Advent 2020 classroom liturgy for young people

This liturgy has been written to help schools when it is not possible for year groups to meet in the same space for liturgies. It could be recorded in advance, or broadcast live over the school’s system and prayed in classrooms by tutor groups at the same time, with pupils taking turns to light candles at the front of the room.

Time: 10 – 15 mins. If you have longer, scripture passages could be extended, the film clip suggested below could be shown and students could write a message of solidarity after each story.

Themes: Advent, and brave defenders of people and planet. Students will be reminded that Advent is about waiting for the Lord’s coming at the end of time and at Christmas. They will hear about some of the human rights defenders and environmental activists supported by CAFOD. They will have an opportunity to pray and act in solidarity.

You will need: Liturgy PowerPoint, pens, scrap paper, music for gathering (suggestions below), a leader and two good readers. Optional: Candles, advent wreath, message slips from the template on page 5.

Slide 1: Introduction Gathering music: Wait for the Lord (Taize) / Within our darkest night (Taize) / Maranatha (Bernadette Farrell)

Leader: In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

This year, we’ve done lots of waiting – waiting for online deliveries, waiting to be able to visit loved ones, perhaps waiting for test results, waiting for a time when we can mix freely again. Advent is about waiting too. But in a good way!

In Advent, we await two amazing events that can change our whole perspective on life, if we let them. In the first half of Advent, we remember that we’re waiting for the Lord’s return at the end of time. In the second half of Advent, we’re waiting to celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas.

Welcome to our Advent liturgy, opening our hearts to let both of those events change us, if we dare.

Slide 2: Leader: Together we pray:

All: Lord Jesus, light in the darkness, shine in our hearts today.As we await your coming,empower us to build a just and peaceful world, ready for your return. We pray the prayer of the first Christians: “Maranatha!” which means “Come Lord Jesus!”

Slide 3: If practical, light a candle (ideally this would be purple) as everyone says:

All: Come Lord of us all,Break through the darkness.We light just one candleTo keep us awake.

Reader 1: Jesus said to his disciples: “You do not know when the master of the house is coming—it might be in the evening or at midnight or before dawn or at sunrise. If he comes suddenly, he must not find you asleep. What I say to you, then, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”

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(Pause)

Reader 2: In the light of our first candle we hear from Claudelice Silva dos Santos in Brazil. Slide 4: Reader 2: Claudelice says: “They want to cut the forest down. I can only spend two or three days at a time here. If I stay longer, things get dangerous for me." 

Deforestation and illegal logging have stripped and degraded vast areas of the Amazon where Claudelice grew up.

Her brother and his partner were murdered for resisting and Claudelice has received death threats. She explains:

“The Amazon is our life. People ask if I want to go elsewhere. But this is my place. My ancestors are here. Although I’m afraid, it doesn’t mean I’m going to stop. The rights of people are being taken away.” 

(Pause)

[If you have more time, at this point you could watch our film about Yesica and Hector who are also defending the Amazon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbblQFneUrE&t=2s]

Reader 1: We pray that we too may be awake to the needs of our sisters and brothers and of creation, as we await the Lord’s return. (Pause) Together we say:

All: Maranatha! Open our eyes to the dignity of all people, and our ears to the cries of the earth.

Slide 5: If practical, light a second candle (ideally this would be purple) as everyone says:

All: Come Lord of nature,Wise and just ruler.The light of two candlesShows us how to live.

Reader 2: In the light of our second candle we hear from Palwasha Hassan in Afghanistan.

Slide 6: Reader 2: Palwasha has spent her life fighting for women’s rights. She is now director of the Afghan Women’s Educational Centre.  Among many other activities, she has founded a shelter home for Afghan refugee women in Pakistan and a women’s and street children’s centre.  

Women’s lives have improved over the past two decades in Afghanistan, but the gains are still fragile.

Palwasha says: “Peace is never real without an inclusive, equal society. We need to ensure women’s meaningful participation at all levels of our country’s development... to truly create an inclusive and self-reliant Afghanistan.”

(Pause)

Reader 1: We pray that we too may be committed to peace and equality, as we await the Lord’s return. (Pause). We say together:

All: Maranatha! Let us walk in solidarity with the poor, and cleanse our world from oppression.

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Slide 7:If practical, light a third candle (ideally this would be pink) as everyone says:

All: Come Lord of all lifeand green our deserts.The light of three candlesshows that you are near.

Reader 2: In the light of our third candle we hear from Father Alfred Buju in DRC.

Slide 8: Reader 2: Father Alfred Buju and his colleagues have been physically attacked several times and Father Alfred has received death threats from unknown sources.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is dangerous to defend local communities against powerful mining companies.

Father Alfred is Director of the Justice and Peace Commission, an organisation that educates and empowers people to stand up for their rights.  

He says: “I am inspired by the stories of others such as Martin Luther King and Oscar Romero. Faith is a journey and you have to walk in the footsteps of those who came before you. Without sacrifice, there cannot be change.” 

(Pause)

Reader 1: We pray that we too may dare to walk in faith as we await the Lord’s coming. (Pause) We say together:

All: Maranatha! Let us shout out for justice for all, and renew our hope for change.

Slide 9:If practical, light a fourth candle (ideally this would be purple) as everyone says:

All: Come Son of David,He who was promised.By four candles' brightnessthe true king will come.

Reader 2: In the light of our fourth candle we hear from a community in Honduras, protecting the earth and its people.

Slide 10:Reader 2: The defenders pictured here have been illegally detained for defending the right to water and life.

They live in Tocoa, a green mountainous region of Honduras, where mining and large-scale farming are destroying and degrading land and rivers.  They have been urging authorities to ensure local people have a voice in projects that affect their lives. But those who speak out are often persecuted. 

Gabriela, a community leader, says: “We will not stop fighting because our struggle is just. We stand for water and life for all. We demand that the mining company leave, because what it brings us is pollution and damage to the environment.”

(Pause)

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Reader 1: As we look forward to Jesus' birth, we pray for the courage to defend the earth. (Pause) Together, we say:

All: Maranatha! The Lord is coming. Let us share the Good News!

Slide 11:If practical, light a fifth candle (ideally this would be white) as everyone says:

All: Light of the world,Your light shines in our darkness.And the darkness cannot overcome it.We rejoice!

Reader 1: “I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people. This very day in David's town your Saviour was born—Christ the Lord! And this is what will prove it to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 

Reader 2: We celebrate our Lord, born for us and for all our global family. (Pause)

To share the joy of Christmas with some of the brave people we have heard about in our liturgy, CAFOD invites us to send short messages of encouragement and solidarity to one or more of them.

[Leader - At this point, invite the young people to take a minute or two in silence to think of the message they would like to send and to write it on their slip of paper.]

Slide 12:Leader: Let’s pray together:

All: Lord Jesus, may your birth lead us all from war into peace, from fear into hope, from sadness into joy, from death into life, from hatred into friendship, from darkness into light. Come, Lord Jesus! 

Leader: We go out, taking with us the light of the world, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen 

Slide 13:As part of their Advent observance, please ask the students to go online to send their messages when they can, or arrange a separate time for this in school. Please use Google to translate the message into the appropriate language, as indicated on the webpage: cafod.org.uk/messagetobrave.

The messages will be much appreciated by those who receive them. Father Alfred says, “We are very grateful for your support; your kind messages and cards. We are all put on this planet, we believe, by God, to thrive, not to suffer and it is good to know we are supported by you all in our work. God bless you all.” Thank you.

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Optional template for message writing. Students can take these away as a memory prompt.

My Message is:

You can send your message at cafod.org.uk/messagetobravewhere there are also instructions for translating your message.

My Message is:

You can send your message at cafod.org.uk/messagetobravewhere there are also instructions for translating your message.

My Message is:

You can send your message at cafod.org.uk/messagetobravewhere there are also instructions for translating your message.

My Message is:

You can send your message at cafod.org.uk/messagetobravewhere there are also instructions for translating your message.

My Message is:

You can send your message at cafod.org.uk/messagetobravewhere there are also instructions for translating your message.

My Message is:

You can send your message at cafod.org.uk/messagetobravewhere there are also instructions for translating your message.

My Message is:

You can send your message at cafod.org.uk/messagetobravewhere there are also instructions for translating your message.

My Message is:

You can send your message at cafod.org.uk/messagetobravewhere there are also instructions for translating your message.

My Message is:

You can send your message at cafod.org.uk/messagetobravewhere there are also instructions for translating your message.

My Message is:

You can send your message at cafod.org.uk/messagetobravewhere there are also instructions for translating your message.

My Message is:

You can send your message at cafod.org.uk/messagetobravewhere there are also instructions for translating your message.

My Message is:

You can send your message at cafod.org.uk/messagetobravewhere there are also instructions for translating your message.

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