Read about the Cityside Travelling Nativity Set - a Cityside Baptist tradition that began in 2013. The Nativity set starts its journey by being handed over to the initial hosts during the service on the first Sunday of Advent. There is a liturgy for the giver and the receiver to say during the process of handing over. The nativity set will stay with the hosts for one or two nights before they pass it on to the next recipients, continuing until it arrives back at Cityside on Christmas Eve.

It is wonderful to use elements from God’s creation in worship. Using shells or stones or other things from nature enables people to engage with God using other senses. An Advent koru points to the new life that Christ’s birth brings here in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Advent koru is made up of shells which portray our kiwi summer, along with stones, bird’s nests, feathers, flowers, and other natural things we can find.