What GOOD things/ideas have you seen at Christmas Family Services?

[morningpaper]

I need to plan a Nice Christmas Family Service for about 200 people

What would keep them awake?

Usually it is: HYMN, READING, HYMN, READING etc.

Have you seen anything Good at a christmas family service? I've no idea where to start. Any advice welcome!

Screens in church are great. You don't have to tip your head up. And importantly, you don't have to tip your head down.

We have a massive screen up front, and small screens on every other pillar.

They are fantastic.

Thanks this is all really helpful

Lily: We used KJ last year and it was horrendous. Most children are very young and I think yours are exceptional.

UUURRGH at screens in church, they really are a pet hate of mine!

The thing about singing came from one of the leading singing teachers and vocal coaches in the country - she said she hates them for all singing, in schools and churches, and has managed to get through her whole career without ever using them!

MP - I think KJ can sometimes be hard, but the Christmas ones (especially the ones that tell the story rather than the Isaiah ones) are easier to understand. Although, I'll agree, my kids are exceptional......

I think that is bollocks about singing posture. The best singing posture is to hold the words up high, and looking at a screen lets you do this.

As for the KJV - what's the point? Why have children sit through something they simply don't connect with?

If you are having a crib service, write your own abbreviated gospel message, in modern English.

No wonder some churches have hardly anyone under 70. If you want to attract young people and deliver a life-changing message, you have to meet them where they are. You cannot expect them to come to you. It doesn't work that way.

5setsofschoolfees - not bollocks - try standing up and look up high - you will instantly feel your throat tighten and the bottom of your jaw tense. And that is what the experts say too, not just me.

As for KJ - speak for yourself, my kids love it. Especially the Christmas stuff. And what's more, the kids who come through our church also love it (we have a lot of kids).

To say only people over 70 like it is total bollocks - some people do, some people don't. I personally couldn't go to a church covered in screens, using ultra modern translations and so-called contemporary music, but if that's what you want, fine. But please don't suggest that that's the only way to 'do' church if you want young people to come.

I do it every Sunday. It's not a problem. My head is not tilted upwards. It is really pretty level, tbh, or angled maybe 5 degrees.

It's really not worth defending 'the tradition', because your tradition was new compared to the earlier tradition.

It's quite fun in a PCC meeting when someone is trying to hang onto some piece of silver that someone left to the church 100 years ago.

But it really isn't what Christianity is about. Christianity is not about material things. It's about relationships. The best way to forge relationships is to meet people where they are and to value their lives.

I really don't want to get into an argument. But.

I'm not defending 'tradition for tradition's sake.' But for many people, a Prayer Book type service is exactly where they are. And what many people want when they go into a church is to have a traditional service. Not everyone. But many people do. There's room for both. But lots of people think it has to be 'one size fits all'.

I think you were the only one who 'mentioned material things.' But you seem to be falling into the usual trap of assuming that 'what people want is modern liturgy, modern worship.' What happens to all the people who totally hate that? Are they not allowed somewhere to worship? Doesn't seem a very Christian attitude to me.

And that piece of silver that you referred to, was left to the church by a faithful member of the church. How are you valuing their life by trying to get rid of it? (Note, I couldn't care less about silver or stuff like that, but I do care about people being trampled on.)

And as to the singing, all I can say is it would be better for your voice and your vocal chords not to be angled up at all. Ideal is looking straight ahead, or slightly angled down.

Just to add, please don't try the whole 'of course, your tradition was new...'

that's not why people like it, they like it because the words of the liturgy speak to them. It's disrespectful to suggest that they (and I) are incapable of making an aesthetic judgement. Incidentally, I like the 'traditional' and am under 70.

My mum organises a 'Birthday Party for Jesus' at our church every year.

As others have said all the children dress up as they arrive and they 'act out' the story as it is read.

They play pass the parcel but each layer is a figure from the nativity so whoever unwraps that layer places the figure in the stable with the final layer being the baby, then at the end we have a big birthday cake and all the children sing happy birthday to Jesus.

LilyBolero is quite right about singing and the high screen - it's really not ideal (although probably not a huge issue unless you're planning on making the congregation sing Verdi's Requiem or something).

Lily,

If your tradition reaches out to new people and transforms their lives, then great.

However, you were the first to trash my tradition which happens to be very sincere and very mission focussed. We are transforming lives in my community. And no, we don't have a screen on the church ceiling.

And in our church, we are gifted with the power to raise and lower our eyes, so can easily see a screen without neck contortions.

One doesn't generally though, five. The natural thing to do is to crane your neck to read a screen above eye level.

It won't do you any harm if you're only singing 4 hymns a week in that position, but you wouldn't want to make a habit of it.

Fivesetsofschoolfees, have re-read what I wrote, and the ONLY thing I objected to was the screen.

If the screen is an 'integral part of your tradition and very mission-focussed' then fine. It's not good for singing. That's a fact, and is what top singing coahces say. But whatever.

I didn't 'trash your tradition' - just said I didn't like screens in church. And why. As far as the style of worship goes, that's why I don't go to your church, and I don't suppose you would want to go to ours. Fine. There's room for both.

I'm sure your church is very sincere. So is mine. Style of worship has nothing to do with sincerity or outreach. It's what ELSE you do that achieves that.

ZephirineDrouin - thank you!

(And I'm not mocking you with the comments about the screen being 'mission focussed' - it's just you said I 'trashed your tradition which is very sincere etc' and I just wanted to point out that the only thing I specifically said I didn't like was the screen.)

If you need ideas for a talk/comment/activity that will appeal across generations, try here Scroll down to the ideas with "Christmas" in the title.

Loads of ideas and they are free to download.

(And for what it's worth, we have a screen, and I have had singing lessons, and have never been aware of the remotest strain in the larynx region. But maybe ours is particularly well positioned, or something.)

Well, we have 300 children in our church, 100 students, 100+ 20-somethings. We are doing something right, between our worship style and our biblical teaching.

And we are an Anglican church in the centre of a market town.

If you walk down our High Street, they all look pretty normal - no weird necks.

Hmm. Do you have a C of E school in your town by any chance??

(Only joking - I'm sure you are all very devout.)

We don't have a CofE school in our parish (there are three primary schools and one secondary - all non-dom).

Hi MP. Try to vary the format - getting the choir (I'm guessing you have a choir?) to sing a performance piece, something special and atmospheric, unaccompanied in parts by candle light

Also have a children's song sung only children, or a modern Christmas song played over CD (have you a PA?) I mean something like this . Definitely vary the readers - or include a poem (there are Christian poets, obviously)

(My village church has a tendency to make the Christmas eve service so non threatening it usually includes a rendition of White Christmas!)

Serve coffee and mince pies at end of service and nobody will care how bored they were . If Anglican, served mulled wine and nobody will remember how bored they were .

Go totally OTT on decorations, greenery, candles, Christmas tree.

I will pass this on to my DH, he installs sound/video in a lot of churches. The last one, someone actually bequeathed a large sum to the church with the express wish it was used for PA/projection so they couldn't get out of it . It does vary immensely on the architecture, what you can do, to be fair. But the singing objection is about the only one of many he hasn't come across.

5 sets - you know it's not a competition don't you? That's great that you're reaching lots of people. Doesn't mean that it's the 'only right way'.

I can tell you for certain that if screens and 'modern worship' were introduced to our church, you would instantly lose a few hundred people from the church. And although I've heard people say things like 'well others will come to take their place' I again don't think it's a very Christian attitude to think that those people don't matter.

Live and let live!

Actually, one other thing to add, and then I really will shut up about screens and singing!

If you've got 300 children in your church, then I'm guessing a lot of them are in the 6-12 age group. Imagine being the height of a 6 year old, and what angle their head must be at to see the screen. Plus their vocal chords etc are more vulnerable because they are younger, so more damage is likely.

I know screens are popular in lots of places, but please don't imagine they are in ANY WAY good for singing! And in some cases can be damaging. I honestly do know what I'm talking about - I do vocal coaching for kids, and have talked to lots of leading coaches as training for me, and head position is one of the FIRST things we try to get right - and it should be looking straight ahead, or tilted very slightly downwards.

Lily is right. But probably fine as long as they are only doing a few hymns - just don't use the screens for choir practice unless they really are at the children's eye level.

(Actually my real objection would probably be on aesthetic grounds more than anything else, but realise this is just a matter of personal taste.)