An adaptable reader’s theatre, made for a zoom presentation, with at least 12 characters. Suitable for either children, or an intergenerational cast.
There’s a lot of voices speaking
all at once, at high volume
as we listen for God’s voice
this Christmas.
Marketers trumpeting,
drawing our attention
to all that we lack,
claiming only they can save us.
I am always watching. My life is watching. When I was little, I used to walk with my grandfather everywhere, and he used to say, “You have eyes to see, use them!” He asked me to describe to him everything I saw. The clouds building on the horizon on a spring evening. I watched and described it, but he told me what it meant, that the rain would come tomorrow. The bird suddenly flying up from the bushes…I watched and described it, he told me that birds have reasons for what they do. Together we watched and saw a wolf creeping. “Watch the sky, watch the birds,” he told me…
God’s glory is all around us, but we can’t always see it. I then compare that to electricity…and I use various electrical appliances to show that electricity is real. I then talk about the ways we see God’s power around us.
Our prayer this Christmas is beyond words.
You find it in the silence of the sleeping forest,
down under the ice.
You find it with the wind sweeping in cold gusts,
rattling the windows.
Our prayer is the snow that’s falling.
Inside, it’s the table being set, the preparations,
it is every twinkling light and piece of greenery.
Our prayer floats on the fragrance of food in the oven.
We pull this prayer with us
as we remember Christmases long ago,
It’s the eve of another celebration of Jesus’ birth–
but this year is different than any other.
It’s hard to cast our thoughts to Bethlehem
when the here and now is so heavy.
On this Christmas Eve, we feel like we are on the eve of everything.
Are we on the eve of sickness or health;
will this pandemic touch the lives of those we love?
Will our hospitals manage this second wave of patients
in the long winter ahead?
We are on the eve of loneliness;
there are too few chairs around our holiday tables
Today we mark the first Sunday of Advent,
and today we light the candle of hope.
Advent is the season of hope.
We hope for a Saviour who can save us,
a Healer who can heal us,
and a Counsellor who hears all our sorrows.
In darkness that deepens,
we wait for the coming of the light of the world.
We wait in hope as we light this candle of hope.
A pageant designed for Zoom, that can be recorded ahead of time, and played at an in-person service (no stress on Christmas Eve!), or shared on-line. For an intergenerational cast of 15-18 participants. You can look on YouTube for examples of how this has been staged.
This Christmas can we find
a newborn love for Jesus?
Can this baby disarm us;
agendas, busyness and grudges
dropped on the ground?
Will we follow some sweet inner voice
urging us to go and see?
Can we go wondering,
unsure what we will find?
As we pass by all the places
we would expect to see God,
I am a Mennonite pastor currently teaching theology at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario. I’ve served congregations in Ontario and most recently, Alberta.
I love to write and to lead worship! If you are finding my writing helpful, I would love to hear from you! Feel free to use or adapt the material here, it is all written by me. If printing material, please credit “Copyright Carol Penner www.leadinginworship.com” (and say whether you modified it). If publishing, please contact me for permission. Contact me at carol@leadinginworship.com
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