Creative Cures for the Common Christmas (by Shane Claiborne)
This is a portion of an article posted on the God's Politics Blog
A few years ago I remember a pastor friend telling me they tried something a little different for their Christmas services. Instead of the usual holiday décor and clutter of the sanctuary, they brought in a bunch of manure and hay and scattered it under the pews so the place would really smell like the stank manger where it all began. I remember laughing hysterically as he described everyone coming in, in all their best Christmas attire, only to sit in the rank smell of a barn. They even brought a donkey in during the opening of the service that dropped a special gift as it mosied down the aisle. Folks looked awkwardly at each other, and then busted out laughing. It was one of the most memorable services they've ever had. Certainly folks came face to face with the "reason for the season" and the reality of what it must have been like for the Savior of the universe to enter the world, far from the shopping malls, as a refugee who found no room in the inn.
Imagination.
Click Here to read the rest
A few years ago I remember a pastor friend telling me they tried something a little different for their Christmas services. Instead of the usual holiday décor and clutter of the sanctuary, they brought in a bunch of manure and hay and scattered it under the pews so the place would really smell like the stank manger where it all began. I remember laughing hysterically as he described everyone coming in, in all their best Christmas attire, only to sit in the rank smell of a barn. They even brought a donkey in during the opening of the service that dropped a special gift as it mosied down the aisle. Folks looked awkwardly at each other, and then busted out laughing. It was one of the most memorable services they've ever had. Certainly folks came face to face with the "reason for the season" and the reality of what it must have been like for the Savior of the universe to enter the world, far from the shopping malls, as a refugee who found no room in the inn.
Imagination.
Click Here to read the rest
