Resourcing the All Age Church through the Christian Year
Major Christian Festivals provide some of the greatest opportunities to tell the Christian story to children, young people and their families. They are also some of the most demanding times of the year when energy levels are low and levels of creativity even lower.
A major part of our work in the deanery is to work together to develop seasonal projects, events and ideas for enriching and sharing the Christian story at these all important times. We do so through:
1. Researching and identifying quality materials and working together to make those ideas and resources more easily accessible to clergy and leaders for use in their parishes e.g:
• Travelling Crib during Advent 2005/6 (parishes)
• Easter Labyrinth Easter 2005 (youth)
• A-Cross the World materials for Lent 2006 (parishes)
• Love Life Live Lent 2007 (parishes)
2. Developing new and original seasonal project ideas as deanery events
• The Easter Walk (Lent and Easter 2005/6)
• What’s the Story? (Bible story event – May 2005)
• What’s the Story about Easter? (Deanery event at Bradford Cathedral – April 2007)
• What’s the Story about Christmas? (Parish and schools event – December 2007)
• What’s the Story about Pentecost & the Early Church? (Deanery event 2009! DV)
3. Providing a wide range of creative resources for loan centrally e.g :
• Talk outlines and visual aids for All-Age Worship
• Travelling Crib boxes
• Metres and Metres of coloured draping fabric
• Worship flags and ribbons
• Life-sized animals for Christmas & Easter displays
• Giant Christingles for use in Christingle services
• Song Rolls for the festivals
• Creative craft resources