Synod of CNOB

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

By Tori SmitDecember 23, 2020Blog

Nativity, unidentified Kenyan artist, Art in the Christian Tradition, Vanderbilt University

As we come close to Bethlehem to celebrate the birth of our Saviour and to worship him, Tori and I would like to wish you the most joyous and blessed Christmas!

This has been an unusual year in so many ways. We are so grateful for your resilience, courage and leadership in these times! We are thankful for your willingness to undertake thankless tasks with grace and good humour.

As we come to celebrate this Christmas, we are particularly mindful of the nativity in the Gospel of John where we read:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life,and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son,full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-5, 11 NRSV)

While 2021 promises a light at the end of the tunnel, it will still be challenging in many ways. As you continue to lead with grace and courage, may you and yours be strengthened and encouraged with these two promises; the light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not overcome it and, the Word became flesh and lives among us. This is God’s promise to us all – this is our hope and this is our assurance!

Merry Christmas and a joyous new year to you and yours!

In Christ,

Tori and John-Peter Smit

An Interactive Christmas Living Room

By Tori SmitDecember 23, 2020Blog, Christian Education ArchiveAdvent Living Room, Devotions, Family, Interactive

Merry Christmas!

Welcome to our Christmas Living Room; a place to hear and read the amazing story of Christmas, sing a song, make a tasty treat, do a craft, and have an outdoor adventure.

This week we meet a newborn baby, cuddled and loved by his parents Mary and Joseph. This baby, Jesus, has come to change the world as Isaiah told us he would over 500 years before Jesus’ birth. On the road to Bethlehem there are travellers rushing to see this baby; shepherds and Magi. Let’s join them in the celebration.

To access the Christmas Living Room click on the link at the end of this article. This will take you to an interactive version of the picture you see at the beginning of this article. Once there, click on the candle first to hear and see our Christmas story. After that click on the other objects you find in the room. Each will open up a new, fun thing to do. Check out the nativity scene, the mixing bowl, the musical instrument and papers, the cup of crayons, and the window to the outdoors. Have fun!

Enjoy your Christmas. And then, like the shepherds, go out and share all that you have seen and heard this day. Merry Christmas!

Click here to enter into the Christmas Living Room

Free Resources From Illustrated Ministry for Your Church and Church Families

By Tori SmitDecember 22, 2020Blog, Christian Education ArchiveChristian education, Faith @ Home, faith formation, Hybrid, Sunday School

Are you looking to take a short break from your regular Sunday school lessons to keep everyone engaged? Would you like to give your Sunday school teachers a bit of a planning break? Perhaps you’d like to supplement your Sunday school lessons with a mid-week email to help build a bridge between one Sunday and the next by providing additional, related materials. Or, perhaps you’ve been sending out devotions and activities over Advent and want to assist your families in keeping up their newly established practice of reading bible stories together and doing fun activities at home.

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Advent Four: An Interactive Living Room

By Tori SmitDecember 19, 2020Blog, Christian Education ArchiveAdvent Living Room, Devotions, Family, Interactive

Welcome to your Advent Four Living Room; a place to hear and read the stories of Advent, sing a song, make a tasty treat, do a craft, and have an outdoor adventure.

This week we meet the Magi on the road to Bethlehem. They have the longest journey of all, coming all the way from the East.

To access the Living Room click on the link at the end of this article. This will take you to an interactive version of the picture you see at the beginning of this article. Once there, click on the candle first to hear and see our Advent story. After that click on the other objects you find in the room. Each will open up a new, fun thing to do. Check out the nativity scene, the mixing bowl, the musical instrument and papers, the cup of crayons, and the window to the outdoors. Have fun!

Come back on Christmas Eve, December 24th, for the Christmas Living Room waiting for you filled with new adventures.

Click here to enter into the Advent Four Living Room.

Fear Not!

By Tori SmitDecember 15, 2020Blog, Christian Education Archive, Congregational Development Archive, WMS ArchiveAdvent

What’s your favourite Christmas movie?

I love to watch The Polar Express, and I’ve just finished binge-watching the new Netflix series Dash & Lily, but truth be told, my absolute favourite Christmas movie is A Charlie Brown Christmas.

I was already a committed Peanuts fan when the movie came out in 1965. I would grab the newspaper each day and delight in the wisdom of Charles M. Schultz shared through his Peanuts characters. It was no surprise that A Charlie Brown Christmas leapt to the top of my list when I saw it for the very first time. It has consistently remained there ever since I lay down on the living room floor in my pyjamas that first time and became mesmerized by the story shared so many years ago.

Won’t you watch it with me again.

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Advent Three: An Interactive Living Room

By Tori SmitDecember 12, 2020Blog, Christian Education ArchiveAdvent Living Room, Devotions, Family, Interactive

Welcome to your Advent Three Living Room; a place to hear and read the stories of Advent, sing a song, make a tasty treat, do a craft, and have an outdoor adventure.

This week we meet the shepherds on the road to Bethlehem. They’ve just left their sheep in the hills and are heading to Bethlehem because an angel told them too. They are curious, excited and filled with anticipation for what they might find.

Then, don’t forget to come back next week for the Advent Four Living Room waiting for you filled with new adventures.

Click here to enter into the Advent Three Living Room

Advent Two: An Interactive Living Room

By Tori SmitDecember 5, 2020Blog, Christian Education ArchiveAdvent Living Room, Devotions, Family, Interactive

Welcome to your Advent Two Living Room; a place to hear and read the stories of Advent, sing a song, make a tasty treat, do a craft, and have an outdoor adventure.

This week we meet Mary and Joseph on the road to Bethlehem and discover what amazing thing God has planned for them.

Then, don’t forget to come back next week for the Advent Three Living Room waiting for you filled with new adventures.

Click here to enter into the Advent Two Living Room.

Considering A Longest Night Worship Service

By John-Peter SmitDecember 4, 2020Blog, Congregational Development ArchiveAdvent, Christmas, Grief, Longest Night, worship

Monday, December 21 is the longest night of the year. In 2020 we have had many long nights and this year, perhaps more than ever, it is important to have a Longest Night Christmas worship service at your church.

Also called Blue Christmas, a Longest Night worship service is traditionally held to acknowledge that for many people Christmas is not a happy time of the year. Typically it is held for those who have lost loved ones over the course of the year, and for those who are lonely or separated from friends and family.

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Advent One: An Interactive Living Room

By Tori SmitNovember 28, 2020Blog, Christian Education ArchiveAdvent Living Room, Devotions, Family, Interactive

Welcome to your Advent One Living Room; a place to hear and read the stories of Advent, sing a song, make a tasty treat, do a craft, and have an outdoor adventure.

This week we start our journey to Bethlehem with the prophet Isaiah as he describes a world of light and hope that is yet to come.

To access the Living Room click on the link at the end of this article. This will take you to an interactive version of the picture you see at the beginning of this article. Once there, click on the candle first to hear and see our first Advent story. After that click on the other objects you find in the room. Each will open up a new, fun thing to do. Check out the nativity scene, the mixing bowl, the musical instrument and papers, the cup of crayons, and the window to the outdoors. Have fun!

Then, don’t forget to come back next week for the Advent Two Living Room waiting for you filled with new adventures.

Click here to enter into the Advent 1 Living Room.

For Church Leaders

If you would like the links to all five of the Living Rooms to upload to your church website, facebook page or weekly email, just email me at torismit@gmail.com and I will forward them on to you right away.

May you be filled with hope this Advent as you anticipate the coming of Jesus.

Tori

How’s It Going? A Sunday School Leader Check-in

By Tori SmitNovember 17, 2020Blog, Christian Education ArchiveCE Committee, Ministry with children, Sunday School, Zoom

Back in September I hosted a number of Zoom meetings to talk about hybrid options for Sunday schools this fall. We had some great conversations about all of the possibilities, but perhaps even more, we enjoyed the opportunity to check-in and care for each other as we shared what we all were planning to do in this new context.

As one of these meetings finishing up a person who had been pretty quiet throughout the gathering asked, “Could we do this again? Maybe later this fall? Just to find out how we all are doing?”

What a great idea!

So, let’s do it.

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