Respond to the Word

Do you have a set of identical twins in the worshipping community (or a couple of children who look alike from a distance)? If so, ask them to come to church with one in their best clothes and the other dirty, unkempt and in tatty clothes. You’ll need a blanket or cloak that they can hide behind. 

Invite the twins out to the front of the church. Put the smart one behind the tatty one, and pretend that you’re doing magic. As everyone says ‘abracadabra’ swap the twins over — rags to riches! Make a big thing about how clever this magic is, with your tongue firmly in your cheek! God turns our rags into riches — ‘just like that’.

Compile a book of children’s sayings — the ones that are unique to children and that make you smile. Or prepare a booklet of children’s prayers and take it to a local nursing home for the residents to read.

Has your church got a ‘rent a granny’ scheme? All the grandparents whose grandchildren live miles away sign up to be foster grandparents for just one child in the congregation. Families ‘rent’ their ‘grandparent’ (CRB clearance required). This way children and grandparents acquire new friends, and great cross-generation relationships are struck up.

Ask older members of the congregation to write a series of articles chronicling the history of the church, through their eyes — not the big historic events, but the parties, the trips, the outings. Include them in your newsletter or magazine, or compile them into an album with photographs.

Does your church have a surprising tale to tell, when something exciting and creative grew out of a seemingly barren situation? Invite people to reflect on this in small groups, perhaps thinking about surprises in their personal lives as well as in their shared life. Come back together and see if there are some surprises to be celebrated!