional by Mark Bozzuti-Jones

Themes to Ponder

• Preaching Advent in Protest and Pandemic (and Politics) – event Oct 20.
• “Inward for Advent”- home rituals, sending the whole church Advent candles, encouraging once a week devotionals to go with a meal, etc.
• “Plan B,”-this wasn’t Mary’s first choice of how to have a baby, far from her family, look at how God can make something beautiful still. We are especially thinking of all those folks who won’t be able to travel to be with family this year.
• Preaching and teaching about Advent hymns and carols, sharing music files for the season and encouraging sacred music in the home.

New Takes on Familiar Rituals

• Advent Candles/Advent Wreath: Share materials with each household to create a simple wreath. Designate a daily time for a churchwide livestream gathering to light candles and share a brief liturgy.
• Giving Tree: Instead of Christmas tree with tags that people take off and then buy the requested items/gifts for local agencies, reverse it on an outdoor tree – when people buy an item online, put an ornament on an outdoor tree to represent the gift given. (Alternate: Offer new masks, scarves, gloves to people in need by placing them on the tree with a note to take what you need.)
• Hanging of the Greens: Decorate the church outdoors rather than indoors. Create a kit people can use to make an ornament or decorations at home and share the experience online.
• Christmas Pageant: Invite individuals, households or pandemic pods to read or act out a portion of the Christmas story. Invite people to make or gather their own simple props. Patch videos together into one longer recording, or release videos sequentially to keep people tuning in.
• Advent Photo-a-Day: Share a calendar of themes or words and invite members to share photo reflections on that theme on social media. (Alternate: invite writing or advance submissions on that theme and send print versions to church members who are not online).
• Caroling or congregational singing: Have individuals or households record themselves singing and include in the service or midweek shares. Schedule phone calls by individuals or households to call and sing to those who might usually receive carolers.
• Longest Night/Blue Christmas: Send people white paper bags (or offer them for pickup) to decorate as luminarias. On return, fill with sand and LED lights. place in front of church on Dec 21 to mark the Longest Night. Invite people to drive by to mark the occasion.
• If there is snow, mark a labyrinth in the snow and offer reserved, socially-distanced hours for walking meditation.

An important note on candlelighting rituals: light no candle that you do not have a plan for putting out safely! Even if you have a small gathering and plans to be physically distanced, people cannot safely blow out candles with a mask on. Removing a mask and forcefully expelling air in a gathering is counterproductive to COVID safety.