On Friday, December 9, 2016, the MYP hosted their annual Christmas Day event at Holy Trinity Church. The event was rectored by Diana Roach, who led the Team in creating a new event. The event was based on the Gifts of the Magi.
We started the event with an icebreaker and Christmas dinner. The teens were asked to bring desserts & gifts for teenagers that reside at Homes For the Homeless in Briarwood, NY. The MYP has sponsored this organizations for years because teens are their most forgotten group when It comes to gift donations.
Diana gave a talk to the teens on the origin of gift giving at Christmas coming from the gifts brought to the Christ child by the three kings: Frankincense, Gold, and Myrrh. The teens participated in three activities that correlated with those gifts.
The first activity was creating gifts of ornaments: wooden doves assembled and stamped with the word, “Peace.” Scented wax was brushed on the ornaments to represent frankincense (a perfume used in Jewish worship). The second activity was creating gifts with mugs & hot chocolate. The teens assembled the mugs with cocoa, cellophane & ribbon, adding a candy cane that represented myrrh (a perfume ). Finally, the teens wrapped the gifts they brought with gold paper, representing the Wise Men’s gift of gold. The evening concluded with a Prayer Service around the Gospel from Matthew.
The evening was truly spirited. The Prayer Service ended as follows: Jesus said, “Whatsoever you do to the least of My people, that you do unto Me.” As the Wise Men made their offering of gifts and protection the newborn Messiah and His mother in their time of need, we seek to honor that memory by offering our own gifts, borne of love, to less fortunate mothers and children in our own community. God, our Creator, you led the wise men from the nations to your Son by the guidance of a star. Let the star of your lave and wisdom help us follow him all the days of our lives. We ask this through you Son Jesus Christ. Amen.