Christmas Spiral

I got to do a cool thing last night.  Our church has a "Christmas Spiral" every year for the kids younger than 6th grade.  I have been working as the children's ministry coordinator at our church, so was pretty excited to see what this was all about!  One of the families sets it up and runs it every year, but I did help gather greens, which I assumed would be making up the spiral (and I was right!).

The spiral was made out of evergreen clippings and Christmas lights which were laid on the floor in (guess what?) a spiral, with a little table in the middle.  The table had little nativity figures and a candle on it.  With the overhead lights out in our church library, it was really beautiful!  All the kids gathered together ahead of time, and then were led quietly into the library, where everyone sat in a circle around the spiral.  The lady who was facilitating the event told the Christmas story to the kids, and she was great!  The kids were really into it.  After she told the story, she encouraged everyone to really think about the Christmas story, and then, one by one, each of the kids was given a candle.  The candles were stuck in apples as holders.  One at a time, the kids went around the spiral until they got to the middle, and then lit their candles on the big one, and then walked back out, placing their candle on plates somewhere in the greens.

I will say, there were a few moments where I thought we all might catch on fire.  I was standing by the fire extinguisher just in case!  But I also really hoped there was not a fire, because I am not 100% sure how to get the fire extinguisher off the wall.  Anyway, it was a non-issue, because all was well as far as fire goes.

Aside from that, I was really struck by the simple beauty of the evening.  The kids were all really quiet and eager to make the silent march around the spiral to light their candle.  And I found myself able to really contemplate as I watched each kid, and wondering what might have gone through the minds of those who, thousands of years ago, made the journey to meet and worship the Christ child-- the light of the world-- and to carry that light beyond that moment.  What a great way to remind kids of the story of Jesus' birth, and to introduce an appreciation of reverence and contemplation.

After each kid had a chance to go around and put their lit candles in the spiral, we sang a few Christmas songs in the quiet, candle-lit room.  The families were dismissed one at a time and left the room, and then, just like that, all was loud and boisterous again, with conversations and laughter and eating snacks and running around.  

It all seemed just right, really.  The peace and silence in the chapel were right, and the laughing and talking afterward, too.  All of this seemed like such a reflection of God's kingdom to me.  How amazing that I get to be a part of it!