Christmas Windows Nativity Play

The main prop is a huge 9 pane window which has the letters for Christmas and there are images on the back side of each pane which represent the parts of the Christmas story.  

The younger kids act out the play (stage right with the manger scene) with the older ones reading the meanings on the windows (centre stage at the shop window) and narrators stage left (by tree).  

Non Speaking Roles:

Mary -

Joseph –

Donkey -

Angels –

Shepherds -

Magi/Kings -

Speaking Roles:

Child 1 –

Child 2 –

Narrator 1 -

Narrator 2 –

Narrator 3 (Lead) –

Narrator 4 (Bible Reader) –

Carols:

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Away in a Manger

While Shepherds Watched

Silent Night

We Three Kings

Joy to the World

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Windows/Scenes:

- C – Census - Angel visiting Mary and Joseph and then they were called for a census.

- H – Hard Journey - Jesus and Mary travelling on a donkey to Bethlehem

- R – no Room - Knocking on inn doors, no room at the inn

- I – In an Inn’s stable - Jesus was born in a stable

- S – Shepherds - Shepherds on a hillside visited by an angel and travel to visit Jesus

- T – Truth – the Shepherds knew the truth of peace on earth

- M – Magi - Wise men see a star in the East and follow it to Jesus to give him gifts

- A – Answer – Jesus was the answer to their search for meaning

- S – Saviour – Jesus is our Saviour

C	H	R
I	S	T
M	A	S

Props: Large Shop Window with 9 panes (print or draw pictures)/ Huge Bible for “reading” /  

Costumes for the nativity play actors / Manger and other scenery

Script:

SET: Centre Stage - “CHRISTMAS” Shop Window.    Stage right - Manger Scene is empty.  Stage left – four narrators are facing Christmas tree chatting quietly…… From stage right: two children walk along and stop to stare at the window.

(Child 1) What is this window?  Where are the toys? What is it selling for us girls and boys?

(Child 2) What are the letters? And who is that crowd?

(Child 1) Be quiet and listen, they’re speaking out loud.

(Narrator 1) How much do you love Christmas?

(Narrator 2) So much.  Two whole weeks off school!

(Narrator 3) No homework to get done.

(Narrator 4) And no one forcing us to get out of bed.

(N 2) Do you think anyone will come to church this Christmas?

(N1) Of course, it’s always full, sometimes there’s not enough room for everyone

(N3) I hope there’s enough room for my friends

(N4) Have they been before?

(N3) No, and I’ve made a special surprise for them, to tell them all about Christmas

(N2) Cool.

(N1) What is it?

(N3) It’s behind us and I’ll need your help, look……

SET: narrators all turn around and look shocked at all the people in the church

(N1) where did they all come from?

(N2) they must have snuck in when we weren’t looking.

(N4) sneaky, very sneaky!!

(N3) and look, my friends have arrived and they’ve seen the surprise.  Hi xx, Hi xx.

(Child 1) Hi, Happy Christmas

(Child 2) What’s this?         (pointing at shop window)

(N3) It’s a surprise, to help us explain what Christmas is all about.

(Child 1) Cool, can we help?

(N3) Of course.

(Child 2) Is it all about the presents?

(N1) No.  It’s MUCH better than that! 

(N4) It starts with Mary and Joseph, they lived in Nazareth, they were going to have a baby and ……

(N3) Wait, wait, wait!  We’re going to look at each letter in the window. 

(N1) Every letter of the word CHRISTMAS.

(N2) Let’s start with C then.

(N3) OK.  xx, pick up letter C and let’s see what’s on the other side.

Shows the scroll picture to everyone (and it appears on the screen)

(Child 2) What is it?

(N1) C for Census.  The Christmas story starts with a census, a count of all the people.

(N2) Everyone had to go back to the town, where they were born, to register their family.

(N3) And pay their taxes

(N4) The Bible says “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.”

Mary and Joseph hold hands stage left and very slowly start walking across the stage with Donkey

(N2) Mary and Joseph had to travel all the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

(N3) That’s a very, very, very long way, almost as far away as Birmingham.

(N1) Could that be the letter H perhaps.  xx do you want to look?

(Child 1) Yes, it looks like a journey.

Show the picture (and it appears on the screen)

(Child 2) But would they really have walked as far as Birmingham?

(N2) Well they couldn’t get a train or a plane!

(N3) Exactly, there wasn’t any choice, they had to take the long hard journey. 

(N1) H for a HARD journey.  Mary was pregnant so she rode on a donkey.

(N4) The Bible says “Joseph left Nazareth, a town in Galilee. He went to the town of Bethlehem in Judea. This town was known as the town of David. Joseph went there because he was from the family of David.  Joseph registered with Mary because she was engaged to marry him.

(Child 2) I know a song about Bethlehem I think……

All sing “O little town of Bethlehem”

(Child 2) Let’s look at letter R; what is this one all about?

Show the picture to everyone (and it appears on the screen)

(N2) R stands for Room, there were no rooms left at any of the inns in Bethlehem.

(Child 1) No rooms in any of the inns?

(N3) No, no room at any of the inns

(N1) They were all full because everyone was there for the census, thousands of people

(N4) The Bible says “While Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem, the time came for her to have the baby.  There were no rooms left in the inn.”

Mary and Joseph and donkey wonder around looking more and more worried and sad

(Child 1) But you said Mary was pregnant, she needed somewhere to sleep

(N1) Yes, she did, and she found somewhere.  The answer might be behind the letter I.

Child 1 Show the picture to everyone (and it appears on the screen)

Mary and Joseph sit by the manger and the donkey sits down near by

(N3) I stands for Inn, but really it was just an Inn’s Stable

(N2) Smelly!

(Child 2) And dirty!

(N1) But quiet and safe.  And that was where her baby boy was born!

(N3) They called him Jesus, it means “God saves”.

(N4) The Bible says “She gave birth to a son. She wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger”

Mary and Joseph place Jesus inside the manger.

(Child 1) Can we sing again? 

(N2) How about away in a manger

All sing “Away in a Manger”

(Child 2) That was a nice story about Jesus, thanks.  And that’s why we have presents?

(N3) Well yes, but that’s not the end of the story, there’s a lot more to come.  Let’s look at letter S.

Child 2 Show the picture to everyone (and it appears on the screen)

(Child 1) What is that picture all about?

(N2) S stands for Shepherds, they were the first to receive a message of great joy about Jesus.

Shepherds enter stage left and sit with sheep

(N1) Angels came to them in the fields and told them about a new king, Jesus.

Angels enter and stand around the shepherds

(N4) The Bible says “That night, some shepherds were in the fields nearby watching their sheep.  An angel of the Lord stood before them. The glory of the Lord was shining around them, and suddenly they became very frightened.  The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, because I am bringing you some good news. It will be a joy to all the people.  Today your Saviour was born in David’s town. He is Christ, the Lord.  This is how you will know him: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.””

All sing “While Shepherds Watched”

(Child 2) A Lord?  You never said anything about a Lord

(N3) Yes, a Lord or King that they had been expecting for hundreds of years.

(N2) That is the letter T. T stands for Truth told by the angels

Child 1 Show the picture to everyone (and it appears on the screen)

(Child 1) Why would a King be born in a stable?

(N1) Because he was a different sort of king, a king from God.  A king for everyone in the world, even the shepherds on the hillsides.  That’s why the angels told them first.

(N2) When the angels left, the shepherds hurried off the hills

(N3) They went into Bethlehem to find Jesus and give him thanks.

Shepherds walk across the stage to the stable and sit around the outside.  Angels go with them.

(N4) The Bible says “Then a very large group of angels from heaven joined the first angel. All the angels were praising God, saying: “Give glory to God in heaven and on earth let there be peace to the people who please God.””

(N1) Let’s sing Silent Night

All sing “Silent Night”

(Child 2) Is that the end now?

(Child 1) No, look, there are three more letters in the windows.

(N3) Yes, three more letters.  Shall we look at the letter M.

Child 2 picks up M and shows the picture to everyone (and it appears on the screen)

(Child 2) I know what they are, they are the three wise men.

(N1) Yes, or they might be called Magi.  M stands for Magi.

Kings/Wise Men enter stage left and start walking around pointing at stars in the distance

(N2) They brought gifts from afar and came to worship Jesus.

Kings put the presents at the manger and kneel down around the outside

(N4) The Bible says “After Jesus was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem.  They asked, “Where is the baby who was born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east. We came to worship him.”  They saw the same star they had seen in the east. It went before them until it stopped above the place where the child was.  When the wise men saw the star, they were filled with joy.  They went to the house where the child was and saw him with his mother, Mary. They bowed down and worshiped the child. They opened the gifts they brought for him. They gave him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

All sing “We Three Kings”

(Child 1) Is there anyone else who comes to visit?

(N3) No one that the Bible tells us.  But we have two more important things to tell you

(Child 2) Shall we look at letter A?

(N1) Go on then.

Child 2 picks up letter A and shows the picture (and it appears on the screen)

(Child 1) Why is there such a bright light on the stable?

(N2) The light shows that Jesus is a gift from God; He is the answer for the whole world.

(N3) The A stands for Answer

(N1) The answer is to follow everything Jesus tells us; to help the poor and heal the sick

(N4) The Bible says “A child will be born to us.  God will give a son to us.  He will be responsible for leading the people.”

(N3) And the last letter gives us the meaning of this whole story. 

(N2) The reason why we celebrate Christmas with presents and happiness and celebration.

(N4) The Bible says “His name will be Wonderful Counsellor, Powerful God, Prince of Peace.”

Child 1 picks up letter S and shows it to everyone (and it appears on the screen)

(N1) And Saviour, S is for Saviour. 

(N3) Jesus lived and died so that when we say sorry to him, we are forgiven.

(Child 1 and Child 2) Wow

(N2) It’s amazing good news isn’t it.

(N1) Let’s sing again, a song of Joy about Jesus and His amazing love for us

(N3) I know just the carol “Joy to the World”

All sing “Joy to the World”

Thanks, Prayers and Blessing

All sing “We wish you a Merry Christmas”

Mission of the #PokeGym #PokemonGo #Church #PokeStop

I'm guessing you're reading this from one of the following three camps.
1. You're sick to death of hearing all about PokemonGo only one day after it's UK release
2. You're completely confused about what PokemonGo is all about
3. You're playing it and worried about what the heck I'm thinking

Whichever of the camps you're in, bear with me because this is a huge mission opportunity.

What is #PokemonGo?
I hope you recognise this cute little fella (if not then click here).

Pikachu

He is Pikachu and kids, teens and adults have been trying to catch him and his friends on various game platforms since in 1990s.  There is even a card game version which has been a playground craze on and off for years.  Well Pokemon has now been reimagined for the smartphone and we are all challenged to "catch 'em all".  Over 10 million people have downloaded the #PokemonGo app in less than a week and they (and me) are walking (or wheeling) around their local communities, with app open on their phones, to find the characters hidden all over the place.  The more characters you find, the more fun you can have and the more opportunities there are to join with friends and "battle" game play.


What is a #PokeGym?
One of the great things about #PokemonGo is that the developers have created places where players can come to play games called "battles".  They are also places where players can donate a pokemon to help others in their battles; they are places of sharing.  #PokeGyms are places to be and play, they are an essential part of the game and will become popular.


What is a #PokeStop?
A #PokeStop is similar to a #PokeGym but instead of being a place to play games, they are places to gather resources and energy needed to play the game.  It's like a shop for #PokemonGo.  Again it's somewhere people want to visit on a regular basis.


Why is my church a #PokeGym or #PokeStop?
It seems as if the #PokeGyms have been placed in locations where many people have checked in on google or uploaded photos.  There are all sorts of tourist attractions which have gyms (and stops) and also churches, after all lots of people go to churches every week.


What can be missional about this?
It is extremely likely that your church is a #PokeGym or #PokeStop and this is great news for churches, because all of a sudden there will be all sorts of people coming to battle online.  There will be kids, tweens, teenagers, young adults, older adults and families all coming to your church to play #PokemonGo.  There will be lots of people at your church hanging around out of choice and most of them probably won't be members of your church or even people who have ever stepped through the doors.  This is a mission opportunity.

It is an opportunity to show these players that you're connected to their culture, that might be a nice surprise and might change how they think about church.

It is an opportunity to engage with people who come along to play by saying hi and being friendly, you might even join in and make some new friends.

It is an opportunity to serve people, by offering drinks or snacks or just a place in out of the rain.  Or how about offering your plug points for charging their phones?

It is an opportunity to put your church on the map, literally on the #PokemonGo map, and on the social media map.  Suddenly you'll be visible to a whole new set of people.

It is an opportunity to run #PokemonGo sessions where people are invited to come into church and play and share a meal and hang out.  Whatever takes your fancy.

Are there any risks?
One of the amazing things about #PokemonGo is that it is encouraging people to get out of their homes and go out and about.  Of course there are risks with this, especially if people aren't looking where they're going when they're walking or cycling around.  And it isn't great that everyone has their smartphones in their hands ready to be stolen.  But let's be honest; most of us are carrying our phones in our hands or pockets most of the time and aren't really paying attention to what we're doing anyway.  That said, I would advise that care is taken when out and about playing #PokemonGo.

What are we doing at St Nicolas Earley?
Of course it is all fine and good to talk about it, but we have taken the pikachu by the yellow ears and celebrated the fact that we are a #PokeGym.  We have:

• Tweeted and Facebooked about the fact that we're a #PokeGym

• Created posters which will be up all over our summer fun day tomorrow inviting people to find the exact location of the #PokeGym

• Made a sign for our noticeboard telling everyone that we are a #PokeGym and welcoming people to come back on Sunday
• Requested that the game developers make our church hall into a #PokeStop so that players can come to get resources and then play battles

The opportunity for mission is coming your way, what will you do?