by Anne Hansen
Christmas is a time of sharing love and gift-giving. I love hearing stories of how our Lutheran Tract Mission (LTM) resources are used.
Some congregations use our postcards for outreach, printing Christmas service times and a greeting on the back and then letterboxing the community to share the hope of Jesus. A bookmark is included with the Advent devotional booklet, also printed with service times on the back. Leaflets are written on and delivered to neighbours. Text cards are tied onto a plate of biscuits given to people isolated at home.
This year the LTM Advent devotional booklet leads a ‘Journey through Advent’. We encounter people who foretold our Lord’s coming, those who met the baby Jesus and his parents, Mary and Joseph. God had these plans since the world began and over Advent we see the journey unfold.
We discover why we have animals in the traditional nativity scene, why we give presents, use and decorate a Christmas tree, and other traditions.
This can be downloaded and printed by congregations or used as a flipbook on an electronic device.
A nativity with a difference
About five years ago I bought a small magnetic nativity. I wondered whether LTM could produce a nicer nativity for all ages. It needed to be affordable and big enough for children to play with on the fridges of parents and grandparents. Thus the magnetic nativity set was created, with artwork provided by my brother-in-law Clint. At $3 for an A4 sheet of 15 magnetic pieces, grandparents can have it on their fridge and aged-care residents can place it on a magnetic room board, while it can also be a gift for pre-school children and primary school students can enjoy it at school.
Sharing the reason for the season
LTM also has Christmas leaflets, cards, bookmarks and postcards to give and send to family and friends – and you can seal the envelopes with a Christmas sticker, just $1 for an A4 sheet of 15 stickers and Bible verses.
Counting down to Christmas
In the past two years LTM has produced ‘Countdown to Christmas
1 & 2’ sticker Advent calendars, again drawn by Clint. Putting a sticker on the calendar each day leading up to Christmas, you can make the nativity story piece by piece. My 91-year-old mother enjoyed doing it and displayed it on her fridge for all to see, as well as giving it to her great-grandchildren to have fun with. At $1 each, they are affordable as gifts for children from their teachers and for churches to give children at Advent.
So many options to give a gift of love …
Wishing you God’s love and peace this Advent and Christmas as you discover new ways of using LTM’s gifts of love. Visit our website at www.ltm.org.au to find out more and please let me know how you use the tracts (anne.hansen@lll.org.au).
Anne Hansen is LTM Development Officer. LTM is an outreach ministry of the LLL.
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