Gather
Activities marked with an asterisk 
next to the activity title are in addition to the resources in the Ready-to-go sessions. Suggested timings for these activities are also shown. NB The inclusion of additional activities varies from week to week.
FOR CHILDREN
Gathering song
Sing to the tune: One more step along the world I go
One door open on my calendar,
one step closer now to Jesus’ birth.
Stir your hearts, adventure’s near,
travel with the story through the year.
How can we be ‘good news’? W E A
- ‘How can we be “good news”?’ Invite the children to answer this question for different situations, e.g. if you see someone who is homeless; if you see someone alone in the playground.
- Talk about how John gives answers for what certain groups of people can do. What do the children think his answer would have been if a group of children asked, ‘What should we do?’
Look for good news 10 mins W E
You will need: newspapers, scissors.
- Ask everyone to work in small groups and give each group a newspaper and pair of scissors.
- Encourage the groups to look for, and cut out, good news stories from the newspapers.
- Ask everyone to share what they have found. Discuss: How important is it to have good news to read/see? What signs of good news have you seen today?
FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
What would you do? 5 mins W E
You will need: paper and pens.
- Give everyone a small piece of paper and a pen. Ask them to secretly answer the question: What would you do with a million pounds?
- Read the anonymous papers out one at a time. See if the group can identify who wrote which answer. Repeat for the questions, ‘What superpower would you choose and why?’; ‘If you could make one new law, what would it be?’
First impressions
You could also use the image and following questions to help introduce the theme.
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For artist's details, see this issue's illustrators.
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Questions
- How might what these young people are doing be ‘good news’ for someone?
- What then should we do, to be a sign of the good news to others?
- How is your community a sign of the good news?