Celebrating the 2020 Christmas Joy Offering with Our Youth (during COVID-19)
As we continue through this time of uncertainty and social distancing, engaging the children of your congregation with the four churchwide Special Offerings has never been more important. There are numerous ways children can connect with the Christmas Joy Offering, sharing the joy of God always being with us. We have a number of resources available online to help you as you connect with your young people, whether you are able to meet in person or are touching base virtually.
This year’s curriculum was written by Becky D’Angelo-Veitch, Certified Associate Christian Educator and Director of Faith Formation at Third Presbyterian Church, Rochester, New York. This includes:
- Multi-Age Children’s Lesson
- Activity Sheet: Christmas Joy note cards
- Activity Sheet: Drawing the Story
- Activity Sheet: Make a Paper Plate Advent Wreath
- Resources for the Home: Lighting the Advent Wreath
- Children’s Message
Through these lessons and activities, children will hear and share stories about God being with people and communities, thinking about how gifts from individuals and congregations can be the perfect gift to support leaders and leadership development in the church. Taking inspiration from these stories, children are invited to share acts of kindness to others in their community.
We are excited to be partnering with Illustrated Ministry LLC in 2020. Illustrated Ministry LLC will be creating stained glass art for the second bulletin insert for each of the four Special Offerings. The illustration is also available to download as a coloring sheet. We invite you to use this coloring sheet in the lead up to the Christmas Joy Offering, and share your masterpieces with us on social media using the hashtag #LetsBuildGodsHouse!
Finally, inspired by the design provided by Illustrated Ministry LLC, we have put together our very own Christmas Joy Offering display. Follow these easy instructions, and you too will have your very own Offering display in no time. We encourage young people to get creative with it, maybe even incorporating sidewalk chalk or window paint if creating the display at home!
If you use any of our materials in promoting the 2020 Christmas Joy Offering, we invite you to share feedback on how it was received. We are also available to answer any questions you might have about these or any other Special Offerings resource. Feel free to reach out to us at 800-728-7228 ext. 5047 or specialofferings@pcusa.org.
If we all do a little, it adds up to a lot!
PS – If you don’t have many youth under 18 in your congregation, you can get creative and engage your more seasoned members in any of the activities above! Fun and learning are for Christians of every age!