Opening Check-Ins
Invite all children and adults to introduce themselves. You may invite the children to share a time or place when or where they felt very peaceful. They don’t have to share if they’re not comfortable. 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).
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:
Today is the second Sunday of Advent. What did we talk about last week? Last week we read some from the Book of Isaiah and talked about hope.
What are we talking about this week? This week we are reading more about Isaiah and we are talking about peace.
Today in church, the grown-ups are reading a passage from the Book of Isaiah. Does anyone know who Isaiah was or where in the Bible that book is?
Isaiah is a prophet, so his book is in the section we call Wisdom Texts in the Hebrew Bible. Today we will read in our story Bible some about Isaiah.
Bible Story:
Story: Read together Isaiah 11:1-10
Story: Read together “Isaiah Becomes God’s Messenger” in “Children of God Storybook Bible” (p. 52-53)
How do you think Isaiah helped make peace? I think he did so by living holy, as our book says. “By doing good, seeking what is fair, rescuing the oppressed, and caring for the widow and the orphan.”
Sometimes peace is about forgiveness, too, right? What do you think the opposite of peace is?
When I think of the opposite of peace, I think of war. When wars end, people usually need to forgive each other. Sometimes making peace is about changing the way we think about people. We have to stop thinking of people as our enemies, right?
Are there some people in the world that we are told are bad?
There is a story attributed to Hillel, a Jewish rabbi. “Attributed” means we think he said it. Do you know what a Rabbi is? “Rabbi” means “teacher,” and is kind of like a minister. Jesus was a rabbi.
Well, someone went to Hillel and said if he could tell him the story of the Bible while he stood on one foot, he would give everything he had to God. That basically means, “if you can tell me quickly,” because most of us can’t stand on one foot for very long, right?
What do you think he said?
“Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. The rest is commentary.”
So the whole point of all these stories in the Bible is to help us love each other better, right? And so when we think about how to create hope, peace, love, and joy in the world, we can usually go back to that. Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. And you’re probably on the right track.
So today I want us to read a story called “Who is My Neighbor?”
Story: Read together “Who is My Neighbor” by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso and Amy-Jill Levine
Conversation:
Sometimes we’re taught we should avoid certain people or be afraid of certain people. One of the things that we learn from Jesus, though, is to love absolutely everyone. Today we are going to send some love and peace to some people who need some extra.
Has anyone ever been to a jail or a prison? They are very crowded and noisy. It can be hard to find quiet or to sleep. And of course you don’t get to leave or see the people you want to spend time with whenever you want.
We are going to make bookmarks. We will decorate them and write words of encouragement for those in the prison system who are waiting for their trial or serving their time. We want them to know they are loved by God and to feel God’s peace, especially at Christmas time.
Read together "God is peace" in
Images of God for Young Children (p. 60-61)
Craft:
Bookmarks for incarcerated. These are very simple-- strips of paper decorated with markers/crayons. No stickers, string, or other supplies are allowed in jails.
Closing Prayer
“Dear God, thank you for the season of Advent. Thank you for teaching us about peace. Thank you for giving us moments of peace in our own lives and for helping us to build a peaceful world with you. We ask for your help in continuing your work of peace in the world. Amen.”
Curriculum texts used:
Special Texts used:
