New stories to support worship leaders through Christmas

A minister has written nine stories for use as sermons by those leading worship throughout Advent and Christmas.

Rev Dr Robin Hill, minister of Gladsmuir linked with Longniddry, has created the downloadable resource pack alongside his daughter Katie, who has provided the illustrations.

Each tale within ‘Glimpses of Glory – Story-sermons for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany' is inspired by a Christmas-themed postage stamp.

Stories range from being set in 1930s Brazil to a modern-day classroom and a small village in West Sussex in the 1970s, each opening with a Bible text.

Dr Hill explained that the collection is designed to be accessible to a wide audience, and can be freely adapted to suit local needs.

"When I produced the first set of stories in 2023 I thought why not write something that would tie in with the Christmas story but not be necessarily religious in itself," he said.

"This year Katie and I have taken a wide variety of different themes and settings, some quite funny, some rather more serious.

"Two of them tie in with parts of the Christmas Story itself.

"This is an opportunity to communicate with people who tend not to come to church.

"They may have decided at the last minute to come along to a service, but if they're met with dense theology they might not get a lot out of the experience.

"If, on the other hand, they get a story which touches them in some way, that is perhaps a more direct way of communicating the sense of what Christmas is truly about."

‘Glimpses of Glory' is intended to free-up time for those worship leaders who may face many demands during the busy Christmas period, particularly in parishes where there is a vacancy.

"The stories are there as resources to help hard-worked ministers or worship leaders to find a way of filling that sermon slot for the nine or so services that fall across December and early January," Dr Hill said.

Each story can also serve as a springboard for more in-depth discussions around faith.

"After every story there are four questions. They might be biblically orientated or theological in their approach. People who attend worship regularly might appreciate the opportunity to take things further, perhaps over coffee in the church hall."

Dr Hill hopes that people will use ‘Glimpses of Glory' in whatever way might be most helpful to them in their local situation.

"People might look across the pack as a whole and think that one story is able to slot into a Sunday. Or they might want to use all of them and concentrate on other important things in the month of December. Together they form a resource for people to use as they wish."

'Glimpses of Glory' is offered free of charge, with users encouraged to take up a Christmas Eve offering to benefit the work of the Church of Scotland HIV Programme.

The stories can be downloaded from the website of Longniddry Church.