{"id":8259,"date":"2005-12-19T00:42:48","date_gmt":"2005-12-19T05:42:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=8259"},"modified":"2011-07-06T08:29:10","modified_gmt":"2011-07-06T13:29:10","slug":"4649","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2005\/12\/19\/4649\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Narnia’ Sparks Unusual Sermon Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Stan Friedman<\/p>\n

ROCHESTER, MN (December 19, 2005)\u00a0 – Worshipers at Rochester Covenant Church\u00a0 have been stepping through the wardrobe and into Narnia each Sunday.<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>They step through the church’s front doors that are painted to resemble\u00a0 the famous wardrobe through which Lucy enters into the make-believe\u00a0 land. They first arrive in the narthex decorated with globe lamp posts,\u00a0 numerous flocked Christmas trees and a bench. Cotton batting is used to\u00a0 resemble snow.<\/div>\n
Decorations in the church are being changed on a near weekly basis to\u00a0 coincide with a sermon series that draws from the C.S. Lewis classic and the new movie, The Chronicles of Narnia.<\/em> Recently, the narthex included the\u00a0 beaver hut from the book.<\/div>\n
A bench and lamp post also have been placed in the chancel, from where\u00a0 pastor Gary Downing gives his children’s message, which is based on\u00a0 passages from the book he reads to them. Downing puts on a sweater and\u00a0 glasses as he prepares to read to the children.<\/div>\n
“The kids are really enjoying it,” says Downing. “There are a large\u00a0 number that come up. For little kids walking around, it’s like walking\u00a0 in a winter wonderland.”<\/div>\n
For the second week of Advent, Sue Zahasky made real Turkish delight\u00a0 candy, which was handed to each of the children because that was the\u00a0 candy one of the story’s characters used to entice Edmund.<\/div>\n
“It’s been very, very fun to do,” says Zahasky, the coordinator of\u00a0 children’s and visual arts ministries. The project, which started in\u00a0 early fall, has taken a bit of research, including finding the Turkish\u00a0 delight recipe online. Artists Chuck and Bonnie Potter also have helped\u00a0 with the work.<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>“It’s been a riot,” says Zahasky. “We’ve had a lot of positive responses\u00a0 from the congregation.”<\/div>\n
Following is the sermon series with the weekly changes:<\/div>\n