Alternative Theme Titles:

• Going Forth Into Battle
• Forward Against the Foe
• Battling With Zeal
• Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Into the Battle We Go!
• Storming the Walls of the World
• Surviving This Ole' Sinful World
• Having Done All To Stand
• The Whole Armour of God
• A Soldier in God's Army
• Onward Christian Soldiers
  
  Theme Verse Suggestions:
  
• "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."  Ephesians 6:11
• "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."  Ephesians 6:13
  
  Devotional:
  Ultimate Survival
  
  See the Devotional Index
  
  Decorating Suggestions:
  
  Color Scheme
  Rich deep colors accented by silver.
  
  General Decorations
  
• Your guests should be taken back into time to a land of castles, knights, and even dragons if you want.
• As they arrive have a drawbridge and mote for them to cross. A small bridge with hand rail made of plywood would work well. Decorate the hand rails with garlands of greenery. . Gather up lots of large plants and greenery to place about.
  
  For The Tables
  
• Use tall candle holders and candelabras.
• Try to find some ornate old world looking items such as goblets, bowels and vases of silver or even wood.
• Use garlands of greenery and fruit.
• You can make some princess cone hats to put on the tables (see favor suggestions below for details).
  
  Focal Point
  
• Murel of a Castle or of a Knight With Armor.
  Castle Coloring Pages (Renaissance Center)
  Castles Coloring Pages (Castles.org)
• Picture Prop
  Paint a soldier in a suit of armor on plywood. Cut out the face to have your guests peek their heads through to have photos taken of them in the suit of armor. You could also draw some ladies in medieval outfits (see the coloring pages and clip art links above) and cut out the faces to use as a photo opt.
• Make a Throne
  Make a throne using a high back chair. If you can't find anything in the right style, cover any high back chair with a velveteen type fabric in a rich color such as red or purple. You could have a queenly robe and a crown on hand for your guests to use and take pictures wearing.
  
  Games and Ice-breakers:
  
• Pall Mall
  This is a Mideviel game in which balls and mallets were used. It is where our game, crochet, comes from, so if you have the facilities, you could play some crochet.
  
  You'll find Ice Breakers here.
  
  Music:
  
• Have some Classical, Renaissance style playing in the background.
• V Is For Victory by Wendell P. Loveless
  
• He Is Able Paul E. Paino
  
• When the Battle's Over by Isaac Watts
  
• Am I a Soldier of the Cross? by Isaac Watts
  
• Onward Christian Soldiers by Sabine Baring-Gould
  
  Favors:
  
• Princess Cone Hats
  These can double as table decorations. Fuse material on to poster board. Roll and shape into a cone shaped hat and staple. Staple a long length of tulle off of the top to hang down. You can embellish as you want with lace, sequins, craft bobbles.
• Christian Survival Kits
  Here's a link for ideas
  Survival Kits (Di's Delightful Creations & Crafts)
  You may want to take some itmes from different ones make one of your own and cater it to your theme.
  
  Just For Fun:
  
  
• Table Top Castle Challenge
  Make 2 to 4 castle base constructions (depending on how many you will need), Shape with cardboard first. Toilet paper rolls make nice turret forms. Give each team lots of various crackers, cookies, candies, and food items. Give each team plenty of icing. Have the teams compete to decorate the castles. Give them a time limit.
• Crier - Have a "crier" to herald your announcements or give out doorprizes. They can even dress the part. Have a scroll for them to read from. Make sure they start everything with "Hear Ye! Hear Ye!".
• Parchment Invitations - If you have a small number of invitations to send out, make them from parchment paper, written in a calligraphy or old world font. Make them into scrolls tied up with ribbons.
• Dress Up - Have the ladies dress in medieval costumes. You can familiarize yourself with some medieval costume ideas at the following links.
  instructions, pattern guides (Dawn's Costume Guide)
  Medieval Headdress (Costumes.org)
  
  Doorprizes:
  
• Candlesticks
• Ornate looking serving tray
• Book with fairy tale stories of knights, castles, and kings.
• Bible
• Compass
• Globe
• Road Atlas
  
  More suitable gifts for ladies on the Door prize page
  
  Skits:
  
• Armor of God Skit#1(from Bob Snook)
• Armor of God Skit#2(from Bob Snook)
  
  See the CLM Skit Links
  
  Food Suggestions:
  
• Learn a little about Medieval Foods at the following links. You may not want to plan your whole meal with Medieval foods, but there may be some fun things to put on the menu and try or you may just want to share some history about these type of foods
• Medieval Food Recipes (Medieval -life.net)
  
• Medieval Foods (Castles of Britain)
  
• Medieval Italian Stew Recipe (Recipe Source)
  
• Medieval Italian Stew Recipe (Recipe Source)

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Copyright 2001-2007 Julia Bettencourt
This material is intended for your use as banquet and event ideas for your own local church. Permission is granted for printing for reference only. It should not be reprinted for any other reason or reposted on any other website or message/forum board.


Survival Theme:  Island Version
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Tools For Womens Ministry