Opening Check-Ins
We support each other no matter what. Invite everyone to share something that made them happy and/or something that made them sad this past week. We are here to support each other in prayer and presence.Centering in Silence and Song
If you have a household altar, I recommend using it. If not, a sense of ritual and sacred time can be initiated by lighting a candle and ringing a bell (three times is usually a good way to help everyone settle into silence). Share a few minutes of silence together. You may sound the bell again when silence is over. Children often enjoy the responsibility of these tasks (and should be supervised and assisted as appropriate).You may also listen to this song and discuss what it brings up for each of you:
Prayer of Jesus
If you have a particular version of the prayer that you use, you are encouraged to use it.This is the "children's translation" that I wrote and use with my students:
God all around us with many sacred names
We roll up our sleeves to create a beautiful world with you
Please care for us and our needs and forgive us when we don’t do our best
Please help us to be forgiving of others, too.
Help us to be good, loving, and safe so we can help create a loving and safe world for everyone.
Amen.
Sacred Story
Background:
Sunday, October 6, 2019 is World Communion Sunday. Today we celebrate communion with churches all over the world. While we know that we have many differences, we know that we have more in common, and that God wants us all to be blessed and have access to nourishment of all kinds.Churches around the world celebrate communion differently. They use different kinds of bread and different kinds of drink. Some churches use water; some use wine; some use wine mixed with water, others use grape juice.
In some ancient communities, they also used milk and honey to signify to coming sweetness of Kingdom.
In early Christian communities, communion was part of a Pot Luck. Everyone-- the rich and poor together-- ate together. For some people, this might have been the most substantial meal of the week. If people weren't able to make it to church, communion was often brought to them at home. This was a very important part of Jesus’ ministry because it was very strange at the time for Jesus to eat with so many different kinds of people. People back then usually ate with people like them-- from their tribe, from their social class, etc. Today we have our potluck, too! Just like many early Christians a long, long time ago.
Does anyone know why we celebrate communion?
We celebrate communion to remember Jesus and the way he gathered with his disciples. Before his crucifixion, Jesus asked his followers to continue gathering and breaking bread together. Jesus gathered with his followers as friends and equals, even though that was scandalous in his time. Jesus challenges us to make friends with everyone and make sure everyone has enough to eat. Jesus had friends from all different kinds of jobs, with different kinds of families, differently sized houses… he had a diversity of friends. They would get together, bring food, eat, and talk to each other. They would share ways they think they made mistakes that week, things they were grateful for, and things they needed help with. We celebrate communion, in part, to remember Jesus’ expansive (big!) love that he shared with his friends and all of us.
So today we will bake some bread together and share communion, and we’ll use juice, water, milk, and honey and try to imagine what it might be like to share communion in different communities.
At Peace, we gather around a table, hold hands, and sing. Have you ever seen people serve communion differently or been a part of a different kind of communion ritual?
Craft:
We’ll make some simple rolls and prepare milk, honey, water, and juice for communion. Once things are ready and we are waiting for baking to finish, we can read a story.Since we are thinking about the ways we are similar and different from others today, let’s read a story about different kinds of creation stories.
Bible Story:
“The Creation” (Genesis 1 in “Children of God Storybook Bible” p. 8 -11)Contemporary story: “First Light, First Life: A Worldwide Creation Story”
Conversation:
What are the differences in the stories? What are the similarities? What do the creation stories teach us? (How special our earth is to us and to God. We can help take care of the earth and its creatures. Part of how we can do that is by trying to be mindful of what we eat and where it comes from, so we can make sure everyone has enough to eat and will continue to for a long time!)
Closing Circle
We will pray and share communion together. You may close circle time with a prayer of your choosing (improvised or otherwise), or use this offering:
"At his last supper, Jesus showed us a way to gather in community. He gathered with his followers and loved ones, diverse as they were, and made room for them all at the table. All were fed-- both their bodies and their spirits .
"He broke bread with his followers, knowing we all feel broken sometimes, but also knowing that love brings people together like wheat from many fields that rises up together as something new, like how bread is made.
"Jesus poured the cup to share with his followers, showing them how love flows freely and generously. There is always enough love for everyone.
“Do these things in memory of me,” he said, so we gather in his name to pour out our love and hope in community together. Amen."
Today we have water. Water reminds us of our baptisms and that God loves us. It can also help remind us how important clean water is. Water is life. It’s important to keep waters clean for all of us.
We also have milk and honey. This reminds us how sweet things can be and how sweet God’s love is. We believe that a better world is possible, and this milk and honey helps remind us of the sweetness to come.
Closing Prayer: "God, we thank you for bread, juice, and all the foods that give us life. Thank you for the wheat fields, for the bees that pollinate, for the farmers who grow and pick our food, for the workers in the stores, and for the many people who work so we have enough to eat. We thank you for rituals that can bring us together in community and for the memory of Jesus. Amen."
Curriculum texts used:
- Children of God Storybook Bible by Archbishop Desmond Tutu
- Images of God for Young Children by Marie-Helene Delval
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