The stories, scriptures, and traditions of the Christmas season have been passed down to us throughout the generations. Many of us enter this season with a swell of memories and emotions as vast as the cultural and religious rituals this holiday holds. Like a tapestry woven throughout time, the Christmas story weaves us in—to remember how God has shown up in the past, to continue the work of collective liberation, to behold the presence of God in flesh and bone.
Our Advent theme is also a call to action: what are we being called to generate or bring forth? What have your ancestors and those who have come before you passed on for you to continue? Considering the many ways we embody, remember, and tell the story of Christ’s birth, which rituals hold the most meaning for you? What about this season will you pass on to the next generation?
From Generation to Generation… reminds us of the ways our lives, histories, actions, and stories are interconnected and woven together. The work of God is always unfolding—in and through us. This Advent, may you remember that you belong—to a story etched into the wrinkles of time, to generations that have come before and will come after, to a love that won’t let you go.
ABOUT THE SERIES:
For the past 6 years, we have created Advent resources inspired by the Revised Common Lectionary. While much of our larger ecumenical audience follows these common scriptures each year and there is beauty in these unifying texts, we started to crave what the lectionary doesn’t offer: a clear, chronological storyline of the events leading up to and following Christ’s birth. For the sake of biblical literacy and narrative cohesion, we felt it could be deeply meaningful to offer an Advent series that hones in on all the humans involved in the story. And so, sourcing from all of the Gospel writers, we hand-selected scriptures in an attempt to tell the full scope of the Christmas story. We paired these narrative Gospel texts with the Isaiah scriptures from Year A in the Lectionary. In this way, our focal scriptures look at the Christmas story through a micro and macro lens, focusing on both the human interactions and events recorded in the Gospels, as well as the cosmic prophecies in Isaiah. Download our free theme infographic to see which scriptures we’ve included.
ABOUT THE BUNDLE:
This is a bundle of 11 multimedia ministry resources (plus free supplements) for the season of Advent–Epiphany. Download our free theme infographic to learn more about our theme, From Generation to Generation… We bundle our resources because they often overlap in use, and because we want to equip you with comprehensive materials for a whole season. Each resource is also available separately. Scroll down this page & click the “Resource Details” buttons to learn more about each individual resource.
Note: All resources are digital files. Release date: 2022.
WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THE BUNDLE:
(All of the following resources are included in the bundle, but each resource is also available separately for individual purchase)
1. From Generation to Generation… Advent devotional BOOKLET
(Individual Price: $18-$85)
Beginning with the first Sunday in Advent, this daily devotional follows the Christmas story through Epiphany. Each day offers something new: commentary, poetry, visual art, hymns, journaling and recipes to cook as a Sabbath practice. The devotional features biblical commentary by our guest writer, Dr. Christine J. Hong, and art and reflections by our guest artist, Carmelle Beaugelin.
2. From Generation to Generation… WORDS FOR WORSHIP
(Individual Price: $25)
A collection of over 40 liturgies, this resource provides fresh language for worship inspired by the Christmas narrative and our Advent theme, From Generation to Generation…
For Advent, Christmas Eve, and Epiphany, we provide a Candle Lighting Liturgy, Call to Confession, Prayer of Confession, Words of Forgiveness, Prayer for Illumination, Affirmation of Faith, and Prayer of the People. We’ve also included liturgy for Holy Communion on Christmas Eve and a Benediction for the entire series. We hope you will copy/paste or adapt these prayers for your corporate worship (with credit).
3. From Generation to Generation… Intergenerational Art Curriculum
(Individual Price: $15)
This intergenerational art curriculum contains seven small art projects, one for each of the weekly scriptures and sub-themes in our From Generation to Generation… Advent series. Each project’s curriculum includes: materials, preparation, instructions, and connection to the theme, as well as ideas for how you might integrate these projects into the life of your church. Use the curriculum in weekly one-hour sessions during Advent–Epiphany, host a family-friendly Advent craft night, or adapt the projects for Advent take-home kits.
4. From Generation to Generation… Creative Liturgy for Christmastide
(Individual Price: $12)
This liturgy, intended for use on Christmas Day or anytime throughout the Christmas season, includes many creative elements such as: a poetic reading of John 1:1-5, a time for written prayers, and a communal benediction. We hope it helps you create a joyful and gratitude-filled worship experience for this holy season.
“In other words, we cannot say
that love was born in a stable that day,
for love was born when the horizon was drawn.
It was born in the dark, long before dawn.
Love was born with the very first sea
and when God breathed life into you and me.”
—excerpt from “A Poetic Reading of John 1:1-5” by Rev. Sarah Speed
5. From Generation to Generation… STAR WORDS (W/ EPIPHANY SUNDAY LITURGY)
(Individual Price: $20)
We created our From Generation to Generation… star words to build on the contemporary ritual of passing out intention words on Epiphany—a tradition growing in popularity amongst many Protestant churches. Inspired by the Magi following the star to Jesus, the tradition of selecting a star word to meditate on throughout the new year can deepen your self-reflection and prayer practices. We’ve provided multiple formats for printing and distributing the star words to your congregation, along with an accompanying liturgy for Epiphany Sunday. We’ve also included ideas for how you might use the star words as a daily, child-friendly devotional throughout the season of Advent if you prefer to use them in that way. We’ve included 160 star words—a number of which are non-English words.
6. From Generation to Generation… SERMON PLANNING GUIDE
(Individual Price: $15)
For each of the focal scriptures in our From Generation to Generation… Advent series, this guide offers biblical commentary, theme connections, guiding questions, and links to further reading. This guide features biblical commentary on the weekly gospel scriptures in light of our From Generation to Generation… theme by Dr. Christine Hong. We hope this guide is your starting point for shaping your sermons, worship services, and scripture study classes.
7. From Generation to Generation… VISUAL ART COLLECTION
(Individual Price: $70)
This is a collection of 13 visuals inspired by the focal texts in the From Generation to Generation… series. These art pieces, created in a variety of mediums—paper lace, acrylic painting, collage, hand-cut block prints, and digital media—are visual meditations on these scriptures. With each visual, we include written statements from the artists. We also provide a visio divina bible study guide for you to use these images in a group session incorporating the ancient Benedictine spiritual practice of "divine seeing." This collection includes artwork created by our guest artist, Carmelle Beaugelin.
8. From Generation to Generation… BANNER DESIGNS
(Individual Price: $20)
This Advent, project & trace these designs to create painted or paper lace banners for your sanctuary or sacred space. We hope these designs (and our instructional materials) can simply be a starting point for you to create art and beauty that is uniquely your own. Read this blog post for a number of creative ways to bring these designs to life. The download also includes large, color files for printing the designs as vinyl banners to install and display on the exterior of your church building throughout the Advent and Christmas season.
“In this year’s banner design, the From Generation to Generation... theme logo is centered like a family around the table sharing stories from the day, the year, or from our collective history. Within the stained-glass window panes surrounding the logo, the stories of Christmas are depicted with simple symbols.”
—Hannah Garrity, banner design artist
9. From Generation to Generation… ADVENT CALENDAR FOR CHILDREN & FAMILIES
(Individual Price: $5-$55)
Want a fun and meaningful way to journey through Advent together as a family? Print our Advent Calendar on 11x17 paper and hang it on your fridge. Starting on December 1st, count down the days of Advent by coloring one of the figures. Then, complete the daily action prompt together as a family.
10. From Generation to Generation… ADVENT POEMS
(Individual Price: $12)
This collection of seven poetic prayers explores the From Generation to Generation… weekly sub-themes and scriptures for Advent–Epiphany. Honest and intimate, these poems offer meditations that might become prayers of your own. We hope you might adapt them for worship liturgy, use them to open and close programming events, or print them as they are for members in your community to read and return to throughout the Advent season.
“Maybe it’s God.
Maybe it’s hope.
Maybe it’s love.
But whatever it is,
I need it
every year,
so we show up here.
Tell us again the story of tonight.
My heart needs it.”
—Rev. Sarah (Are) Speed, from “Every Year”
11. From Generation to Generation… BRANDING BUNDLE
(Individual Price: $45)
Whether you are a church with a full-time communications staff or one whose pastor handles all communications (on top of everything else), this branding bundle provides everything you need to effectively share the From Generation to Generation… theme with your community. We provide beautifully-designed logos and theme graphics for print and web so you can use them for worship projection, bulletins, study materials, church publications, or for advertising events on your website and social media platforms.
“[While working on the logo,] I knew I wanted to emphasize the particularity of each person while imaging how their story fits into a larger narrative—one in line with the generative work of God. I drew simplified silhouettes of people in a radial fashion, positioned around a center point. At once this imagery took on a depth of meaning: the lineage of Christ centered around his light, the nativity scene centered around the manger, and the larger movement of God through each and every created being—radiating and growing like a flower. Ultimately, the image represents how we are all connected, how our stories are woven together, and how each of us has a purpose in the beauty of God’s unfolding creation.”
—Rev. Lauren Wright Pittman, Director of Branding and creator of the theme logo
FREE SUPPLEMENTal materials
We hope our resources are nourishing and generative, inviting you to get creative and engage deeply. To help you implement all of the materials in the bundle, we’ve rolled out some free supplements. Bundle patrons have access to everything listed.
This is a collection of 5 original hymns inspired by our weekly sub-themes and written by Rev. Anna Strickland. Each hymn offers new words to sing with familiar Christmas tunes. Download the sheet music to include these hymns in your worship. Note: These hymns are also included in our Advent devotional booklet for individuals and families to sing at home.
In this blog post, we’ve curated a long list of music ideas—both traditional and contemporary—for worship, fellowship, and listening. We’ve outlined worship music ideas for each Sunday in Advent–Epiphany that fit well with our From Generation to Generation… theme and weekly sub-themes.
In this blog post, we provide a basic template for hosting a service centered around scripture and song. This could be used for either Christmas Day or New Year’s Day.
A CONTENT CALENDAR FOR SOCIAL MEDIA (AVAILABLE NOW TO ALL BUNDLE PATRONS!)
To support you in sharing this Advent series with your community online, we’ve mapped out a content calendar for you to use throughout the season. We have carefully selected images, graphics, and excerpts for you to post on your social media platforms so you can share the series with your larger community, near and far. If you are a bundle patron, navigate to the bottom of the Patron Access Page to find and use this resource.
An Advent Planning Webinar (Recording)
On October 19th, 2022, we hosted an Advent Planning Webinar for anyone using (or interesting in using) our “From Generation to Generation…” Advent series. In this time, we dove into our theme, shared more about the materials, and talked through ideas for implementation. Click the link above to watch the recording.
MEET OUR GUEST CONTRIBUTORS
Dr. Christine J. Hong
Assistant Professor of Educational Ministry at Columbia Theological Seminary
Christine J. Hong (she/her) is Assistant Professor of Educational Ministry at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA. Her interests include anti-colonial and decolonial approaches to religious and interreligious education and life. Hong’s interests also include Asian American spiritualities, and the spiritual and theological formation of children and adolescents among BIPOC communities. Hong is a Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and has spent time as both a religious educator and youth and young adult minister in New York and Southern California. She is the author of numerous articles, chapters in books, and two monographs, the first is, Youth, Identity, and Gender in the Korean American Church, published by Palgrave, and the second is, Decolonial Futures: Intercultural and Interreligious Intelligence for Theological Education from Lexington Press. Dr. Hong has received a BA from Univ. of Washington, a ThM and MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a PhD from Claremont School of Theology. ctsnet.edu/faculty/hong-christine-j/
Christine has written commentary featured in our devotional and sermon planning guide.
Carmelle Beaugelin
Visual Artist
Carmelle Beaugelin (she/her) describes herself as an “Afro-Latin, West-Indian, Haitian-American, Miami-an” artist currently residing in Princeton, NJ. Her daily work swims in the waters of human flourishing and spiritual formation at the intersection of Christian Spirituality & Innovation. She strives to create work that engages some form of “God-talk.” Her art moves towards the exploration of Visio Divina (divine vision) via theological themes related to redemptive transformation, the concept of "home," hyphenated ethnic identities of diasporic communities, and human flourishing as a continued expression of divine creativity (Imago Dei). Her larger vocation is to point to the dignity, self-awareness, and spiritual connectedness of creative expression in the lives of those who carry hyphenated identities, particularly those navigating within what it means to both black and foreign in America. She is the founder of BeauFolio Studio, an art house at the intersection of sacred art, human-centered design, & restorative equity for the creatively curious. carmellebeaugelin.com
Carmelle has created visual art featured in our devotional and visual art collection.