NOTES
for the
Christingle Service
at
St. Augustine's

2004 December 24

These are notes and comments on some of the items which appear in the Christingle Service script. Links from the script point to these entries; clicking the links in the left hand column of the table takes you back to the corresponding link in the script - or, where more than one link from the script points to the note, back to the first such link. The comments are typically related to features of the service which are specific to our church or the time of the service, or which for some other reason we think might require alteration for another setting. For references to the internal geography of the church, it might be helpful to inspect the plan.

BEFORE THE SERVICE :
	FURNITURE ETC. : Advent wreath on its stand at the Hospital side of the altar. The stand for the demonstration Christingle on the altar at the organ side. Two projectors, one at each side of the church with the screens at each side of the altar. A table placed between the lectern and the altar on the Hospital side. Do not hide the screen ! The Christmas tree, in its usual place. PROPERTIES : Various OBJECTS for display during the service : Picture of a Whale Tortoise ( model ! ); Basket of flowers; Duck ( model ); Tree ( model ); Rushes; Joseph and Mary; Baby Jesus; Gold; Frankincense; Myrrh. Corresponding projectable PICTURES for display on the second projector during the service : Elephants ( picture ); Snowdrops ( picture ); Birds ( picture ); Mountains ( picture ); River ( picture ); Sunset ( picture ); Wind-blown tree ( picture ); Trees and meadows ( picture ); Tarn ( picture ); Spring ( picture ); Summer ( picture ); Autumn ( picture ); Winter ( picture ); ( Most of the pictures are ours, and the others were obtained from sources we can no longer identify but which we believed to be freely available. You are welcome to use them if you wish. ) Christingle kits ready to distribute. VASE on the table, suitable to hold bulrushes. PEOPLE : Both projector operators in position before service begins.
ADVENT WREATH		A church ornament used in some places ( including here ) to mark the four Sundays of the Advent season. It has a candle for each of the four Sundays, usually arranged in a circle, and a fifth candle - the Christ candle - lit only on Christmas Day. There is commonly a ceremony associated with lighting the candles; our version is described here.
BABY JESUS.		A doll. The size of the doll should be appropriate to that of the manger, not to that of the Joseph and Mary figures. Our doll was approximately life-sized.
DEMONSTRATION CHRISTINGLE STAND.		A flat base with a vertical rod, on which will be mounted the "orange" of the demonstration Christingle. ( See that reference for details. )
GOLD, FRANKINCENSE, MYRRH		We used our usual symbolic gifts.
HELPERS		In this service script we have not tried to identify any individual helpers, as it is never necessary for two or more tasks to be carried out by the same person. There is some necessary minimum, unless you are happy to have longish waits between events, but that will depend on your geography and agility. It is nevertheless important that everyone is quite sure before the service just what is going on. Our practice is to prepare a final copy of the script with each part explicitly identified at each occurrence with the name of the person performing it. It works.
IT SAYS ON THE CURTAIN.		As in this picture from the Carol Service -
JOSEPH AND MARY.		We used papier-mache figures of Joseph and Mary which we have had for a long time. They are perhaps 25cm high. Any recognisable alternative which could be clearly seen throughout the church would do.
OBJECTS		The "objects" for putting out are chosen to illustrate various gifts mentioned in the service - particularly wonders of nature mentioned in "All things bright and beautiful", the gifts of the magi, and God's gift to us of Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus. The objects were all put in a convenient place on the organ side of the church in the right order. The available helpers came and stood in a queue down the organ side of the church and as the next object was needed they took it to its correct place and quietly returned to the back of the helpers' queue.
PROJECTORS		For this service we used two projectors ( we usually use only one ), one at each side of the church, with screens at both sides of the altar. The right-hand ( organ side ) set were used to display the script, words of songs, etc., as usual; the left-hand ( hospital side ) set were used to display a set of pictures we used in one part of the service.
RUSHES		We had some nice long bulrushes, but anything more or less like that will do, provided that it fits in with the sense of "All things bright and beautiful". ( There's no connection with Moses's bulrushes. )
SCREEN		This is the screen of the left-hand projector of the two we used.
STAND.		We have a stand intended to hold a Bible or service book open and almost upright on the altar, so that the celebrant can read it while his hands are otherwise occupied. Any similar device would do, provided that it made the Bible clearly visible.
TABLE		The table is used to display all the objects. It should be placed so that it is easily visible, and reasonably easily accessible when required. There is a vase on it to hold the rushes.
TREE ( the big tree )		The usual Christmas tree, in its usual place; see the picture above. The decorations this year are simple "silver" gift boxes and ( as usual ) lights and the "star of Bethlehem" at the top.
TREE ( the gift )		A small Christmas tree, easy to carry about and to fit on the table. Ours was about 60cm high. ( This is NOT the big Christmas tree ! )
VASE		The vase is placed on the table, and used to hold the bulrushes when they are placed there during the gifts section. It should be fairly tall, to hold the rushes reasonably upright, but also stable, and hard to knock over. Of course, if you're not using bulrushes, you might not need the vase ....