A (Providence) Christmas Carol
Creative Project for Essentials in Worship Theology
This project is a script for our Christmas program at Providence Baptist Church this year; we will begin rehearsals next month, so there is no video yet! I will post video or photos when they become available.
Each year our Christmas program kicks off the season with a festive invitation to one and all, an outreach to friends and the community. It's a coffeehouse set-up, and every year the theme is different—they run the gamut from a general "Joy to the World" with international carols and traditional holiday foods from various countries to "A Providence Family Christmas" with a humorous take-off on Chevy Chase's "classic" movie as the young daughter looks for the baby Jesus because everyone else is too busy, complete with a photo op station wagon with the oversized tree on top.
The format is that the first 25 minutes or so is refreshments and background Christmas music, typical jazz standards and carol arrangements by our band. Next is the body of the program, and finally there's a Christmas sing-a-long led by our PrimeTimers Seniors group.
The goal is to include as many people as possible, so the kids will sing, and there will be handbells, and people cooking desserts and little sandwiches, decorating, making treat boxes for the kids, etc.
This year's theme is "A (Providence) Christmas Carol", loosely based on Charles Dickens' classic story. All the refreshments are appropriate to the Victorian Era, as is the costuming and the treats in the treat boxes. Several of Scrooge's lines are directly from the story; a gift is given to each guest, this year a copy of A Christmas Carol with a bookmark holding Scrooge's words, "I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year."
The set is divided into three parts, like the story:
Stage Right, a stylized depiction of a crèche
Center Stage, Ebenezer Scrooge's sitting room
Stage Left, Victorian street row of shops with street lamp begging for carolers to surround it.
The music selections this year are:
--Wexford Carol, solo verse 1—carol
--Born Is the King (It's Christmas)
http://wordmusic.com/choral/new-releases-1/born-is-the-king-it-s-christmas.html
--The Sussex Carol—carol
--A Merry Carol of the Bells http://www.praisegathering.com/Detail/1878/
--When Love Was Born http://www.lifeway.com/Product/when-love-was-born-anthem-P005498898
--Good Christian Men, Rejoice—carol
--Let Us Be http://www.lifeway.com/Product/let-us-be-anthem-P005498890
(Please note that copyright information is available for each non public domain anthem on the pages to which they are linked; lyrics included in the script are for reference only.)
The underlying premise of the program is that Jesus came to save us and "deliver those who have lived all their lives as slaves to the fear of dying." (Hebrews 2:15, NLT) As a result, we live lives of gratitude and celebration as we become "joy to the world", actively working to set things right in the entire creation.
The content of the songs speak of God's mercy and how we are to implement justice in our world, and participatory projects include making scarves for the program which will then be distributed to those in need through a local partner charitable organization. We also prepare extra refreshments to enable us to make gift boxes for our neighbors.
Since this event is to occur the first Sunday in December, we also present guests with opportunities for worship and service throughout the Christmas season and beyond.
Lori Taylor
August 2012