Company is coming

Group, Nov/Dec 2003 by Case, Steve

A YOUTH-LED WORSHIP SERVICE FOR ADVENT

Looking for a way for your kids to minister powerfully to the whole church? Use this riveting youth-led worship service to usher in Advent.

Advent is all about preparation. It lays the groundwork for the most important event in history, and it opens the door to welcome the most important holiday of the Christian year. This service is designed to give your young people a chance to serve your congregation by preparing them to welcome Christ into the world.

PREPARATION AND SETUP

* Candles1-Get as many as you can. Buy them from the dollar store. The bigger your worship space the more candles you'll need.

* Drop cloths and other painting supplies, including ladders and stools. Make the front of the sanctuary look as though it's undergoing renovation. Cover the altar area in drop cloths and scatter various tools, stools, and ladders around. In the midst of the clutter, hide many, many candles (for example, on the steps of the ladders, where you can keep the wax from getting on the carpet).

* The "Jesus Psalms" (optional)-After each "scene" there is a psalm reading. These readings are often referred to as the "Jesus Psalms" because they're about the coming Messiah. The readings are perfect for kids in your group who are more introverted, because they're read into a microphone offstage.

* An Advent wreath with five candles-The service is broken into four parts. At the end of each segment a character will light a candle. At the time of the final lighting, your young people will file into the sanctuary from all sides and light all your hidden candles.

* Music-Use live music if you have the ability and talent within your group. If you don't, here are some suggestions:

1. For the prelude-The group Lost and Found has offered group readers a special Christmas gift. You can download for FREE their new Christmas tune created for this service. Just go to www.speedwood.com and click on "This Shall Be a Sign."

If you decide not to use Lost and Found's song, you could use "River" by Robert Downey Jr., from the album A Very Ally Christmas (you can find this album by searching for it on www.amazon.com).

Or you could use one of two selections from Lost and Found's The Christmas Album (available at www.speed wood.com). Try the group's version of "O Come, O Come, Emanuel" or "Angels From the Realms of Glory."

2. For the end of the Old Man scene-The song "Family" by Ryan Long, from the album Waiting by the Window (www.ryanlong.com) works well.

3. For the closing-The song "Arise Shine" by Lost and Found, from their Christmas album, makes a nice closing song to light candles by.

THE SERVICE

Begin with a darkened sanctuary, and play a song such as "Lost and Found's new Christmas song. Or use a selection of your choice. The idea here is to set a mellow mood with a song that focuses on all of us being in the family of God.

mom and the voices

There should be dead silence as one of your girls, playing the role of Mom and dressed in "homemaker" clothes (including an apron), walks out and simply stands at the front of your sanctuary. As the Voices get louder and faster during this scene, Mom should make herself smaller and smaller by slowly shrinking her body into a crumpled ball on the floor.

Have Voices speak their lines into a microphone offstage. Use a number of different young people to speak the lines for the Voices-they'll need to speak their lines right on top of each other, so they should practice the rhythm. If you don't have a microphone available, have your students station themselves in various spots around your sanctuary. Have them start at a normal pace, then pick it up considerably as they go along. Each Voice should start his or her line just before the one before it ends. You can add lines that are more applicable to your area or that address what's going on in your community. If you have the technology, add in sounds of doorbells, computers booting, phones ringing, and hair dryers.

1. Mom, I have to have two dozen cookies for school tomorrow.

2. Honey, I'm bringing the boss home, can you whip something up?

3. But I need the car tonight.

4. The Christmas recital's tonight, where's my band uniform?

5. Did you pick up a present for Aunt Margaret yet?

6. Does Santa Claus go to bad kids' houses if God forgives them?

7. Cinnamon, ginger, one cup of heavy whipping cream.

8. My pumpkin pies always came out perfect.

9. Did you put something in the box for the mailman?

10. Mom, there's this great game called Death and Dismemberment, can I have it for Christmas?

11. Don't forget you're the cookie chairman this year.

12. That's too much ginger.

13. Mom, the dishwasher is making that noise again.

14. Is that what you're wearing?

15. Have you seen my socks?

16. I am not wearing that dress to the Christmas Eve service.

17. Tell him to get off the computer.

18. Mom, was this valuable?

19. Whose stupid idea was that?

20. We're having meatloaf again.

21. I folded the towels last time.

22. Mom, there's water all over the floor.

23. Oh, Doris, that's not how to flute the crust.