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Showing posts with label Disciple/ship. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Year A - Day of Pentecost (June 12, 2011)

R Pentecost is a birthday party for the church.  Since children are the pros on birthday parties, it is a good Sunday for them to be involved in lots of ways.  Go to http://www.rockies.net/~spirit/sermons/sr-pentecost-celebrate.php for a list of 27 ways to do this – everything from everyone wear red that day to having readers scattered throughout the congregation read the Pentecost story in different languages at the same time.  To that list, I add:

1.      If you have birthday party at the fellowship hour, ask the children to host it.  Preschoolers add stickers (church buildings, flames, “Happy Birthday”) to the usual white napkins.  Elementary schoolers decorate a iced sheet cake or cupcakes.  (White cake is fine, but Red Velvet Cake is more liturgically correct J and interesting.)  Write “Happy Birthday Church” and add flames, crosses or other symbols with red icing tubes.  Older elementary children can serve the red punch.  Children can also lead the congregation in singing Happy Birthday and blowing out the candles.

2.      Children’s classes can prepare red crepe paper stoles for all worshipers to wear during worship.  Precut the red streamers and ask children to add a Pentecost sticker (church, flame, dove, “Happy Birthday”) to each end of each stole.  Children may give these stoles to worshipers as they enter the sanctuary or distribute them during the Call to Worship as a worship leader explains the meaning of wearing stoles and briefly introduces Pentecost.

Vocabulary note: Use God’s Spirit or Holy Spirit rather than Holy Ghost.  Holy Ghost conjures up Halloween images throwing children hopelessly off track.

R If the youngest children simply enjoy the birthday party aspect of the day’s worship, that is enough.  Older children are ready to hear a little about the Holy Spirit.  On Pentecost, there are two points:

1.      Even though Jesus has ascended, God is still with us.  We are not on our own. 

2.      God gives us power that enables us to do God’s work on earth.  God inspires us, gives us gifts (talents), and works through us.  God expects us to “do something in God’s name.”  This is a powerful self-image.  We are powerful and God has work for us to do.  Impress it on the children, encouraging them to identify and practice their gifts.  Tell stories about people and churches doing this.  Look forward to seeing what each of them do for God.  Celebrate that fact with amazed joy.

R The best Pentecost songs for children are often familiar short choruses.
“Spirit of the Living God Fall Afresh on Me”
“Every Time I Feel the Spirit”
 – Consider singing only the chorus since the verses refer to unfamiliar to children Bible stories and the River Jordan.
“I’m Gonna Sing When the Spirit Says Sing”
-          Make up new verses that match the ideas or illustrations in the service, e.g. I’m gonna serve, walk (fund raiser walks), etc.

R “Breathe On Me Breath of God,” even with its Elizabethan English, is one of the best longer Pentecost hymns for children.  They savor the repeated first phrase of each verse and figure out the rest of the verses over the years.

R It is a good day to sing hymns from different countries.  Many current hymnals include Spanish and Asian hymns with words printed in that language and English.  If each hymn is introduced with a simple “our next hymn comes to us from the Christians in NAME OF COUNTRY” children will enjoy all the variety and learn that the church includes people who speak many different languages.


Acts 2:1-21

R Before reading the story, alert worshipers to the list of the homelands of people in the Pentecost crowd.  Project or display a map of the region and point out where each named place is.  When possible name the language spoken in each place at that time.   Laugh about how hard it is to pronounce some of the names.  Get a show of hands from the congregation to learn who has visited which places.  Note the places , like Libya, that are in the news today.  The goal is not that the children know and pronounce all the names, but that they realize that these were real places and the people who lived in them were real people visiting in Jerusalem.

R Wind and fire are the two key symbols in this story.  The list at the beginning of this post offers lots of suggestions for using them in worship.  Especially on Pentecost, include the overwhelming power of wind and fire as well as the comforting ones.  Refer to the power of raging forest fires, exploding volcanoes, windy storms.  Tell stories of people acting powerfully to do great things in God’s name.  Encourage the children to see themselves doing the same.


Numbers 11:24-30

Moses’ “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his spirit on them” is a birthday wish for the church.  It might be said aloud before the candles on the birthday cake are blown out or incorporated into a litany prayer of intercession in which it is the congregation’s response.


Psalm 104:24-34, 35

With so much else attracting the attention of children, the psalm may slide by.  To provide children with a worship worksheet, print the text in the middle of a page and frame it with empty blocks.  Invite children to illustrate a word and phrase they find in the psalm in each block.



1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

R The CEV translates verse 7, “The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others.”  Use it to tell children that each of them has been given one-of-a-kind (not “special” as in fancy, but simply unique to them) abilities. Their job is to recognize them, practice them, and use them to love God and other people.  Point to recognizable gifts among members of the congregation as examples.  Offer the children a worship worksheet with a big gift box on it.  Invite them to draw or write about their gifts in each section of the box, fold it up, and put it in the offering promising God to use those abilities well.

R With all the fire and wind images, it is probably wise to save the body of Christ image for a separate Sunday on which it can be the focus.


John 20:19-23 or 7:37-39

R Of the 2 John readings, John 20:19-23 is the first choice for children, even though it was read on the Second Sunday of Easter.  It provides a second story of the giving of the Holy Spirit.  However, since there is no way to explain why there are two such different accounts of Pentecost in the Bible, I would skip the gospel entirely this week to focus on the Acts Pentecost story.

R If you do read it, check out The Second Sunday of Easter for a way to link the passage to “forgive us our debts and we forgive our debtors.”  

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Year A - The Third Sunday in Lent (March 27, 2011)

There are a lot of thirsty people in today’s texts.  To get worshipers of all ages thinking about thirst slaking water, borrow a bubbling fountain to display prominently in the worship center.  As the service begins urge the worshipers to listen both to the fountain and for all the thirsty people in worship today.  Offer as a hint, that some of the people are thirsty for water and some of the people are thirsty for something else.  If it fits your theme, encourage them to ponder what they are thirsty for.  During some of the prayers, leave silence in which people can simply listen to the fountain and remember God’s life giving love.

Exodus 17: 1-7

The key to presenting this story to children is Moses’ staff.  It is the staff that connects this story to all the important preceding Exodus stories.  Moses’ staff was turned into a snake at the burning bush.  Aaron turned the staff into a snake which ate the staff/snakes of the Egyptian magicians.  The staff dipped into the Nile turned it into blood.  Held over the Nile, it produced frogs.  Pounded on the dust, it produced gnats.  Moses raised it producing the great hail storm and later the swarm of grasshoppers.  Then, Moses held it out to divide the Sea so that God’s people could pass through safely beyond Pharaoh and his army.  So, bring a large walking stick to display during worship.  With it illustrate a brief account of how Moses used it on the escape from Egypt.  Then read Exodus 17:1-7 emphasizing, maybe picking up the staff as you read, the phrase "take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go..." (NRSV)  

I think God used Moses’ staff to remind people that just as God had been with them in the escape from Egypt, God was with them in the hard times in the wilderness.  God would be with them always. 

FYI - “Aaron’s Rod” in Wikipedia notes Jewish, Christian, and Muslim use of this staff that may be fodder for more adult exploration of the staff as a symbol of God’s powerful presence.

To set listeners up for Psalm 95, point out the significance of the names of the well and urge them to listen for those names in another scripture today.  Also note that God’s people camped there for a long time, maybe years, and drew water from that well every day.  Imagine going to a well that reminds you that you tested and quarreled with God about drinking water.


Psalm 95

Read this psalm AFTER exploring the Exodus story.

Start by reading verses 7c-11.  Note the names of the well and the connection to the Exodus story.  Briefly, celebrate being biblical scholars!  Then read the entire psalm.  It could be read by one reader, in unison by God’s people (the congregation), or the separate praises of verses 1-7b could be read by a series of readers with verses 7c – 11 read by another more pensive reader.  The latter would be a good worship leadership opportunity for an older children’s or youth class.


Romans 5:1-11

What Paul might have said to the children:

There is something you need to know that we grownups don’t like to talk about a lot.  Bad things are going to happen to you.  You are going to get sick or hurt.  People you love are going to get sick or hurt.  Or, those people are going to hurt you by what they do.  You may get caught up in war or be the victim of a crime.  Bad stuff like that just happens.  Also, sometimes when you try to do good important things, things that God wants, you might get hurt.  Paul got beaten up for preaching.  Some people in the middle East have been beaten up, even killed, this month for protesting against unjust rulers.  So, you need to know that bad things will happen to you during your life.  You can count on that.

But, you also need to know that God will be with you when those things happen.  You can count on that too.  Sometimes it won’t feel like God is there.  It is easy to get mad at God when bad things are happening.  We yell, “Why don’t you stop it, God?”   We worry that God must not love us if this is happening to us.  We wonder if we are so bad that God is punishing by letting the bad things happen to us.  Sometimes, we even wonder if God is there at all.  At times like this it is important to remember that God loves us always and is with us even when the bad stuff happens. (Say it again, slowly for emphasis.) God may even be working through us to take care of the world.  We can count on that.  We have to depend on our heads to remember this even when our feelings can’t.

Remember, even Jesus got whipped, nailed to a cross, and died.  But that was not the end of his story.  He was raised on Easter.  It is the same with us.  The bad times are never the end of our stories.  Remember that.

Paul might have gathered the children to tell them this.  Or, in the middle of talking to the adults  (aka , “the sermon”) he might have said, “Children, this is for you.  Listen up.” 

We don’t talk to children like this often.  For that reason, doing so can be memorable.  It can also prepare children for the bad times when they do come.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

The cross is a reminder of Paul’s message about suffering.  Point to crosses in your sanctuary and tell stories of suffering in your congregation and community.  Describe how looking back we can see God’s presence in those times. 

Give the children ( or all worshipers) a small cross to carry with them as a reminder that God is with them in bad times as well as good.  Oriental Trading Company is one on-line source for such things.  Click on Oriental Trading Company crosses for a vast array of inexpensive crosses for distribution.  My favorite one for today is a polished worry stone printed with a cross.  Unfortunately, those are almost one dollar a piece – maybe a little pricey.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

“There’s A Wideness in God’s Mercy” again comes to mind as an appropriate child accessible hymn.  Perhaps it can be sung repeatedly this Lent.  If you do use it, remember to introduce “mercy” as “love” before it is sung.

Paul’s message is an opportunity to do a little worship education about the Benediction.  Ask the children to join you at the front to help you with the Benediction.  Briefly note that worship ends the same way every Sunday.  A worship leader stands up front and urges everyone to do something during the coming week and then reminds them that God will be with them as they do it. Then walk them through the benediction below.  Finally ask them to stand with you facing the congregation and to repeat each line after you.  If it is appropriate in your tradition, lead them in raising their hands to bless the congregation as they repeat the last 2 phrases.

Remember when good things happen this week
God is with you.
Remember if bad things happen this week
God is with you.
So,
Go in peace.
Amen


John 4:5-42

Most of this story is a very sophisticated conversation between Jesus and a Samaritan woman at a well.  Children, however, can skip the conversation about water and hear a calling a disciple story.  Jesus treated the total outsider with respect and kindness.  Nobody treated her that way!  In response, she left her water jug (like the fishing disciples left their nets and Levi left his tax office) and became the first evangelist, telling everyone in town about Jesus.  And, she was  successful.  The town believed her first and then believed Jesus.  That is a story worth remembering.  As they get older, children can appreciate the conversation that was at the heart of the story.


Children do need an introduction to the Samaritan woman before they can understand her encounter with Jesus.  They need to know all the things that meant Jesus shouldn’t care at all about her.  She is a Samaritan.  She is a woman.  She is so unpopular that she comes to get water in the middle of the day when she thinks no one else will be there to say mean things to her or call her names.  She is a real loser. 

If you want to explore the conversation:  The water image in this story is complicated.  It’s not just water, it’s living water.  Explaining the word play there simply doesn’t help children get the joke.  It is more productive to put John’s message into your own words for them.  Verses 31 -34 are a good place to start.  Jesus says it takes something other than food and water to make us feel “alive.”  Jesus felt like he had everything he needed after talking to the lonely lost woman and seeing her feel that she was “alive” again. 

Before reading the verses, list some of things that make people feel “alive” today – soccer, their music, spending time with a good friend, etc.  Note that those things can make us feel more “alive” than food or water.  Then read what Jesus said about what made him feel “alive.”

That something other than food or water makes us feel “alive” is not so surprising.  What is surprising is what Jesus says keeps him “alive.”  It is loving like God loves.  In this story it is making friends with a really outsider woman and in the process making her feel totally different about herself.  This can lead to descriptions about how people felt about working on congregational mission projects.  (Be sure to include projects in which children participate.)

I’ve been trying to identify a baptism connection to this story for children – but am coming up dry.  Anyone else have ideas about this?  Please, share in the Comments.

No matter how you unpack this story, it is a very long scripture reading!  It is mainly a conversation between Jesus and the woman.  To bring it to life and edit out all the “he said”s and “she said”s, present it with three readers.  The Narrator reads from the lectern.  Jesus sits near the center of the worship space.  The woman stands beside him.  All read from scripts inside dark binders.  A rehearsal in which emphasis is on reading dramatically will be essential.  Below is one simple script.

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Narrator:  So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.  Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.  A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her,

Jesus:  Give me a drink. (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.)

Woman:  How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?  (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)

Jesus:  If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.

Woman:  Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?  Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?”

Jesus:  Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.

Woman: Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.

Jesus: Go, call your husband, and come back.

Woman: I have no husband.

Jesus:  You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!

Woman: Sir, I see that you are a prophet.  Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.

Jesus:  Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.  You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.  God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

Woman:  I know that Messiah is coming (who is called Christ). When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.

Jesus:  I am he, the one who is speaking to you.

Narrator:  Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” 28 Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people,

Woman walks off and faces away from Jesus.

Woman: Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?

Narrator :   They left the city and were on their way to him. Turning back toward Jesus.  Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.”  But he said to them,

Jesus:  I have food to eat that you do not know about.

Narrator:  So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?”   Jesus said to them,

Jesus:  My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.  Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting.  The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.  For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’   I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.

Narrator:  Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.”  So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”

From New Revised Standard Version

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Saturday, January 29, 2011

Year A - Holy or Maundy Thursday (April 21,2011)

For children, Maundy Thursday is all about celebrating Holy Communion on the night Jesus invented it.  Just as the Nativity stories have special power on Christmas Eve, the Eucharist has added power on Maundy Thursday.  Just to be there participating in the sacrament on this night says that I am one of God’s people.  Because I eat at this table, I belong. 

Unfortunately, many congregations do not encourage children to attend this service.  The fact that it is on a school night makes it easy to decide that children will not be able to come and therefore to neither plan for their presence nor encourage them and their families to come.  After a few years of such expectations it takes more than one or two “children are welcome” notes to reverse the trend.  A clear invitation to families to join all God’s people to hear the stories of the most important days of the year and to celebrate the sacrament that was introduced on that night is needed.  It also helps to include children in some way in leadership.  Consider
   - asking a church school class to prepare the elements for
     communion,
   - including children among the readers during the Tenebrae,
   - asking children’s choirs to sing, and
   - calling on families with children to serve as greeters and ushers.

Stories are important on this night.  The key story is the bread and cup of the Last supper.  But the story of washing the disciples feet, the failure of the church in Corinth to gather as a loving community to celebrate communion, and the Passover story are also part of the night.  And, though the Passion story belongs to Good Friday, all the stories told on Maundy Thursday look to the Good Friday stories.  In any given service only one or maybe two of the supporting stories can be involved.

The Last Supper is at the heart of the day.  Children imagine themselves in the room with the disciples eating with Jesus.  The Revised Common Lectionary sets John's gospel (with no bread or cup) as the gospel reading for the night.  For the sake of the children, you may want to read or tell one of the synoptic accounts in addition.  This year  read Matthew 26:17-20, 26-30Sitting around tables rather than in rows (whether you share a meal or not) also brings the story to life.   Using a loaf or matzo rather than wafer brings worshipers closer to the food of that first night
. 
 Jesus Washes the Disciple’s Feet.  You can almost see all the disciples looking at their feet, knowing that someone needs to do the washing, thinking that if they don’t make eye contact with anyone maybe it won’t be them.  Then Jesus does it.  He washes the feet of the people who will desert him.  He even washes the feet of Judas who will turn him in and tell his enemies where to find him.  I think a case could be made that Jesus did this as either practice for what was coming on Friday, as a demonstration of what it means to love, or maybe both. 

Like everyone else in the room, he knew everyone’s feet needed to be washed.  Maybe he thought to himself, “OK, if I can wash their feet - even wash Judas’ feet - tonight, maybe I can believe that I can do what is coming tomorrow.”  This makes sense to most children.  When washing feet is compared to yucky jobs that must be done every day – taking out the garbage, cleaning the cat’s litter, turning the compost pile, cleaning the bathrooms, dealing with a diaper pail – it calls them to join Jesus in practicing love.  The first challenge is to do these jobs for people we love and who love us back.  As we do we imagine doing them for someone who mistreats us and we remember that Jesus washed Judas’ feet.

While surfing for pictures of foot washing, I came across photos of weddings at which the groom washes the bride’s feet during the ceremony.  I’m guessing (hoping!) the groom gets his feet washed too.  This is a new idea to me and I’m not espousing it.  But it is an interesting wedding ritual that points out the very non-romantic ways husbands and wives (and all family members!) are to love each other. 

After washing their feet Jesus gives the disciples and us a new rule, “Love one another as I have loved you.” How do we love one another?  We wash their feet and do whatever else is needed (even the yucky jobs) to take care of them.

After washing the feet and sending Judas away to do his deed, Jesus announced, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him.”  Or,
          “If you want to see the glory of God, watch me wash feet. 
            If you want to share in the glory of God, wash feet like I do.”
God’s glory is not seen in people walking on red carpets or standing on championship stands.  God’s glory is seen in people taking care of those around them – even washing their feet when needed.  This definition of God’s glory is a hard sell with children and worshippers of all ages.

Sidebar:  Peter was offended by Jesus’ offer to wash his feet.  Youth and adults today understand his feelings.  But, children are used to being tended in many personal ways.  So, Peter’s issue isn’t their issue - yet. 

Display a towel and a basin prominently throughout the service.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 if taken in its context is the opposite of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet.  The wealthier members of the church at Corinth came early with all their food to the church suppers.  They did not wait to eat until the poorer members got off their jobs and could come.  So, there was often nothing left for the poorer members when they arrived.  Paul calls them on their lack of loving care of people in need.

The Passover   Older children, especially those who have Jewish friends, are fascinated by the connection between Passover and the Last Supper.  But, before they can understand it, they have to hear the story of the Passover, know some of the details of the Seder, and know the details of Holy Communion.   Maundy Thursday worship is not the place to start into all three from scratch.  What you can do…

Invite the children forward for the reading of Exodus 12:14,11-14.  Then point out that God saved the Jews from slavery in Egypt.  Jesus and his disciples were remembering this story on the night of the last supper.  The very next day, Jesus died on the cross to save us from sin and death.  Note the similarity.  God saves us over and over again. 

Before Holy Week, invite a Jewish family to walk families of your congregation through a Seder.  They could just tell about it or present pictures of themselves celebrating it (maybe in a Powerpoint?)  Or, with their direction you could prepare a Seder meal to eat together with them leading the whole group through it.  Then, on Maundy Thursday seat worshipers around tables in the fellowship hall with communion elements on each table.  Read the Passover story and the story of the Last Supper before celebrating communion.

Exploring the Passover connection tends to lead adults to speak of Jesus as the Lamb of God.  Remember if you do that children think literally and are easily confused by metaphorical language.  For them the easiest way to understand Lamb of God is as a nickname for Jesus.  Actually, I’d save this term for other worship settings.

There are so many vivid stories vying for their attention in worship this night, that most children will miss Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19 entirely.  That may be just fine.  Unpacking it enough for them to understand requires more than it is probably worth on Maundy Thursday.  So include it in the liturgy for the adults.

Tenebrae was originally celebrated on Good Friday, but many congregations, especially those who do not worship together on Good Friday, include it in Maundy Thursday worship following communion.  It is a candle lighting service in reverse.  Seven or eight candles are lighted in the beginning with each one snuffed out as a part of the Passion is read.  A deep toned hand bell may be sounded as each candle is snuffed.  Then after a moment of darkness, a single candle is relit to remind us of the coming resurrection and the congregation departs in silence.  Children deeply appreciate this ritual IF…
-          It is explained to them in advance
-          The readings are not too long and focus on storytelling. (This is not the place for John’s long soliloquies.)
-          Readers of all ages, including at least one older child, are involved.  (A child can often read the story of Jesus’ burial.)
Some congregations end this rite with a minute of silence followed by a single crash of a gong. Even when you know it is coming, the gong makes you jump.  Be sure the children know it is coming.  A note among the printed announcements is not enough warning!  Actually briefly explaining the Tenebrae and noting the crashing gong at the end makes good publicity drawing families to this service.

Songs for the evening:  “Let Us Break Bread Together” and “For the Bread Which You Have Broken” (especially verse 1, 2, and 4) are probably the simplest communion hymn for this night for children.  The Ghanian hymn “Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us With Your Love,” while it may not be as familiar to adults as it is to children, is a good choice for congregational singing or for a children’s choir to sing.

My book Sharing the Easter Faith with Children includes
-          a plan for a Maundy Thursday service  rehearsing the Last Supper story and celebrating communion around tables,
-          a child-friendly script for a Tenebrae and
-          a plan for a children’s Tenebrae with props as well as candles that could be a special service for families on either Maundy Thursday or Good Friday.

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