SPCK
Festivals Together - Past, present and future
Festivals Together - Past, present and future
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
Past, present and future Remembrance Sunday Remembrance Sunday is often one of the few occasions in the church year where those gathered are truly of all ages. There will be men and women in their eighties and nineties and there will be young children from Brownies and Beavers, w…
Festivals Together - Too much, too bad
Festivals Together - Too much, too bad
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
Too much, too bad Harvest Harvest is unusual among the various festivals of the church and community year, in that it is elective – that means you get to choose when to hold the event. A church can choose the date, the time, the place and the content. There are no fixed readings,…
Festivals Together - Holding the baby
Festivals Together - Holding the baby
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
Holding the baby Father’s Day Festivals Together Unlike Mothering Sunday, Father’s Day holds no place in the church calendar. Yet over the past fifty years it has grown massively in importance within UK culture. Children will prepare for it with the same enthusiasm as they employ…
Festivals Together - Fire, wind and adventure
Festivals Together - Fire, wind and adventure
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
Fire, wind and adventure Pentecost Pentecost is a much less well-known festival, both in our culture and even in the church calendar, yet it is not just theologically significant but also rich in some of our more well-known symbols. The energy and excitement that emanate from the…
Festivals Together - The first time ever
Festivals Together - The first time ever
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
The first time ever Easter Sunday Easter Sunday should be the most joyful event in the church year. Our churches are at their best on Easter Sunday, with glorious flowers and, where used, wonderful vestments. In the past churchgoers would wear their best – hence the tradition of …
Festivals Together - Light in the dark
Festivals Together - Light in the dark
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
Light in the dark Easter Vigil The Easter Vigil may be held on Saturday evening, or very early on Sunday morning. It is one of the great treasures in the Church’s store of worship, and yet is rarely seen in terms of an event which can engage children and those on the edge of the …
Festivals Together - Serious stillness
Festivals Together - Serious stillness
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
Serious stillness Good Friday Good Friday is always a public holiday in the United Kingdom, regardless of where Easter and school holidays fall. This means it is increasingly an opportunity for churches to engage with a range of ages. However, Good Friday presents particular chal…
Festivals Together - Food, feet and feelings
Festivals Together - Food, feet and feelings
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
Food, feet and feelings Maundy Thursday Maundy Thursday may not be an obvious occasion on which to offer all-age worship. Yet it is a vital festival in the church year, as we remember the pivotal events leading up to Jesus’ death on Good Friday. There are some very dramatic stori…
Festivals Together - Parade with passion
Festivals Together - Parade with passion
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
Parade with passion Palm Sunday The Palm Sunday procession marks the beginning of the greatest week in the church calendar, the week when we engage again with the story of Jesus’ journey to the cross and beyond. The story is so powerful and contains so many core images and motifs…
Festivals Together - Who's the mummy?
Festivals Together - Who's the mummy?
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
Who’s the mummy? Mothering Sunday The celebration of Mothering Sunday has changed greatly over the past decades. In some parishes it remains one of the days when a high number of occasional churchgoers can be expected, but in others it has been superseded by the commercial ‘Mothe…
Festivals Together - Looking back, moving on
Festivals Together - Looking back, moving on
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
Looking back, moving on Candlemas (2 February) Candlemas is a festival full of Christian symbolism, folk tradition and church history, which means there is a wealth of images and themes to explore. It marks a turning point in three ways – within the Church it is the moment we tak…
Festivals Together - How to use this book
Festivals Together - How to use this book
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
How to use this book Festivals Together There are fifteen festival outlines in this book, each of them offering something different. They range from the familiar occasions such as Mothering Sunday to the solemn days of Holy Week.1 The ideas that are offered are jumping-off points…
Festivals Together - Introduction- festivals for everyone
Festivals Together - Introduction- festivals for everyone
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
Creating all-age worship: the key components Introduction Festival is a great word and a great experience, one deeply embedded in contemporary culture. It is estimated that there are at least five hundred music festivals alone each year in the UK, plus countless other types. Ther…
Worship Together - Recommended Reading
Worship Together - Recommended Reading
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
Recommended Reading Worship Together Children’s spirituality Adams, Kate, Unseen Worlds, London: Jessica Kingsley, 2010. Beckwith, Ivy, Postmodern Children’s Ministry, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2004. Berryman, Jerome, Children and the Theologians: Clearing the Way for Grace…
Worship Together - Promise for Everyone
Worship Together - Promise for Everyone
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
December – Promise for everyone Worship Together December brings us to the beginning of the church year, but for the vast majority of people it brings us to Christmas. The challenge is to use the lectionary to recapture a sense of Advent, of preparing for the coming of Christ as …
Worship Together - Invitation for everyone
Worship Together - Invitation for everyone
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
November – Invitation for everyone? Worship Together By November we become very aware of the changing focus of the church year. This season is sometimes called the kingdom season, as the lectionary focuses on the kingdom drawing close, on the vision of a heavenly banquet and of j…
Worship Together - Time for everyone?
Worship Together - Time for everyone?
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
October – Time for everyone? Worship Together October marks a real change in the seasons. Autumn has a special beauty and the changing colours and landscape can make us particularly aware of time. It is often a challenge in the life of Christian discipleship to stay with the mome…
Worship Together - Joy for everyone