The Gingerbread Nativity: A four-week exploration of Advent - Softcover

Boyle, Renita

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0857461613 ISBN 13: 9780857461612

Publisher: Barnabas for Children, 2013

Synopsis

The perfect recipe for a memorable and tasty exploration of Advent and Christmas! The Gingerbread Nativity uses the popular tradition of making and decorating gingerbread houses and biscuits to explore the themes of Advent and the story of the first Christmas. It includes instructions, diagrammatic illustrations, recipes and top tips for making, baking and decorating, as well as fake or no bake and allergy-free alternatives. It also includes Advent reflection and discussion starters for each session; 25 'taste-a-day' family activities; ideas for a gingerbread themed family service and 'choose and use' ideas for adapting the material for use in other settings. The Gingerbread Nativity is ideal for Sunday schools and midweek clubs, but whether you choose to use it in four weekly sessions, as a half day workshop or in Messy Church, with small groups or large, single age or all age, at home or as part of a community fete, the material is sure to inspire Advent fun for everyone.

About this title

Review:

From The Church Times - 1 November 2013 The Gingerbread Nativity is this year's bonne bouche - four children's workshops exploring the Christmas story while manufacturing a gingerbread nativity scene. It took me back to presenting a Battenburg cake at an Old Testament tutorial years ago, insisting that the four segments represented J, E, D, and P, bound together by canonical marzipan. Renita Boyle is far more convincing, and detailed instructions even prescribe the confectionery representation for animal poo. It could be a lot of messy fun for well-resourced Sunday schools or holiday clubs. But it asks a lot of its leaders, as they are expected to run a craft activity, manage a group of children, and engage while doing so in 'a spiritually meaningful chat', ideas for which are listed. John Cox provides the sharpest course for group use, and Janet Morley the most imaginative daily resource, with Nicholson and Cormier as backup. Though, if Advent really is about standing before the judgement of the radically new, try The Gingerbread Nativity on your PCC. From Together magazine August / September 2013 For church-based workers (and maybe even at home) here's a heads up on something from BRF Barnabas for later in the year. The Gingerbread Nativity, by Renita Boyle, is a 'four-week exploration of Advent'. It includes Advent reflections, discussion starters, recipes, templates and 'taste of the day' activities plus ideas for a gingerbread themed family service. Seems like a winner for Messy Church aficionados - or even those with less messy tendencies. Reviewed by Clem Jackson

About the Author:

Renita Boyle has been described as a 'remarkable storyteller who can keep young audiences spellbound and older listeners thinking'. She is a member of the Scottish Storytelling Forum and is listed among the professional storytellers in the Scottish Storytelling directory. She is an experienced children's worker and has a BA(Hons) in Theology. Her published works include Parable Fun for Little Ones (Barnabas 2007), Understanding Compassion (BRF 2004), Parachute Fun for Everyone (Barnabas for Children, 2011), My Storytime Bible (Barnabas for Children, 2011) and The Gingerbread Nativity (Barnabas for Children, 2013).

About this edition

• Publisher: Barnabas for Children
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0857461613
• ISBN 13: 9780857461612
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 96