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CHAPTER 1

Lesson 1

Advent I

The Prophets

How to Use This Lesson

• Core Presentation

• Liturgical Action Lesson: Lessons about sacraments or traditions of the church, which primarily use ritual and symbol to make meaning

• As the first lesson in Volume 3 of The Complete Guide to Godly Play, it is usually presented at the beginning of Advent.

• It is part of a comprehensive approach to Christian formation that consists of eight volumes. Together the lessons form a spiral curriculum that enables children to move into adolescence with an inner working knowledge of the classical Christian language system to sustain them all their lives.

The Material

• Location: Focal Shelf Unit and Advent/Christmas Shelf Unit

• Pieces: Advent cards on a stand or tray; four Advent candles, matches in a metal container, a glass votive cup to hold matches after they have been lit, and a candle snuffer, all on a tray; model of Bethlehem. Optional: candle holders

• Underlay: A strip of felt consisting of four purple (or blue) segments and one white segment. The underlay is rolled with the white on the inside.

Background

This lesson, together with the next three lessons, helps the children to get ready to come close to the Mystery of Christmas.

Churches often have customs that preclude doing a single lesson about Advent on each of the Sundays of the season. For example, the whole congregation might use the first Sunday to make Advent wreaths together or use the fourth Sunday to hold a Christmas party for the children. In such situations, group the lessons as seems best to you, presenting two or even three Advent cards on one Sunday. Remember to start the first Advent session together by telling the story of the Holy Family (Volume 2, Lesson 4, pp. 55-62), in order to change the liturgical color from green to purple (or blue).

Notes on the Material

Find the materials for this presentation on the Advent/Christmas Shelf Unit and the Focal Shelf Unit. The Advent/Christmas Shelf Unit is to the left of the Focal Shelf Unit. The model of Bethlehem stands to the far left on the top shelf of the Advent/Christmas Shelf Unit. In the middle of the top shelf you'll find the tray or stand that holds the Advent cards. The candles, the container of matches, and candle snuffer are on a tray at the left end of the second shelf (below the model of Bethlehem).

A special stand for the Advent cards makes them visible to a child scanning the room. This stand for the cards should also hold the rolled-up underlay. Alternatively, you can put the rolled-up underlay and cards on a tray. You may want to line the tray with purple or blue felt.

There are five cards or wooden plaques, which represent, in this order:

• the Prophets

• the Holy Family

• the shepherds

• the Magi

• the birth of Jesus

These cards or plaques are laid on a strip of felt divided into five equal sections, one section for each of the four weeks of Advent, plus an additional section for the Feast of Christmas. The first four sections are purple or blue (for Advent); the fifth and final section is white (for Christmas). Roll up the underlay so that the white segment is hidden inside. (An illustration of the underlay, with all five cards or plaques and candles laid out in order, appears in Volume 3 Lesson 4.)

Many churches use blue for their Advent color. In this presentation, we refer to the liturgical color purple, but use whatever color your church uses. Instead of referring to the royal color (purple), point out that blue is a good color for getting ready, because it is the color associated with Mary, Jesus' mother. Without the mother Mary, there would be no baby.

In this presentation, we refer to one rose and three purple candles, but, again, follow the custom of your church. Use candles with wide bases for stability (e.g., votive or pillar candles). You also need a beautiful metal container for matches. Keep these items on a tray lined with purple or blue felt. It is important to have a small glass votive candle holder as a safe place to put matches that have been lit.

You will use the Nativity figures (Mary, Joseph, a donkey, a cow, a shepherd, some sheep, and three Kings) for this series of lessons. These figures are placed on the Focal Shelf Unit in the center of the top shelf and used when you present the story called, "The Holy Family" found in Volume 2, Lesson 4, page 55. Ideally they are simple wooden figures, safe for children to handle. The Nativity figures are not placed in a stable, as you often see at Christmas time.

Finally, you need a model of Bethlehem, similar to that pictured here. It is to be set in the middle of the circle of children to show that we are all on the way to Bethlehem, including the storyteller.

Special Notes

Working with fire during the work period is problematic. It means something different for different ages or for different children. Some children need more supervision than others. Sometimes children are more attracted to the fire than to the meaning of this lesson, so they need a lot of support and supervision to get past that. The attraction, however is still a point of entry into the lesson, so don't worry too much about why they are interested. Only be aware that these are the very children who need the most supervision. One pragmatic way to address these issues is by making a rule for everyone that the storyteller always lights the candles or that candles cannot be lit during work-time.

Movements

When the children are ready, go to the Advent/Christmas Shelf Unit.

Bring the cards and underlay (on the stand or tray) to the circle and place them beside where you will be sitting. Then, in a separate trip, bring the tray holding the candles and container of matches and candle snuffer; again set this beside where you will sit. Finally, in a third trip, bring the model of Bethlehem and set it in the middle of the circle. On each trip, walk carefully and handle the materials with respect. Be seated and wait until everyone is ready, then begin.

Start to roll out the underlay as you introduce the color of Advent as the season for getting ready. Only unroll as much underlay as is needed to hold the first Advent card.

Move your hand over the purple.

Point to the model of Bethlehem that you put in the middle of the circle when the lesson began.

Pick up the first Advent card and present it to the circle of children. Place it on its section of the underlay. The first card shows one lit Advent candle and the hand of a Prophet pointing the way. Point to the Advent wreath on the card with one lit candle and then the hand of the Prophet.

Point to the model of Bethlehem that you put in the middle of the circle when the lesson began. Be emphatic, bold, and definite.

Place the first of the purple candles between you and the section of the underlay with the card on it. Pick up the container with the matches in it. Open the container, strike a match, and light the candle. Place the spent match in the empty glass votive holder to cool. Later you can discard it.

Sit for a moment and genuinely enjoy the light of the Prophets. You might even have the doorperson, with a nod from you, turn out the light, so the candlelight is more visible.

Have the doorperson turn the light back on. Pick up the candle snuffer, and point to the flame.

Snuff the candle. Hold the snuffer over the flame for it to fill with smoke. When you lift it, the smoke will rise and begin to spread out.

Enjoy the moment and then begin to put the material back. There is no wondering at the end of this lesson. It is better to let the presence of the Prophets rest in the room.

Carefully lift the candle, and place it on the tray. Leave it there to cool while you put away the other materials. Put the card and the underlay back on their stand (or tray), and return the stand to its shelf. Carry Bethlehem back to its shelf. Finally, put the candle tray back on its shelf.

When everything is put away, come back to the circle and begin to help the children make their decisions about what work to get out next. Dismiss them from the circle one at a time.

Words

Watch carefully where I go so you will always know where to find this lesson.

Everything is changed. Now is the time of the color purple.

Purple is a strong color; it's serious, because something serious is going to happen. At one time, purple was only worn by kings and queens. Long ago, Roman citizens could wear a little stripe of purple, but that was all. This purple is because a King is coming, but he is not the kind of king that people thought was coming. This King had no army, no palace, and no gold. This King was a baby who was born in a barn.

The King who was coming is still coming. This is full of mystery. You know, a mystery is sometimes very hard to enter. That is why this time of Advent is so important. It helps us get ready to enter the Mystery of Christmas.

Sometimes, people walk right through a mystery and do not even know it is there. This time of year you will see people hurrying in the malls buying things and doing this and that, but they miss the Mystery of Christmas. They don't know how to get ready to enter a mystery, or maybe they forgot.

The Church learned a long time ago that people need a way to get ready to enter or even come close to a mystery like Christmas. The Church set aside four weeks to get ready. Christmas is such a great Mystery that it takes that long to get ready.

During this time, we are all on the way to Bethlehem. We are all making the journey. We are all getting ready to enter the Mystery of Christmas, so let's go with the Prophets, the Holy Family, the shepherds, the angels, and the Magi to make the journey.

On the first Sunday in Advent we light one candle and we remember the Prophets. This is the hand that stands for all the Prophets. They point the way to Bethlehem. They are people who come so close to God, and God comes so close to them, that they know what is most important.

They didn't know exactly what was going to happen there, but they knew where it was going to happen.

Here is the hand of the Prophet. They said, "Stop. Watch. Pay attention. Something incredible is going to happen in Bethlehem."

This is the light of the Prophets. Let's enjoy the light.

Prophets are people who know the most important things. They know which way to go. They are the ones who showed us the way. Now we can go to Bethlehem, too.

Now, I want to show you something very strange and very important. Look.

Do you see how the flame is in just one place now? It is right here. When I change the light, it will no longer be there but will go everywhere.

Watch. Do you see it? It is no longer here in this one place. Now it is spreading out, getting thinner and thinner as it fills up the room with the light of the Prophets. Anywhere you go in this room you will be close to the Prophets.

There may even be one sitting in this circle. They pay attention. They know things.

Now watch carefully where I go with this material, so you will always know where to get it when you want to work with it.

I wonder what your work will be today? You might make something about this story, or another story that you know. Maybe you want to work on something else. There are so many things you can choose from. Only you know what is right for you.

CHAPTER 2

Lesson 2

Advent II

The Holy Family

How to Use This Lesson

• Core Presentation

• Liturgical Action Lesson: Lessons about sacraments or traditions of the church which primarily use ritual and symbol to make meaning

• As the second lesson in Volume 3 of The Complete Guide to Godly Play, it is usually presented during the season of Advent.

• It is part of a comprehensive approach to Christian formation that consists of eight volumes. Together the lessons form a spiral curriculum that enables children to move into adolescence with an inner working knowledge of the classical Christian language system to sustain them all their lives.

The Material

• Location: Focal Shelf Unit and Advent/Christmas Shelf Unit

• Pieces: Advent cards on a stand or tray; four Advent candles, matches in a metal container, a glass votive cup to hold matches after they have been lit, and a candle snuffer, all on a tray; Nativity set figures of Mary, Joseph, and the donkey; model of Bethlehem. Optional: candle holders

• Underlay: A strip of felt consisting of four purple (or blue) segments and one white segment. The underlay is rolled with the white on the inside.

Background

This lesson helps the children to get ready to come close to the Mystery of Christmas. We move toward Bethlehem, guided by the pointing Prophets, with the Holy Family, the shepherds, and the Magi. We arrive at the birth of Jesus and the lighting of the Christ Candle in the church. This week's presentation focuses on the Holy Family.

You begin this week's lesson by presenting the first of the four Advent cards and telling about the Prophets; see Volume 3, Lesson 1 for the movements and words.

In this lesson, you add the second Advent card and tell the story of the Holy Family.

Notes on the Material

Find the materials for this presentation on the Advent/Christmas Shelf Unit and the Focal Shelf Unit. The Advent/Christmas Shelf Unit is to the left of the Focal Shelf Unit. The model of Bethlehem stands to the far left on the top shelf of the Advent/Christmas Shelf Unit. In the middle of the top shelf you'll find the tray or stand of Advent cards. The candles, container of matches, and candle snuffer are on a tray at the left end of the second shelf (below the model of Bethlehem).

A special stand for the Advent cards makes them visible to a child scanning the room. This stand for the cards should also hold the rolled-up underlay. If you do not use this stand, put the rolled up underlay and cards in a tray. You may want to line the tray with purple or blue felt.

There are five cards or wooden plaques, which represent, in this order:

• the Prophets

• the Holy Family

• the shepherds

• the Magi

• the birth of Jesus

These cards or plaques are laid on a strip of felt divided into five equal sections, one section for each of the four weeks of Advent, plus an additional section for the feast of Christmas. The first four sections are purple or blue (for Advent); the fifth and final section is white (for Christmas). Roll up the underlay so that the white segment is hidden inside. (An illustration of the underlay, with all five cards or plaques and candles laid out in order, appears in Volume 3, Lesson 4.)

Many churches use blue for their Advent color. In this presentation, we refer to the liturgical color purple, but use whatever color your church uses. Instead of referring to the royal color (purple), point out that blue is a good color for getting ready, because it is the color associated with Mary, Jesus' mother. Without the mother Mary, there would be no baby.

In this presentation, we refer to one rose and three purple candles, but, again, follow the custom of your church. Use candles with wide bases for stability (e.g., votive or pillar candles). You also need a beautiful metal container for matches. Keep these items on a tray lined with purple or blue felt. It is important to have a small glass votive candle holder as a safe place to put matches that have been lit.

You will use the Nativity figures (Mary, Joseph, a donkey, a cow, a shepherd, some sheep, and three Kings) for this series of lessons. These figures are placed on the Focal Shelf Unit in the center of the top shelf and used when you present the story called, "The Holy Family" found in Volume 2, Lesson 3, pages 55–62. Ideally they are simple wooden figures, safe for children to handle. The Nativity figures are not placed in a stable, as you often see at Christmas time.

Finally, you need a model of the city of Bethlehem, similar to that pictured in Volume 3, Lesson 1. It is to be set in the middle of the circle of children to show that we are all on the way to Bethlehem, including the storyteller.

Special Notes

Since this lesson repeats from year to year and has repetition in itself, you might hear children saying things like, "We had this lesson already." When that happens it is an opportunity to stop and acknowledge it and say, "That is the easy part." Yes that is true, but that is the easy part, the hard part is to go deeper into the Mystery of Christmas. For more about this, read page 119-128 in Teaching Godly Play: How to Mentor the Spiritual Development of Children, by Jerome W. Berryman.

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "The Complete Guide to Godly Play"
by .
Copyright © 2017 Jerome W. Berryman.
Excerpted by permission of Church Publishing Incorporated.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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