Watching for the Light — Advent Children’s Worship Bulletins (Year B, 2026)

Description

Ten printable children’s worship bulletins covering all four Sundays of Advent plus Christmas Eve in Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary. Two age levels for every week, built for progressive, affirming, and mainline congregations — with inclusive language, artwork where every child can find someone who looks like their family, and questions treated as welcome rather than as a problem.

The five Sundays of Advent

• November 29 — Keep Awake. Mark 13:24-37. The fig tree, and staying awake as paying attention rather than being afraid.
• December 6 — Make the Road Ready. Mark 1:1-8 with Isaiah 40. Valleys lifted, hills brought low, a road made even enough for everyone to walk.
• December 13 — Pointing at the Light. John 1:6-8, 19-28. John was not the light. You don’t have to be the light to help somebody see it.
• December 20 — Mary Sings. Luke 1:26-38 with the Magnificat. Mary asks a question before she says yes, then sings about God turning the world right side up.
• December 24 — The Light Arrives. Luke 2:1-14. The angels skipped the palace and took the news to people working outside, at night, on the edge of town.

What’s included

• Ten print-ready bulletin PDFs — five Sundays x two age levels
• Ages 3-6: a full-page coloring illustration plus two simple activities, with a read-aloud line for a grown-up
• Ages 7-12: a retelling of the week’s gospel, a puzzle, and reflection questions with room to write
• Four leader answer keys for the older-level puzzles
• A one-page printing guide
• Each sheet prints on one page of letter paper, double-sided, and folds once into four panels

An Advent wreath that fills in

Every sheet carries the same wreath in the header with that week’s candles lit — one, then two, then three, then four, and on Christmas Eve the candle in the middle. It’s the object children watch being lit in the sanctuary, so the sheet connects to what they just saw. The wreath is left uncolored so a child can color it to match your own paraments, whether your church uses blue or purple.

Puzzles that actually solve

Every puzzle in this set was verified before it shipped. The word search contains all nine words. The maze has exactly one route through. The letter code decodes with the key printed beside it. The scrambles are true anagrams of their answers. Nothing here sends a nine-year-old hunting for something that isn’t on the page.

Written for your congregation

No conversion pressure, no fear framing, no sin-shame aimed at small children. Scripture is quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition and everything else is written as retelling. Mary stands and asks her question. The shepherds are named as the people who heard first.

Printing

Print double-sided, flip on the long edge, and fold in half. Black and white on a plain office printer is exactly what these were designed for. Your church may print as many copies as you need — no download limits, no streaming approvals, no per-copy counting.

Created by Progressive Church Media for progressive, affirming, and mainline Protestant congregations (UCC, UMC, Episcopal, ELCA, PCUSA, Disciples, and similar traditions).

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