Out of our ordinary acts, in our ordinary lives, the world-transforming, extraordinary love of God can shine through.
It goes without saying that the Advent-Christmas season is a busy one for churches.
But it is also a wonderful opportunity to connect with people who don’t normally attend church and who might come to a service in this period. These resources are intended to help you engage with the Methodist Church’s Advent and Christmas campaign for 2023, Out of the Ordinary, and reach your local community at a key moment in the year.
Building on the success of last year's campaign, we've listened to the feedback we received from those using the resources and are delivering more streamlined content earlier in the year, to make planning easier. Resources are now ready to download and order, to begin receiving via post from 11 September.
Campaign
This campaign for 2023 is Out of the Ordinary. Share how the wonder of God’s love is revealed in the ordinary…
- a seemingly ordinary birth becomes God’s out of the ordinary world-saving event through Jesus.
- every day, ordinary acts of kindness can breakthrough to the extraordinary.
We'll be directing people to our campaign web page during Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, where they'll be able to watch our Christmas film, sign up for daily Advent reflections and find their local Methodist Church.
Weekly themes
| Service | Date | Theme | Symbol | Old Testament | New Testament |
| Advent 1 | 03/12/23 | Letting stuff go | Box of presents | Isaiah 64.1-9 | Mark 13.24-37 |
| Advent 2 | 10/12/23 | Changing your mind | Feather duster | Isaiah 40.1-11 | Mark 1.1-8 |
| Advent 3 | 17/12/23 | Pointing to the light | Lantern | Isaiah 61.1-4, 8-11 | John 1.6-8, 19-28 |
| Advent 4 | 24/12/23 | Listening | Speech bubbles | 2 Samuel 7.1-11, 16 | Luke 1.26-38 |
| Christmas Day | 25/12/23 | God in us | Baby Jesus | Isaiah 9.2-7 | Luke 2.1-14 |
| Christmas 1 | 31/12/23 | God in other people | Angel wings | Isaiah 61.10-62.3 | Luke 2.22-40 |
Keep in touch with us
Sign up to receive our digital resources and campaign updates email newsletter.
Resources
Worship Resource planner
A worship resource planner for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany services
Poster
Display outside your church to advertise your services and events.
Invitation postcards
Three individual, scratch-off designs to give away at services and events.
- Order for free from Methodist Publishing
- Download PDFs: Version 1 | Version 2 | Version 3
Downloadable design assets and social media graphics
Create your own print and digital designs using individual assets, and download ready-made social media graphics to use across your social channels.
- Download the full assets pack
- Download ready-made social media graphics (coming soon)
- Download Canva templates: Social media graphic (4:5) | Social media graphics (square) | Banner graphics (400x150) | Banner graphics (1250x300)
'How to get involved' webinar
A short exploration on how to use the resources and ideas to get involved, as well as Q&A, on Thursday 7 September, 7:30pm-8:30pm.
How to engage with your community this Christmas
A short video offering five top tips for engaging with your community this Christmas.
Daily Advent reflections delivered via email
Sign up to our daily reflection emails to journey through Advent with us.
National social media campaign
Run by the Connexional Team, pointing people to local churches. Search on your favourite social media platform for Out of the Ordinary. Follow us online: Facebook | Twitter/X | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | LinkedIn | Vimeo
Christmas film
Connecting with people open to and exploring faith across the online world.
- Watch the film (coming soon)
Sign up to our webinar
We're hosting a free 'How to get involved' webinar on Thursday 7 September from 7:30-8:30pm through Eventbrite. We'll be exploring ideas for connecting with your community and for sharing good news with unaffiliated people this Advent and Christmas.
What does the Worship Resource planner contain?
The Worship Resource planner for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany services contains content for:
- Theme – for Advent, Preparing for the extraordinary. For Christmas, Out of the Ordinary.
- Scripture passages – taken from the lectionary. Scripture quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition.
- Songs and hymns – some extra ideas to complement the usual carols.
- Opening liturgy — to accompany the lighting of candles throughout Advent, continuing into Christmas, prepared by the Revd Elaine Halls.
- Background notes — helpful, contextual information around the service in question.
- Methodist Way of Life — an indication of which commitment is most relevant to the theme.
- Questions – these can be worked up into a sermon or used in a discussion; it’s good to give people in the congregation a chance to discuss their faith. They would also work in a small group.
- Hands-on activities – fun, intergenerational activities that will make your services pop.
- Prayer ideas — ways to engage people with prayer.
- The good news to get across – the key idea to land, particularly for newcomers. Say it several times, make it sticky!
- Ways people can respond – a simple, non-threatening way for people to respond personally to the good news.
How can my church or community get involved?
There are many ways you can get involved with this year's Advent and Christmas campaign. From downloading or ordering the resources, to attending our planning webinar, we're encouraging churches to begin thinking about this special time of year as soon as possible.
When will the resources be available to download and order?
The resources are now available to order and download, so you have enough time to get them ready for your Advent and Christmas services.
We officially launched the campaign theme and visuals at the Methodist Conference in June 2023.
How do I sign up to the Daily Advent Reflections?
Head over to our Out of the Ordinary campaign page to sign up to our Daily Advent reflection emails.
These will run from Sunday 3 December (First Sunday of Advent) to Sunday 24 December (Christmas Eve).