An Advent Planning Webinar: "From Generation to Generation..."
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. Below is the recording. We hope this can be helpful to you as you plan and prepare!
(Note: Sadly, we are not Zoom webinar experts and so the chat function was unfortunately disabled for participants. Instead, we used the Q/A box to answer questions, which we’ve summarized below. We hope to fix this for future planning webinars. If you joined us for the live webinar, thank you for your patience and grace! You can always crowdsource ideas in our Facebook group.)
Questions & Discussion from the Webinar (summarized):
Q: One question I had was liturgy for a longest night service. Do you all have one?
A: Great question! We do not have a new longest night liturgy for this year. We have longest night services from the past that you can adapt for this year (see those here and here and here).
Q: Any chance there will be a Christmas Pageant? I'd love a pageant with the "From Generation to Generation..." theme.
A: Oh, that's a cool idea! We didn't create a pageant for this bundle, but I think it would be a great topic for our Facebook group to collaborate around and discuss. We can consider this for future Advent seasons.
Q: The artwork for all of your series are simply breathtaking and amazing. In this series, they hit different. It's another level of beautiful and thoughtful. We are so excited to share them with our community. Is there an update on when the social media bundle will drop? Looking for the series graphic for advertising/printing purposes. If you have a date in mind that would be helpful.
A: Thank you so much for your kind words! The social media content calendar will be up on the patron access page this week. This is a free supplement available to all bundle patrons.
Q: Our congregation has loved the richness and depth of the artistic music videos you created for the past two Advents. Is another one forthcoming/in the works for 2022?
A: Thank you so much—I'm so glad the music videos have been meaningful! Unfortunately the timing of our three team members' maternity leaves (this past summer) interrupted our ability to commission a theme song and create an accompanying video. We are planning to return to providing this resource for Lent 2023.
Q: My question is about any decorating ideas for the worship area… we had such fun decorating for “Full to the Brim.” I know there’ll be the usual Advent/Christmas trappings in the church, but I’m curious if you have any suggestions for how to make “From Generation to Generation” feature in a unique way amid the traditional seasonal decor.
A: (This question was discussed in the webinar toward the end. We discussed ideas for including the banner designs, incorporating a circular/web motif inspired by the theme logo, and including blue/purple silk. We also proposed ideas for displaying or incorporating pieces that are often passed down from generation to generation—recipes, family photos, Nativity/creches, etc.)
Q: We have an Advent Workshop. In planning, the idea came up to make a giant weaving to hang in the sanctuary, with everyone who comes weaving a row.
A: That's a beautiful idea! The imagery of weaving came up in our early discussions about this theme so it feels like a perfect fit.
Q: God shows up! Everyday, every moment of our lives! For me, the question is: How do we "show up" for GOD?
A: Amen!