Mary Had a Baby: An Advent Bible Study Based on African American Spirituals, written by Marilyn E. Thornton with material from the first edition by Cheryl Kirk-Duggan. Mary Had a Babyhas four sessions, one for each week of Advent, and is perfect for small groups, Sunday school, midweek sessions, and choir workshops. Each lesson includes Scripture, song lyrics, devotional and contextual information, and discussion questions to stimulate deepening faith and a sense of community. The book includes leader helps. The four spirituals featured in Mary Had a Baby are “Mary Had a Baby,” “Rise Up Shepherd and Follow,” “Children, Go Where I Send Thee, “ and “Go, Tell It on the Mountain.” A mp3 file of the four songs is available free with purchase of the study.

Press the button and join in for this sing-along sound book, Mary Had a Little Lamb from Little Baby Bum.

The beloved spiritual comes alive in Ron Mallorys energetic setting. The treble and bass bells work together in a call-and-response treatment of the melody in the free opening statement. Youll want to have rhythmically sound players on the bass bells to facilitate the malleted accelerando into the primary tempo.