16 March 2018
Celebrate E-piphany with MethodistChildren
The MethodistChildren team have produced ideas for a children'sservice for Epiphany, available free of charge on their website.This follows the success of their Narnia-themed Christmas service.Epiphany marks the visit of the wise men to Jesus to present theirgifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. It falls on 6 January eachyear, and will be celebrated in churches on Sunday the 8th.
'The Christmas story doesn't end on December 25th,' says StevePearce, 'and Epiphany, when we think about the wise men presentinggifts to Jesus, and Jesus being a gift to the world, is animportant part of Christian life as well. On one hand Epiphany isan easy concept for children to understand, since it comes only twoweeks after they gave and received gifts. But it can be hard tograsp what the wise men and their gifts mean, and it also has somerather odd vocabulary. We hope that our service will make Epiphanyboth fun and informative.'
The service page suggests that the theme should be the giving ofpractical gifts to the community. Participants will make their'gift' by writing them on cards that will be kept and revisitedduring Easter. 'We want people of all ages to think of what theycan offer to their community and to the church,' says Steve Pearce,'and to give these by writing their promise on the cards. WhenEaster comes, the church can remind the congregation of what theypromised, and link the two seasons too.'
The service also offers ways to explain Epiphany to young people,as well as suggested readings and songs. The MethodistChildrenwebsite also has other resources for those working with children,as well as a range of items for children including a gallery,bulletin boards, quizzes and games.