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. 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).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
Bible Story:
Read together Luke 18:9-14.What do you think about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector? What do you think of the Pharisee’s comments?
Story and Conversation:
Read together: “I’m the Best!” by Lucy Cousins.Who do the different characters remind us of? Do sometimes you feel like dog? Do you feel like one of the other animals?
Read together “Sidney & Norman: A Tale of Two Pigs” by Phil Vischer.
Do you sometimes feel like Sidney? Do you sometimes feel like Norman?
These stories remind us that what matters most is what’s on the inside. Whatever our outsides look like and whatever joy or sadness they bring us, God loves us no matter what and knows our hearts. God wants us to be beautiful on the inside-- the parts of us that we can’t see!
Read together: "God is a friend" in Images of God for Young Children" (p. 72-73)
Craft:
Today we’ll make keepsake boxes, but we will decorate the inside to remind us that God loves our insides. I purchased small cardboard boxes (heart shaped with lids) that the children decorated with glitter, markers, and stickers.
Closing Prayer
“Dead God, thank you for showing us love, even when we are messy or disorganized
and even if sometimes we feel judged by others.
We know that you love what is in our hearts and want us to love each other like you do.
Help us to remember that we are all beautiful on the inside
and to look for the beauty in everyone. Amen.”
and even if sometimes we feel judged by others.
We know that you love what is in our hearts and want us to love each other like you do.
Help us to remember that we are all beautiful on the inside
and to look for the beauty in everyone. Amen.”
Curriculum texts used:
Special Texts used:
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