Bring hope to a hungry child this Advent

Transcription

1 Bring hope to a hungry child this Advent Big Family Christmas Advent is a time of peace, joy, and hope bringing people together through faith, fellowship and family. This special time of year offers a wonderful opportunity to share what we can with those who lack even the most basic things. We invite you to bring hope to children around the world. Here are a few ways to support Mary s Meals this Advent. A mug for a mug Warm up on cold mornings by holding a coffee morning in aid of Mary s Meals. Help keep the porridge flowing for children in poor communities by serving up hot mugs of tea, coffee or cocoa and maybe a festive mince pie or two in exchange for a small donation. Big Family Christmas lunch Gather your congregation or family and friends together for a special lunch. Whether you host a meal with friends at home, a post-service bite to eat at church, or a pot-luck lunch, guests can be invited to give a small donation in return for the food served. Hope in an envelope Give the perfect thoughtful present by making a / / $19.50 donation in exchange for one of our beautiful gift cards. Each card, which we will post to you to send on as a gift, feeds a hungry child for a whole school year. To order your gift cards, please visit Set a place at the Big Family Christmas table For a donation of / / $19.50, you can set a place at our virtual Big Family Christmas dinner table and change the life of a hungry child for a whole school year. Set a place in your name, or on behalf of a loved one, which can be viewed alongside hundreds of others from all over the world, as the Mary s Meals family gathers virtually around the dinner table for our Big Family Christmas. Visit our website from Friday, 1 December to find out more. Pray for our work Please remember our vital work in your prayers this Advent. We are thankful for the prayers of supporters around the world, a continual blessing that helps us to reach out to the next child in need of Mary s Meals.

2 Big Family Christmas cards Wish your loved ones a happy Christmas this year with a Mary s Meals Big Family Christmas card. Not only will you be sending love and Christmas wishes to your friends and family, you ll also be raising awareness of our work. Visit bigfamilychristmas. com to order your cards. Big Family Christmas Give the gift of a good read The Shed That Fed A Million Children, written by our founder Magnus, tells the amazing story of Mary s Meals and how a simple act of kindness can inspire the growth of a global movement and transform millions of lives. It s a remarkable story of faith and compassion, and the perfect gift for someone you love. Thank you for supporting Mary s Meals and helping to bring hope to the world s poorest children. Ways to give: Online Donate using a debit or credit card via our website Bank transfer Using the bank details below Account name: Mary s Meals International IBAN: GB69 RBOS BIC: RBOSGB2L or RBOSGB2LXXX (if your banking system requires 11 digits in this field) Once you have donated, please let us know by ing finance.int@marysmeals.org Thank you for your support.

3 Big Family Christmas Celebrating the Nativity The events surrounding the birth of Jesus show us that everyone has a part to play; the angels, the shepherds and even the humble donkey. It s the same today; we can all help to make the world a fairer and better place, especially for hungry children. Here are a few activities for you to share as part of your preparations during Advent, and please remember Mary s Meals in your prayers at this special time of year. 1 Paper plate donkey Let s first look at the humble donkey, who had the very important job of carrying Mary on the long dusty road to Bethlehem before Jesus was born. What you need: Paper plate Grey paint Black paint or marker pen Card to make ears/mane/face Glue stick Two googly eyes (or you can draw them on) Paint the paper plate grey and These make great wall decorations or cut out eye holes and add elastic to create a fun mask. Instructions: Paint the paper plate grey and allow to dry Cut out a circle from the card and draw on the nose and mouth before sticking on to plate Cut out two ears paint them grey and attach to the plate Cut card into mane shape, colour it black and position between the ears Finally, you can add the googly eyes Little Donkey, little donkey Had a heavy day. Little Donkey, carry Mary Safely on her way.

4 2 Sweet treat shepherds The shepherds were the fantastic storytellers who spread the wonderful news of Jesus birth far and wide. When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about. Luke 2:8-20 New International Version (NIV) What you need: Empty toilet rolls Small piece of material and string to use as head dress Pipe cleaner for arms Candy cane Colouring pens or paint Paper Glue stick Scissors These make fun gifts for your friends or you could add a flock of cotton wool sheep and put them all on display! Instructions: Paint cardboard tube and allow to dry Make a paper face, cut out and glue on towards the top of the tube For head dress, use string to secure fabric round top of tube Push pipe cleaner through tube to make arms You might need an adult to help you push it through by making small holes with a drawing pin first Secure candy cane with pipe cleaner 3 Foot and hand print angel The Angel proclaimed the good news that Jesus had been born, appearing to the shepherds while they watched their flocks by night. Then many more angels appeared, lighting up the sky. This Christmas angel is made with a footprint body and two handprint wings. For a longer lasting version use heavier card or even a canvas, which would make a lovely keepsake for a loved one. What you need: A4 drawing paper for each child Crayons Instructions: Glitter and stars (optional) Paint (you can choose the colour) Print a paint footprint onto a sheet of paper. This is the angel s body For wings, make two paint handprints, one on either side of the footprint Draw a head and face on the angel or perhaps cut out a photo of your face and stick on Draw or paint on a halo and decorate with shiny stars and glitter Here s an angel for you to treasure By which, my hands and feet you can measure When you look at this in years from now, You ll see I ve grown, and just how

5 We all have a part to play a Christmas all age message. Big Famialsy Christm children a mix of adults and ve ha u yo if st be This works g or props, t need fancy stagin n do u Yo. rt pa ng taki d to the fun ple costumes will ad m si in up ng si es but dr How many people here have been in a Nativity play? Adults too, raise your hands! Can you remember what part you played? Do we have any shepherds here? Wise men (or women)? Angels? Marys and Josephs? Nativity plays take a lot of rehearsal but today I thought we d put on a little performance right here, right now. There are just five parts Mary, Joseph, an angel, the donkey and a shepherd. Do we have any volunteers? [Choose five volunteers] Thank you, volunteers. Now, audience who do you think has the most important part? Hands up if it s the angel? The donkey? The shepherd? Mary is pretty essential, but I m not so sure about the lives forever and she praised God. Soon it was time others I think we could manage without them. Let s to travel to Bethlehem. Because Mary was pregnant, try it without some of you and see how we get on. OK? she couldn t walk so she needed...mmm a donkey. So angel, you sit out for now. The others follow my OK donkey, we need you after all. Come and walk lead. Lots of good miming please! Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem. And action! Shepherd, let s try it without you. Welcome to Nazareth. There was a young girl named [Shepherd steps back] Mary, who was good, kind and loved by God. Mary didn t think she was special in any way. But one day When in Bethlehem, Mary gives birth to her son, an angel came with incredible news Jesus. He was a very special baby and Mary wanted Oh wait a minute, we need the angel after all so everyone to know all about him. you come and give Mary the news. Let s see if we can manage without the donkey. [Donkey steps back] But she had no friends in Bethlehem to tell, so she waited in the stable. Suddenly there was a knock The angel told Mary about the special task from God. at the door and there was oh, the shepherd. OK Mary knew this would change her life and others shepherd, we need you after all over you come.

6 The shepherd had been told by the angel how special bigger than others but it soon becomes clear that the the baby was and he wanted to come and visit Him. story relies on each and every role, big and small. When the shepherd left, he was so excited he told everyone all about the special baby and the people he had met. This story was told again, and again and Working alone, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by some of the world s challenges. But by working together we know we can make great things happen. again for thousands of years. The story of an angel who brought a message of love; a donkey who carried a burden of love and a shepherd who told a tale of love that is still told today. It is a story in which everyone has an important part to play. Thank you, volunteers. Now audience, who would you say was the most important part in the play? Was there anyone that we could have done without? No because one of the messages of our Christmas story is Take Mary s Meals as an example, a charity which is helping more than 1.2million hungry children around the world to attend school and work towards a brighter future. It has grown and grown, thanks to the kindness of many, many people. Everyone works together and each contributes in their unique way, bringing joy to so many children in the world s poorest places. that everyone is needed and everyone is loved for the Yes, some roles may seem bigger than others but, again, role they play. every single role is vital there are the volunteers who That message is important for all of us, not just at Christmas time but all the time. Everyone can do their bit and if we work together, it is even better than if we try to do it all by ourselves. cook the food in 14 countries; the fundraisers who bake cakes, run marathons and hold events; the workers in the charity s shops; the people in each country who organise food deliveries, the schoolchildren who come up with amazing and creative ways to support the work, and the many, many people who pray for Mary s Meals. We can all play our part in sharing the hope and love It is because of each one of these amazing people that of Advent through our words and actions. the hungry child receives vital nutrition and the hope of a In our short Nativity play, yes, some of the parts were better future through Mary s Meals. Christmas is a time when we are reminded how much God loves us, no matter who we are. He created us to The Mary s Meals Pray er Our Father, give us this day our daily bread and forgive us for the times wh en we take more than our share of the bread tha t belongs to all. Let us help You fill the sta rving with good things, not with scraps from our table. Teach us how to share what is not ours to keep. Clothe us with Your love that we may complete each good work you cre ated us to do. Place in our hearts Your compassion for each starving child and use ou r little acts of love so that they starve no more. Amen. live together in a world where all of us can carry out little acts of love to help make the world a better and fairer place. Should you wish to find out more about how you and your church can reach out to hungry children around the world, please visit