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 might invite each person to share:
What they think it means to be loving or an example of something loving.
For instance: Calling someone you haven’t seen in a long time can be loving.
Serving a meal to people affected by homelessness can be loving.
Serving a meal to people affected by homelessness can be loving.
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:
On Valentine's Day, we celebrate love. The Bible has a lot to say about love. Today we will read one story from the Gospel of Mark.Bible Story:
Read together “The Law of Love” in Children of God Storybook Bible (p. 82-83).
Conversation:
How can we express our love and God's love in the world?What are loving words we can use to let people know God loves them?
Read together "God is love" in Images of God for Young Children (p. 64-65)
Who are people in your life who need extra joy, or might need to know that God's love is with them?
Read together The Word Collector by Sonja Wimmer.
Craft:
Valentines
Make Valentines for people from church or your other communities who need some extra cheer.Closing Prayer
Read together the prayer by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in First Prayers (p. 53)Curriculum texts used:
- Children of God Storybook Bible by Archbishop Desmond Tutu
- Images of God for Young Children by Marie-Helene Delval
- First Prayers by Caroline Jayne Church
Special Texts used:
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