You will need:
- Dove or heart templates cut out.- see below template from Sunhats and wellieboots
- Pens/colouring pencils
- Clothes pegs or string for attaching.
- A large branch or a Christmas tree.
These prayers invite people to think about difficult circumstances that feel like they may never be resolved. Maybe people are thinking about an international crisis or a conflict in a region that has gone on for years.
Maybe they are thinking about a difficult situation in their family or a personal struggle that seems so big, it feels as if it can never be resolved.
Soon, we will celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. He brings peace and healing in impossible situations. And although we may not get the outcome we want, we can always put our Hope in Jesus, that he brings the calm in the chaos and the peace in the storm.
Using either a heart or a dove template, write or draw your hopes for this season and for some difficult situations on them. Then, using the clothespeg or string, attach the template to the branch to symbolise you putting your hope in Jesus. In a church service, a tree or large branch can be covered in people’s symbols of hope.
At home people can attach their dove or heart to a Hope branch or to their Christmas tree as a visual reminder throughout the coming days that Jesus brings peace in the midst of every and any situation, and we can put our Hope in Him.
