If you want to try something different for Advent this year, Bethlehem's Closet -- A Reunion of Grace is a great resource that provides congregations with an intriguing learning experience. It's a unique series of five monologues telling the fascinating stories, warts and all, of the women mentioned in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus. Donald Neidigk believes that the embarrassing events in some of these women's lives are important for us to know, since they demonstrate that Jesus was born into an imperfect family, with secrets in the closet, just like you and me. And that makes him a sympathetic Savior -- exactly what we need. So even though the shepherds and wise men may be more typical of the season's characters, Bethlehem's Closet -- A Reunion of Grace offers a refreshing way to celebrate Christ's birth. Each monologue comes with a children's message (using easily obtained objects to reinforce the lesson) and a convenient order of worship.

The monologues examine these women:

• Tamar -- A Wronged Widow
• Rahab -- A Former Prostitute
• Ruth -- A Moabite Convert
• Bathsheba -- A Violated Wife
• Mary -- A Young Mother Donald H. Neidigk is a graduate of New Mexico State University (B.S.) and Denver Seminary (M.Div.), with additional graduate study at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is currently the pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, and also serves as the Circuit Counselor for the Sandia South Circuit of the Rocky Mountain District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Neidigk is the author of The Gifts of Lent and Conversations With the Savior (CSS).