{"id":3333,"date":"2012-12-19T10:45:52","date_gmt":"2012-12-19T15:45:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=3333"},"modified":"2012-12-19T10:46:41","modified_gmt":"2012-12-19T15:46:41","slug":"telling-the-story-of-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/12\/telling-the-story-of-christmas.html","title":{"rendered":"Telling the story of Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"live<\/a>How do you tell the Christmas story to a group of people who are intellectually disabled? \u00a0Of course, this is a dilemma no matter where your ministry lies. \u00a0If you are a parent, can you make the story fresh to your growing brood? \u00a0If you preach to a congregation of 10,000, what is the method you will use to keep the message relevant while remain true to the gospel message? Each year I try to find a different way to share the story of God\u2019s love incarnated into a man to the programs I shepherd at The Special Gathering which is a ministry within the mentally challenged community.<\/p>\n

This year, I told the story using members who are least \u00a0physically able to respond as the characters. \u00a0I joked and laughed with them, sharing as humorously as possible the in\u2019s and out\u2019s of the Biblical account. \u00a0Because I work with three different programs at Special Gathering, each reenactment had different characters and each one was vastly different because of the diverse personalities that made up the \u201ccasts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"angel\"<\/a>In each program, there was one person whose personality shined through when selected. \u00a0I chose the people at random asking them to participate as their character was introduced. \u00a0Mary was a young woman who is extremely low functioning in one of our enactments. \u00a0Everyone attending applauded when I selected her. Her smile told the story of her delight and her smile carried the action through until the end.<\/p>\n

The first time we had our presentation, there was a small group of 17 people. \u00a0Therefore, we had one angel who came to Mary, Joseph and the shepherds. \u00a0This person was animated and funny. \u00a0His flair for the dramatic was obvious. \u00a0After he had spoken to Mary, I said, \u201cThen the angel disappeared.\u201d \u00a0He looked at me quizzically and shrugged his shoulders, acting as though I expected him to disappear. \u00a0\u201dCan\u2019t you even disappear?\u201d \u00a0I asked. \u00a0 He pretended to try to disappear. \u00a0\u201dWhat kind of angel are you?\u201d \u00a0I asked. \u00a0Again, he mischievously responded with a great deal of humor and delight.<\/p>\n

Each time he \u201cappeared\u201d the audience laughed with pleasure at his antics and showmanship. \u00a0We played off each other and I took my cues from his facial expressions and movements. \u00a0We all laughed all through the actions because of his good humor.<\/p>\n

At our largest program, there were more than 50 people from which to draw. \u00a0Mary was a higher functioning young woman She does not walk or speak. \u00a0We call her the \u201cqueen\u201d because everyone loves her so much that we fight over who will serve her and push her wheelchair.<\/p>\n

\"Charlie<\/a>The surprise, however, was the man I chose to be Joseph. \u00a0This Joseph is an amazing actor. \u00a0He, too, is physically disabled. \u00a0He navigates with a walker. \u00a0Extreme palsy plagues the movements of his body, making them exaggerated with spasms and violent jerks. \u00a0Yet, in front of an audience, this Joseph came alive with expression and animation. \u00a0He was the attentive lover. \u00a0His visage stormed with disappointment and anger, when he heard about Mary\u2019s pregnancy. \u00a0His face showed shock at the angel visitation; then his movements turned to extreme tenderness toward Mary.<\/p>\n

I keep the story simple but embellishing it with the emotions that each character must have felt. \u00a0Laughter and silliness are the mark of the day. \u00a0Of course, I don\u2019t make fun of the details of the story but, like this year, there is always someone who wants to play the clown and I play off of their ability to laugh at an awkward situation or a unique situation.<\/p>\n

After we laugh and play, I turn the story to the seriousness of Jesus\u2019 sacrifice. \u00a0The good news of God\u2019s love for us is amplified by the birth and life of this humble god-man who was born in order that he might die for us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How do you tell the Christmas story to a group of people who are intellectually disabled? \u00a0Of course, this is a dilemma no matter where your ministry lies. \u00a0If you are a parent, can you make the story fresh to your growing brood? \u00a0If you preach to a congregation of 10,000, what is the method…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5,334,464,20,3,397,186,61,49,16,8,85,263,12,4,41],"tags":[690,21,688,739,614,7,699,701,694,689,692,6,687,700],"class_list":["post-3333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-autism-spectrum","category-christianity","category-christmas","category-christmas-play","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-devotions","category-hope","category-humor","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-prayer-2","category-redemption","category-religion","category-simple-truths","category-spirituality","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-christmas","tag-christmas-devotions","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faith","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-religion","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-simple-truths","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nTelling the story of Christmas - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Telling the story of Christmas - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How do you tell the Christmas story to a group of people who are intellectually disabled? \u00a0Of course, this is a dilemma no matter where your ministry lies. \u00a0If you are a parent, can you make the story fresh to your growing brood? \u00a0If you preach to a congregation of 10,000, what is the method…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/12\/telling-the-story-of-christmas.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-12-19T15:45:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-12-19T15:46:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/12\/live-pageant.jpg?w=145&h=109\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. Howard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Telling the story of Christmas - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Telling the story of Christmas - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","og_description":"How do you tell the Christmas story to a group of people who are intellectually disabled? \u00a0Of course, this is a dilemma no matter where your ministry lies. \u00a0If you are a parent, can you make the story fresh to your growing brood? \u00a0If you preach to a congregation of 10,000, what is the method…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/12\/telling-the-story-of-christmas.html","og_site_name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","article_published_time":"2012-12-19T15:45:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-12-19T15:46:41+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/12\/live-pageant.jpg?w=145&h=109"}],"author":"Linda G. Howard","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/12\/telling-the-story-of-christmas.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/12\/telling-the-story-of-christmas.html","name":"Telling the story of Christmas - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/12\/telling-the-story-of-christmas.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/12\/telling-the-story-of-christmas.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/12\/live-pageant.jpg?w=145&h=109","datePublished":"2012-12-19T15:45:52+00:00","dateModified":"2012-12-19T15:46:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#\/schema\/person\/a10d3530d8432a656d648135fe6da739"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/12\/telling-the-story-of-christmas.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/12\/telling-the-story-of-christmas.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/12\/telling-the-story-of-christmas.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/12\/live-pageant.jpg?w=145&h=109","contentUrl":"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/12\/live-pageant.jpg?w=145&h=109"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/12\/telling-the-story-of-christmas.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Telling the story of Christmas"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/","name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Linda Howard","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#\/schema\/person\/a10d3530d8432a656d648135fe6da739","name":"Linda G. Howard","description":"Linda G. Howard is the best-selling and award-winning author of four books, including MOTHERS ARE PEOPLE, TOO and THE SECRET LIFE OF A HOUSEWIFE. Currently, she serves as area director of The Special Gathering, a ministry within the mentally challenged community. Additionally, she is the co-publisher and editor of CONNECTING POINT, the ministry newsletter. Her husband is a retired aerospace technologist who worked for NASA. They have three children and four grandchildren.","sameAs":["http:\/\/specialgathering.wordpress.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/author\/lhoward"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/387"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3333"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3335,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3333\/revisions\/3335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}