partridge in a prayer tree

We did something new at my church for Advent this year.  For years we have sponsored an Angel Tree which provides our members with an opportunity to purchase gifts for children who desperately need to know they are not forgotten at Christmas time.  We continue in this tradition, but this year we also wanted to provide a way for our members to pray for one another as we journey together towards Christmas Day.  So, on Thanksgiving Sunday (one week before the 1st Sunday of Advent) we provided decorations upon which our congregation could write out a "seasonal prayer request."  At our Hanging of the Greens party these requests were hung upon a Christmas Tree and on the first Sunday of Advent members were encouraged to take a prayer request and make this request a part of their daily prayer time as we continued through the Advent season.  In the midst of these decorations someone placed a "partridge," on the tree so we began to refer to this Advent experience as our Partridge In A Prayer Tree, prayer opportunity.  So far, the entire experience has been extremely well received...

There are many things we do to make Christmas time meaningful for our congregation and community friends. A special offering is taken to support various mission projects. Our children's department sponsors a "coat drive" to make sure every child in our community has a proper coat for the upcoming winter.  Our Angel Tree continues to be a popular way to make Christmas special for some children with "special circumstances and needs."  Of course Christmas cards bring encouragement and cheer for many.  But assuring people that their struggles, heart-aches, griefs, afflictions, and anxieties (all of which can be a very real part of the Christmas season) are being prayed for, in an intentional way, adds another layer to the "blanket of love" we try to spread during the Advent season.

I honestly don't know if our Partridge in a Prayer Tree idea will live on for another Advent season.  But I do know that there are many who desperately need all of the prayers and petitions that we can offer for them during this wonderful Christmas time.