Mary and the Angel
This page takes you through the activities we had at Messy Church on 9th December 2017. Have a look and try a few.
Make a hole in the top of the cup
Draw a face on the card circle and fasten to top of cup
Make halo with pipe cleaner, push through hole
Make wings with doily and fasten to back of cup
The angel Gabriel came to tell Mary that she was going to have a son, and that she should call him Jesus
What do you think the angel looked like?
Angel
Take an angel body and draw a face on it
Put dress over head and fasten sides of dress with tape
Push wings and halo into body
When the angel came to see Mary, he said ‘Peace be with you’
Why do you think Mary might have been worried when she saw the angel?
Sender: Encode your message, then send it to a friend using blue and red code
Receiver: Decode the message, did you get it right?
The angel gave a message to Mary, how do we know she understood?
God still speaks today, have you heard his message?
Mary Tree decoration
Put pipe cleaner through top of bell to make hanger
Fasten silver paper to inside of bell.
Make clothes for Mary and fasten on to cork, draw Mary's face.
Fasten paper with what Mary says to inside of bell.
Fasten Mary to card circle and fasten card to bottom of bell.
Mary said yes to God when he asked her to be the mother of Jesus
Is it easy to say yes to something you’ve never done before or is it hard? Have you ever said yes to something that seemed hard to do?
Design and colour in your courage certificate.
Now add things in which you have done which needed courage, which needed you to be brave
You could also add things which you could try to do in the future
Mary had to be very brave when she heard the angel’s message
Can you think of a time that you have had to be brave?
Mary and Elizabeth
Trace around the picture of Mary meeting her cousin Elizabeth
Then colour it in
Slide it into the hangers so that you can hang it up at home
Mary went to see her cousin Elizabeth who was also going to have a baby although she was old. Mary and Elizabeth were very excited to see each other
What do you think they said to each other when they met?
Paint the town of Bethlehem in the hills using the template
Mary hurried off to a town in the hill country of Judaea to visit her cousin Elizabeth.
Will you visit family this Christmas?
Glue the lolly sticks together with glue dots to make a stable shape. Colour in the cut sticks to make them into people and stick them on. Add a bit of straw. Tie some string on the top so you can hang it up.
Mary and Joseph had to stay with the animals because there wasn’t any room for them to stay anywhere else
Where will you hang your nativity scene?
Spread icing over the top of the cake
Place two biscuits at an angle to make the manger
Use the squirty cream into the middle of the manger to make the baby’s body
Place a chocolate button at one end for the baby’s face
The angel told Mary that Jesus would be great, that he was the son of God, that he would be a king
What is the most special part of Christmas for you?
Donkey
Colour a donkey and then cut it out
Add two pegs, one for each leg and stand it up
Donkeys can be used to carry people and their belongings
What do you think Mary took with her when she went to visit Elizabeth?
Take two pegs and stick them together with two large glue dots, one higher than the other, to be Mary and Joseph
Fold the twine in two and stick it between the pegs with a glue dot
Stick the star to the twine above the pegs ‘heads’ with a small glue dot
To make the baby fold the pipe cleaner in three, then push it into the bead to make a head and body. Wrap it in tissue and stick it down with a glue stick
Then stick the ‘baby’ to the pegs with a glue stick
An angel came to Joseph too and explained to him that Jesus was going to be born. Joseph said yes to God and married Mary.
What do you think an angel sounds like?
Get in the picture
Try on some of these nativity costumes. Take a photo of your family dressed up on your phone.
Mary was the first to find out that she was going to have a special baby. But God told Joseph, Elizabeth, the shepherds and the wise men as well.
Which character in the nativity story would you most like to be?
Decorate the tea light holder with stars and sprinkle it with glitter. Or you can draw a picture on it if you prefer
The world seems dark when people do not know God, so Jesus was like a light coming into the darkness
When you light your candle at home you can think about Jesus bringing light into the world
Advent candle and holder
Stick the peel off numbers 9 to 24 on to the candle with 9 at the top and 24 at the bottom.
Make a candle holder out of clay for your advent candle. Take it home and let it dry out before you use it.
Mary had to count off the days for 9 months before Jesus was born
There is a sheet with ideas of things you can do each time you light the candle. Take the sheet home with you and see how many you can do.
Go and have a look in the stable. What can you see from the Christmas story?
The angels, the shepherds and the wise men all worshipped Jesus because he was God who had come to this ordinary place
Take one of the strips of paper which is like a piece of straw. Write or draw on it what you would like to say to Jesus and place it in the manger. You could tell him how amazing you think he is, or you can ask him to help you or someone else
Card competition
If you have brought a card for the competition leave it here with your name, age and phone number. There are four age groups: under 5; ages 5 and 6; ages 7 and 8; age 9 and over . Prizes will be given out over the meal.
Also if you like you can still make a card. It must include something about the christmas story.
Colour in one of these pictures or draw your own
Jesus, who is God, who is more powerful and important than we can imagine, was born to an ordinary family in an ordinary place
Think about one of the characters in this story. What did Jesus being born mean for them?
