Upcoming Children and Youth Family Events
Holy Week: For and With your Children
The Christian Education Committee has planned for a week of activities and learning during this most holy time in the life of the church year. Holy Week marks the events from Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusulem to his death on Good Friday and the joy of Easter resurrection news. As a way to assist families through these days Pastor Reep and Miss Kelly have teamed up to provide resources to explain, teach, and share in this special holy time. In addition to physical resources which will be provided or need to be prepared, a series of short videos will be posted to social media each day from March 27th preparing for Palm Sunday through April 3rd preparing for Easter morning. A brief outline is included.
Saturday March 27
Preparing for Palm Sunday is important. Having everything needed in advance of this Holy Week will allow you to immerse yourself in the traditions and practices that have shaped Christians for centuries. You will need …
An old basin or dishpan large enough to wash your feet in.
A plastic pitcher to hold water
A bath towel
Paper and Pencil
Sheets of newsprint
Scissors
Items to make a cross
Aluminum foil
Eggs for hard boiling and colored dye.
White or clear wax crayon
Sunday March 28
Palm Sunday or Sunday of the Passion, marks Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This was an exciting and happy time. People were joyful. They didn’t expect the week to play out with Jesus being sentenced to death and him dying on a cross. So keep your energy levels high. Make palm branches to wave. March around inside or better yet march outside around your house. The Bible reminds us that the people shouted Hosanna! You may wish to practice shouting hosanna too. Start off soft with your little voice and each time get louder using your big voice. People thought for sure that Jesus would be their new king, a king that would rule and lead with justice and peace for all people. As you wave your palm branch and shout hosanna remember that people were expecting peace and justice in their daily lives, not just for themselves but for all people every-where.
Monday March 29
Make a crown. You have made crowns before. Today go outside and see what things you can gather to weave together a crown; some branches, long grass, dead stems from flowers that weren’t cut back for winter. If you don’t have any outside items, use newspaper, strips of cardboard, crumple up some aluminum foil and use it to shape a crown. This crown does not have to be pretty. We will use this crown on Friday, but get it ready today. Remember the people anticipated Jesus as king. So he would need a crown.
Tuesday March 30
Tonight you will be together via Zoom with Miss Kelly. She will have special instructions for you. She will lead you through a meditation.
Wednesday March 31
Have you ever been disappointed? This is an important conversation to have with your family mem-bers. Followers of Jesus became disappointed during Holy Week. What they thought and hoped would happen was not coming true. How did you feel when you were disappointed? Is there something today that disappoints you? Write down some words, about five of them, that express your disappointment. Then rearrange them and a few extras to make a poem. Share your poem with your family and with Miss Kelly and Pastor Reep.
Thursday April 1
This is a day that the church calls Maundy Thursday. The word Maundy comes from a word that means mandate or command. Jesus gives his followers a new commandment that they love one another. As a sign of such love Jesus takes a towel and basin and stoops low and washes his disciples’ feet. Gather your basin, towel, pitcher with water and wash each other’s feet. Remember to repeat Jesus’ command, mandate, to “love one another.”This is also the day when Jesus commands us to have Holy Communion. He shared a simple meal with his disciples. This evening make every effort to eat supper together at one table. And remember to give thanks to God. You might like to use one of these prayers or make up one of your own!
Help us, Lord, to be thankful for the gifts we have received from you and to share with others who are in need. Amen.
Dear God, thank you for loving and caring for us every day. Help us to remember your love and to love you and our neighbors. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Friday April 2
This is the day when Jesus is sentenced to death, death on a cross. This is a sad day in our life together. We call it Good Friday. It is good because it brings about God’s saving love for us. What we had hoped and prayed for, a king who would bring peace and justice for all people was quickly vanishing when Pilate (we say his name in the creed during worship) condemns Jesus to death. Make a cross out of anything you can find. Place your crown from Monday on, over, or beside your cross. Then pray:
Jesus, who died for me,help me to live for thee. Amen
Saturday April 3
This is an in-between sort of day. We are between Good Friday and the cross and Sunday’s joy of Easter’s resurrection news. Today help your parent make eggs to color or paint. Set aside time to work on this together. Mark eggs with a white or clear wax crayon. Draw symbols of new life on your egg before you place it in the bright color dye. This bright color will stand in strong contrast to the sadness of Good Friday and the many disappointments that we wrote about on Wednesday. I like to draw a butterfly on one of my eggs. I like to make a cross too. Sometimes I try to draw a sea shell to remember my baptism. Please wait and be patient while your eggs are resting in the dye. Remember that Jesus rested in the tomb until God raised him to new life on Easter morning. When you lift your egg out of the dye bath, look at the beautiful patterns and images that you reserved using the wax crayon resist. Now set the eggs aside and wait until Easter day to crack into it!
The New Quarterly Spark Family Magazine
The latest issue of Spark Family Magazine should have come to your mailbox in the last several weeks. Extra copies are available at church. In this issue there are some wonderful lessons about Jesus life and teaching as well as The Last Supper and Doubting Thomas which can be used during Holy Week and Easter. Remember, you can pick up to borrow a copy of the Spark Story Bible at church. This is he Bible that goes with the lessons in the magazine and with the lessons we use in Sunday School. Copies are available on the bookshelf outside of Pastor Reep’s office. Parents have reported enjoying the opportunity to use these lessons with their children.
Worship Resources
Are you worshiping at home alone or with your family? Here is a way to involve your children. When the bulletin is sent each week in an email from church, a copy of the Children’s Bulletin is included. There is an older and younger version. The resource supports the Bible lessons heard in church each week. Print enough for each of your children and have them ready for when you worship together at home. Use them as discussion starters about the Bible lessons and living as Christian.
