How to preach Christmas to people who dread it (5 top tips)

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Before your Christmas preaching rota is set… pause and ask:

·       Are your Christmas sermons only speaking to celebration – while missing those in pain?

·       Who in your congregation quietly dreads December?

·       How can our preaching at Christmas be sensitive to those who are grieving whilst keeping the celebration for others?

Christmas can be magical for some – and deeply painful for others. As you plan your Christmas preaching, how will you speak to both realities?

In this concise online workshop, Tanya Marlow invites you to reflect on how your sermons can be sensitive to those who are grieving while still holding space for celebration.

Drawing on her book Treasures in Straw: Exploring the Griefs and Gifts of the Christmas Story (BRF, 2026), Tanya offers five practical and pastoral tips to help shape preaching that is honest, inclusive, and deeply resonant.

Together, you’ll explore how the Christmas story itself holds joy alongside sorrow, and how your message can connect more meaningfully with the whole congregation – especially those who may feel unseen.

As Tanya puts it, “Christmas acts as a megaphone for emotions,” making this the perfect moment to prepare sermons that both celebrate well and care deeply.

What you’ll learn:

·       How to recognise the emotional complexity of Christmas

·       How the Christmas story itself holds both sorrow and hope

·       Ways to include lament without losing celebration

·       Five clear, practical approaches to shaping more pastorally aware sermons

What you’ll gain:

·       Greater confidence preaching to the whole congregation

·       Tools to speak about grief and joy with honesty and care

·       Sermons that feel more authentic, inclusive, and meaningful

·       Space to plan ahead – before the December rush begins

Remember, Christmas can be both gift and grief. Your preaching can make space for both.

About the speaker:

Tanya Marlow is an author, spiritual director and occasional lecturer in pastoral theology. Her passion is combining biblical texts and ‘sacred storytelling’ with honest theologies of disability and suffering. She is also a popular conference speaker and has been interviewed for the Guardian and BBC radio and TV. Sign up for her newsletter and get her first book for free at TanyaMarlow.com.