Creatures in God’s World: Animal Homes
“Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young at your altars, O Lord of Hosts and my God.” Psalm 84:3
Call to Worship
(Sung to “The Bear Went over the Mountain”)
Let’s worship God, let’s worship God, let’s worship God,
With joyful hearts, with joyful hearts, with joyful hearts,
Let’s worship God with joyful hearts!
Joys and Concerns
Have the children share a few joys and concerns they have and follow with a prayer thanking God for our joys and asking God to be with us in our concerns.
Sharing
Ask: Have you ever seen a bird’s nest? (We have one in our tree at home, etc.)
Listening
During the story, children will play the roll of a bird flying about building a nest. Have the children practice flapping their wings. Tell them that they are to flap their wings three times whenever they hear the word fly.
Say: I am a mother bird. I need to build a nest where I can lay my eggs. I’ve chosen this tree branch as the best place to build my nest. Now I must fly (pause) around and look for materials. Whenever I find something, I’ll bring it back to this branch. Since I am called a Baltimore Oriole, I like to build my nest with lots of materials.
I see some twigs. I’ll fly (pause) down and get those. There are some stalks of grass in that field. I’ll fly (pause) down and get those too. Oh good! I see some string over there on the ground. I’ll fly (pause) down and pick it up. There’s a long piece of yarn hanging from that low branch. I’ll fly (pause) and get that next. Great! There’s a clump of hair from someone’s hair brush. I’ll fly (pause) over near the porch and get that. Now I’ll fly (pause) down and get some more grass. This nest is really coming along! What a wonderful nest for my babies. I’m glad God gave animals the ability to make their own home.
Exploring
Make a Bagel Bird Feeder!
Say: There’s a verse in the Bible that talks about birds who nested at the temple. “Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young at your altars, O Lord of Hosts and my God.” Psalm 84:3. There are birds who live near our church, too. Today we’re going to make a treat for you to give to the birds who live near your homes.
What you need:
Bagel
Plastic knife
Yarn or string
Peanut butter or lard
Birdseed
Split the bagel in half. On the flat side spread peanut butter or lard. Sprinkle the birdseed on a paper plate. Press the peanut buttered side of the bagel into the birdseed. Tie a string onto the bagel and hang in a tree.
Read more: http://kidscrafts.suite101.com/article.cfm/easy_to_make_bird_feeders#ixzz0OwZLzbE8
Benediction
Say: Loving God, Thank you so much for the wonder creatures in our world. Amen.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
St. Nicholas Day Celebration
December 6th is Saint Nicholas Day! I am so excited to be celebrating this Saint's day! Saint Nicholas was a Bishop of Myra and is known for secret gift giving. He would put coins in shoes that were left out for him and is the model for our Santa Claus. He did many things for children and lived a very selfless life. We will be celebrating his decision to live a life like Jesus exampled by taking a decorated Christmas tree to a nursing home near our church. We will be practicing our selfless giving and the joy that comes with doing good for others. I think this is a great way to celebrate the Advent season and to teach our children to grow up and be loving people.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Creatures in God’s World: Loving Pets
Creatures in God’s World: Loving Pets
“But the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought.” 2 Samuel 12:3
Call to Worship
(Sung to “The Bear Went over the Mountain”)
Let’s worship God, let’s worship God, let’s worship God,
With joyful hearts, with joyful hearts, with joyful hearts,
Let’s worship God with joyful hearts!
Joys and Concerns
Have the children share a few joys and concerns they have and follow with a prayer thanking God for our joys and asking God to be with us in our concerns.
Sharing
Ask: Can you tell us about a pet you have or would like to have? (I have a puppy named Rover, I want a fish, etc.)
Listening
Use two poems about a lamb to help children think about loving pets.
Ask: There’s a famous poem about a girl who loved her pet lamb. What’s the name of the poem? (Mary Had A Little Lamb)
Say: Let’s say the poem together:
Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb.
Mary had a little lamb its fleece was white as snow,
And everywhere that Mary went, Mary went, Mary went
And everywhere that Mary went the lamb was sure to go.
Continue: There’s a story about a pet lamb in the Bible too. Here’s a poem about that lamb:
There’s a story in the Bible about a little lamb,
Who was loved oh so much by a poor man.
He brought her home and cared for her,
And treated her like a daughter.
He shared his food and his cup,
And everyday he picked her up!
Read the rhyme again, asking the children to repeat each line after you.
Conclude by saying: God has given us pets to love. What a wonderful part of God’s wonderful world!
Exploring
Have the children put on paint smocks and ask them to paint with watercolors on card stock paper a pet they have or a pet they want.
Benediction
Say: Loving God, Thank you so much for the wonder creatures in our world. Amen.
“But the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought.” 2 Samuel 12:3
Call to Worship
(Sung to “The Bear Went over the Mountain”)
Let’s worship God, let’s worship God, let’s worship God,
With joyful hearts, with joyful hearts, with joyful hearts,
Let’s worship God with joyful hearts!
Joys and Concerns
Have the children share a few joys and concerns they have and follow with a prayer thanking God for our joys and asking God to be with us in our concerns.
Sharing
Ask: Can you tell us about a pet you have or would like to have? (I have a puppy named Rover, I want a fish, etc.)
Listening
Use two poems about a lamb to help children think about loving pets.
Ask: There’s a famous poem about a girl who loved her pet lamb. What’s the name of the poem? (Mary Had A Little Lamb)
Say: Let’s say the poem together:
Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb.
Mary had a little lamb its fleece was white as snow,
And everywhere that Mary went, Mary went, Mary went
And everywhere that Mary went the lamb was sure to go.
Continue: There’s a story about a pet lamb in the Bible too. Here’s a poem about that lamb:
There’s a story in the Bible about a little lamb,
Who was loved oh so much by a poor man.
He brought her home and cared for her,
And treated her like a daughter.
He shared his food and his cup,
And everyday he picked her up!
Read the rhyme again, asking the children to repeat each line after you.
Conclude by saying: God has given us pets to love. What a wonderful part of God’s wonderful world!
Exploring
Have the children put on paint smocks and ask them to paint with watercolors on card stock paper a pet they have or a pet they want.
Benediction
Say: Loving God, Thank you so much for the wonder creatures in our world. Amen.
Friday, November 20, 2009
My Wednesday Night Experience
This past Wednesday for our 7 o'clock classes I decided that we would break from our normal routine and all be together. Our various classes have been learning various ways to be with God, inevitably learning that God is in everything, and I have a secret passion for dance, so we all were going to take a break to dance. Now I am talking children from age 4-14 all in a open hallway with Miley Cyrus, John Lennon, Casting Crowns, and many others. I had a plan, which I will post below, but having had some experience in ministry knew that with or without a plan it was going to happen the way it was going to happen. We spent an hour dancing, running, breathing, playing, singing, giggling, and just having fun in the Holy Spirit. It was a great time! After we were done stretching and cooling down I asked the kids what they had learned from all of this. These were their answers: that our body tells us more things than I'm sleepy or I'm sick, that God is with us even when we are just being silly, that we need to watch out for other people so we don't hurt them, and that dancing with God is fun. It was a WONDERFUL experience. I got to share something I love with them and they got to teach me about how God uses our movements for God's love.
Liturgical Dance Lesson Plan
3Let them praise his name with dancing
Liturgical Dance Lesson Plan
Coloring sheets
Talk about dancing: Our bodies have special knowledge that our heads don't have. Our bodies tell us when we are sick, or sleepy, or happy. We can use our bodies to feel God too. We have been learning how to worship God in new ways this fall. We’ve learned that we can be with God when we paint, sing, talk, color, make crowns, and make sculptures out of clay. Tonight we are going o learn how to be with God through dance. At church we call this type of dance liturgical dance. I am going to walk us through stretching and a warm up and then I am going to give you an example of what liturgical dance looks like. I want you to know that there is no right way to dance in liturgical dance. The goal here is to use movement to find God.
There is a Bible verse I want us to learn:
2Let Israel be glad in its Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King. 3Let them praise his name with dancing
Stretch: “Watching the wheels go round”
Warm up: “Party in the USA”
Example: “She Is Love”
Loosen up: “Fireflies”
Fast Liturgical Dance: “If We Are the Body”
Slow Free Moving Liturgical dance: “Everything”
Cool Down Dance: “Wonderful Life”
Stretch: “Send It On”
3 Extra Songs: “I Saw God Today”, “If Today Was Your Last Day”, “Imagine”
Thursday, November 19, 2009
The Nuts and Bolts of Christian Education
Monday, November 16, 2009
The Church Calendar Part 3
The Church Calendar: Part 3
Call to Worship
(Sung to “The Bear Went over the Mountain”)
Let’s worship God, let’s worship God, let’s worship God,
With joyful hearts, with joyful hearts, with joyful hearts,
Let’s worship God with joyful hearts!
Joys and Concerns
Have the children share a few joys and concerns they have and follow with a prayer thanking God for our joys and asking God to be with us in our concerns.
Sharing
Ask: Do you remember last week’s lesson about the Church Seasons? Can you tell me something you remember? (We celebrate Easter, the color of advent is purple, etc.)
Listening
Last week we talked about the church calendar. We learned that we celebrate Jesus’ life and ministry by following Church Seasons. We begin with Advent, a time in the church year to get ready for Jesus' coming to earth. Followed by Christmas, the celebration of Jesus' coming to be our Friend. Then we celebrate Epiphany, the season when we celebrate the three kings coming to find Jesus. Jesus came for all people everywhere. The next season is the season of Lent, the time when we remember Jesus’ death. After Lent comes Easter, when we celebrate with great joy that Jesus rose from death to live again. Then we celebrate Pentecost, when we celebrate God's sending the Holy Spirit to us. The Sundays after Pentecost remind us how to live and grow in our Christian lives. It is important for us to learn about the church calendar. It helps understand what God has done, what God is doing, and what God will do.
Today we are going to explore the church seasons with different foods and learn more about colors.
Exploring
Have the children eat a small portion of each of these to help them remember the colors of the church seasons.
Advent: purple grapes
Christmas: white marshmallows
Ordinary time: green celery
Lent: no food because of the tradition of fasting
Holy week: red apples
Easter: popcorn
Pentecost: strawberries
Ordinary time: green grapes
Benediction
Say: Loving God, thank you so much for all of the seasons we celebrate you. Amen.
Call to Worship
(Sung to “The Bear Went over the Mountain”)
Let’s worship God, let’s worship God, let’s worship God,
With joyful hearts, with joyful hearts, with joyful hearts,
Let’s worship God with joyful hearts!
Joys and Concerns
Have the children share a few joys and concerns they have and follow with a prayer thanking God for our joys and asking God to be with us in our concerns.
Sharing
Ask: Do you remember last week’s lesson about the Church Seasons? Can you tell me something you remember? (We celebrate Easter, the color of advent is purple, etc.)
Listening
Last week we talked about the church calendar. We learned that we celebrate Jesus’ life and ministry by following Church Seasons. We begin with Advent, a time in the church year to get ready for Jesus' coming to earth. Followed by Christmas, the celebration of Jesus' coming to be our Friend. Then we celebrate Epiphany, the season when we celebrate the three kings coming to find Jesus. Jesus came for all people everywhere. The next season is the season of Lent, the time when we remember Jesus’ death. After Lent comes Easter, when we celebrate with great joy that Jesus rose from death to live again. Then we celebrate Pentecost, when we celebrate God's sending the Holy Spirit to us. The Sundays after Pentecost remind us how to live and grow in our Christian lives. It is important for us to learn about the church calendar. It helps understand what God has done, what God is doing, and what God will do.
Today we are going to explore the church seasons with different foods and learn more about colors.
Exploring
Have the children eat a small portion of each of these to help them remember the colors of the church seasons.
Advent: purple grapes
Christmas: white marshmallows
Ordinary time: green celery
Lent: no food because of the tradition of fasting
Holy week: red apples
Easter: popcorn
Pentecost: strawberries
Ordinary time: green grapes
Benediction
Say: Loving God, thank you so much for all of the seasons we celebrate you. Amen.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Random Ramblings by Brittany Sky
I work at a relatively small church, therefore creating a fairly small budget - now I am not complaining at all. I know children's programs that have no budget, but I just want everyone to know that I have to be careful about what I spend money on. I write a lot of my own curriculum for this very reason but sometimes I need help or inspiration so I google. In recent weeks I have been googling for ideas for the spring, new curriculum, new special activities, new coloring pages, etc. and have run into a frequent problem on many of the websites listed as top sources, they require you to pay an annual fee. Now I am not saying that people should be working for free. I understand charging for a membership (too a degree) but the fee is never a small one. The reason I thinks this bothers me the most is this: if we are all fighting for the same thing - to show the love of God to all - then why are we charging each other for the tools we need to do it? They give you a partial lesson or they give you a trial membership, or they allow you to see a few things but never the good stuff. It's always a teaser. Why? I am not trying to criticize anyone, I just want to understand why we charge each other for things we know we all need. We are supposed to be a church, not a business, right?
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Wonder-filled Weekdays
This book is great resource for anyone who works with preschool aged children. This particular book (there are several in the wonder-filled series) is the one I used to give me ideas and help for our preschool garden camp (you can find a post on garden camp in the archives). They have lots of lesson plans all centered around a simple scripture and they are pretty adamant on teaching the children about the various ecological aspects of God's creation and how we are all supposed to be taking care of it. It is a great book to include in anyone's library!Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Web Wednesday :)
This Wednesday I would like to recommend http://www.childrensministry.com/ as a good website for free information for children's ministries and Christian education as well. They have a bank of articles about various topics, such as, lessons, leadership help, etc. all based on age groups. The only down side is that you pretty much have to look at each page of articles to find what you need. They aren't very organized, but it is the only children ministries website on the first page of google that gives you free stuff.
Also be aware the theology used on this site is pretty evangelical so for those of us with various theological backgrounds you may have to tamper with their wording to get what you want.
Also be aware the theology used on this site is pretty evangelical so for those of us with various theological backgrounds you may have to tamper with their wording to get what you want.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
What Do You Do on Wednesday Nights?
I have been working on my spring scheduling for Wednesday nights. I am trying to discern what will work best for each age group and at what time. I have gotten stuck. What do I do for my preschoolers? They have to be an early class and we most definitely need to have a class, but what do I teach them? I use LIVE BIG during Sunday school and Gracelink during Children's church. What do you do for your preschoolers?
Monday, November 9, 2009
The Church Calendar Part 2
The Church Calendar: Part 2
Call to Worship
(Sung to “The Bear Went over the Mountain”)
Let’s worship God, let’s worship God, let’s worship God,
With joyful hearts, with joyful hearts, with joyful hearts,
Let’s worship God with joyful hearts!
Joys and Concerns
Have the children share a few joys and concerns they have and follow with a prayer thanking God for our joys and asking God to be with us in our concerns.
Sharing
Ask: Do you remember last week’s lesson about the Church Seasons? Can you tell me something you remember? (We celebrate Easter, the color of advent is purple, etc.)
Listening
Last week we talked about the church calendar. We learned that we celebrate Jesus’ life and ministry by following Church Seasons. We begin with Advent, a time in the church year to get ready for Jesus' coming to earth. Followed by Christmas, the celebration of Jesus' coming to be our Friend. Then we celebrate Epiphany, the season when we celebrate the three kings coming to find Jesus. Jesus came for all people everywhere. The next season is the season of Lent, the time when we remember Jesus’ death. After Lent comes Easter, when we celebrate with great joy that Jesus rose from death to live again. Then we celebrate Pentecost, when we celebrate God's sending the Holy Spirit to us. The Sundays after Pentecost remind us how to live and grow in our Christian lives. It is important for us to learn about the church calendar. It helps understand what God has done, what God is doing, and what God will do.
Today we are going to make our own church calendar to take home so we can keep track of the church seasons.
Exploring
Give the children one of each the church season pieces. Have them glue them together like the picture. After they have them glued help them write in the dates for each season.
Advent: November 29 – December 24, 2009
Christmas: December 25, 2009 – February 16, 2010
Epiphany: January 6, 2010
Lent: February 21 – April 4, 2010
Easter: April 4 – May 23, 2010
Ordinary Time: May 24 – November 27, 2010
http://www.sundayschoolkids.com/activities/1lit-post-ordinary-activity.htm
http://www.sundayschoolkids.com/activities/1lit-post-advent-activity.htm
http://www.sundayschoolkids.com/activities/1lit-post-christmas-activity.htm
http://www.sundayschoolkids.com/activities/1lit-post-lent-activity.htm
http://www.sundayschoolkids.com/activities/1lit-post-easter-activity.htm
http://www.sundayschoolkids.com/activities/1lit-post-pentecost-activity.htm
http://www.sundayschoolkids.com/activities/1lit-post-add-on-activity.htm
http://www.sundayschoolkids.com/activities/1-liturgical-seasons-instru-students.htm
Call to Worship
(Sung to “The Bear Went over the Mountain”)
Let’s worship God, let’s worship God, let’s worship God,
With joyful hearts, with joyful hearts, with joyful hearts,
Let’s worship God with joyful hearts!
Joys and Concerns
Have the children share a few joys and concerns they have and follow with a prayer thanking God for our joys and asking God to be with us in our concerns.
Sharing
Ask: Do you remember last week’s lesson about the Church Seasons? Can you tell me something you remember? (We celebrate Easter, the color of advent is purple, etc.)
Listening
Last week we talked about the church calendar. We learned that we celebrate Jesus’ life and ministry by following Church Seasons. We begin with Advent, a time in the church year to get ready for Jesus' coming to earth. Followed by Christmas, the celebration of Jesus' coming to be our Friend. Then we celebrate Epiphany, the season when we celebrate the three kings coming to find Jesus. Jesus came for all people everywhere. The next season is the season of Lent, the time when we remember Jesus’ death. After Lent comes Easter, when we celebrate with great joy that Jesus rose from death to live again. Then we celebrate Pentecost, when we celebrate God's sending the Holy Spirit to us. The Sundays after Pentecost remind us how to live and grow in our Christian lives. It is important for us to learn about the church calendar. It helps understand what God has done, what God is doing, and what God will do.
Today we are going to make our own church calendar to take home so we can keep track of the church seasons.
Exploring
Give the children one of each the church season pieces. Have them glue them together like the picture. After they have them glued help them write in the dates for each season.
Advent: November 29 – December 24, 2009
Christmas: December 25, 2009 – February 16, 2010
Epiphany: January 6, 2010
Lent: February 21 – April 4, 2010
Easter: April 4 – May 23, 2010
Ordinary Time: May 24 – November 27, 2010
http://www.sundayschoolkids.com/activities/1lit-post-ordinary-activity.htm
http://www.sundayschoolkids.com/activities/1lit-post-advent-activity.htm
http://www.sundayschoolkids.com/activities/1lit-post-christmas-activity.htm
http://www.sundayschoolkids.com/activities/1lit-post-lent-activity.htm
http://www.sundayschoolkids.com/activities/1lit-post-easter-activity.htm
http://www.sundayschoolkids.com/activities/1lit-post-pentecost-activity.htm
http://www.sundayschoolkids.com/activities/1lit-post-add-on-activity.htm
http://www.sundayschoolkids.com/activities/1-liturgical-seasons-instru-students.htm
Friday, November 6, 2009
Random Ramblings: Follow up on Trunk or Treat
I have recently decided that I will write about whatever floats my boat on Fridays. Today is Friday, so today is that day.
I decided today, now that Halloween is all said and done, that I would follow up on our Trunk or Treat. It was a rainy night so instead of having trick or treating outside we moved everything indoors. I was expecting our usual crowd - the 25 that come on Wednesday nights plus the extra 15 that come on Sundays but not on Wednesdays. I was amazed when 15 minutes before start time we had a crowded hallway waiting to begin. I think there had to be 100 children there plus their families. It was amazing. They all had heard about it from friends and had been wanting to see our church and meet the people there. I don't think one person was disappointed. I am just so so glad that I had enough candy to pass out!
I think that this really taught me about how the simple things can become big things. God was moving through that crowd. We were all happy to be there and spend time with each other, and learn about each other. We had so many age groups represented just to celebrate Halloween. It was awesome. Sometimes we don't need tons of things to make something perfect. God can use what we have and make it great, even if it is just costumes, candy, and crafts.
I decided today, now that Halloween is all said and done, that I would follow up on our Trunk or Treat. It was a rainy night so instead of having trick or treating outside we moved everything indoors. I was expecting our usual crowd - the 25 that come on Wednesday nights plus the extra 15 that come on Sundays but not on Wednesdays. I was amazed when 15 minutes before start time we had a crowded hallway waiting to begin. I think there had to be 100 children there plus their families. It was amazing. They all had heard about it from friends and had been wanting to see our church and meet the people there. I don't think one person was disappointed. I am just so so glad that I had enough candy to pass out!
I think that this really taught me about how the simple things can become big things. God was moving through that crowd. We were all happy to be there and spend time with each other, and learn about each other. We had so many age groups represented just to celebrate Halloween. It was awesome. Sometimes we don't need tons of things to make something perfect. God can use what we have and make it great, even if it is just costumes, candy, and crafts.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
God, Can You Hear Me? Book Review
This book by Justine Simmons is a book that I opened up and had to have. I want to find a way to read it to all of the children that come through the door. The illustrations are amazing - no one is left out, it is just done so beautifully. The book itself is a great way to help reassure our children that God is always with us and listening to us. We may be different, scared, angry, confused, but God hears our concerns and comforts us, whether it is a feeling in our hearts, a song, or a hug from a friend. It is a great addition to any library. Children and adults alike need to be reminded that we are loved ALWAYS.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Advent Festival
With Advent right around the corner I decided to recommend an intergenerational family Advent festival as a great church wide activity. The idea behind the one I am planning for the first Sunday of Advent is to provide a craft shop for children to make homemade Christmas presents for their families. The also will be treated to a Christmas themed story, cookie decorating, a box lid to place finished (but not yet dry - paint and glue have a tendency to make a mess when they aren't yet dry), and new this year - a tree to place finished wood ornament. We will be taking the tree the following Sunday to a nursing home as a way to celebrate St. Nicholas.
I remember going to Advent festivals growing up and all of my memories are great. You can't go wrong with crafts, sugar, and spending time with friends. It gets everybody in the Christmas spirit and allows for everyone in the church to experience the joy of Christmas through a child's eyes.
I remember going to Advent festivals growing up and all of my memories are great. You can't go wrong with crafts, sugar, and spending time with friends. It gets everybody in the Christmas spirit and allows for everyone in the church to experience the joy of Christmas through a child's eyes.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Church Calendar Part 1
The Church Calendar: Part 1
Call to Worship
(Sung to “The Bear Went over the Mountain”)
Let’s worship God, let’s worship God, let’s worship God,
With joyful hearts, with joyful hearts, with joyful hearts,
Let’s worship God with joyful hearts!
Joys and Concerns
Have the children share a few joys and concerns they have and follow with a prayer thanking God for our joys and asking God to be with us in our concerns.
Sharing
Ask: What is your favorite season? (Summer, Winter, etc.)
Listening
We keep track of time and seasons of the year by using calendars. Did you know there is a calendar of seasons just for church? The church uses the seasons of the year as an opportunity for festivals and holidays, and sacred time set aside to worship God.
The Church Calendar focuses on the life and ministry of Jesus. We learn about what happens at the manger, listen on a hillside, walk the streets of Jerusalem, hear the roar of a mob of people, stand beneath the cross, and see the resurrection! The rest of the church year gives us a chance to understand God’s relationship to us, God’s people.
The Christian calendar is organized around two parts of Sacred Time: Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany; and Lent, Holy Week, and Easter, ending at Pentecost. The rest of the year after Pentecost is known as Ordinary Time. Ordinary Time is used to learn about our Faith, especially the mission of the church in the world.
It is important for us to learn about the church calendar. It helps understand what God has done, what God is doing, and what God will do.
Exploring
Teaching the Church Year
The following ideas have been adapted from the lower elementary level of the Alleluia curriculum, published by Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis MN.
Create a six-step liturgical-year path on the floor (see descriptions of steps below). Have the children examine the path, explaining that each color represents a part of our church's celebrations. The path is like a whole year of worship and celebration in the church. Permit them to walk over the path. Ask the children to be seated around the path. Tell them that the color of each step is the color used to celebrate a season or special day in the church year. The church year is different from our calendar year. It begins not in January but during the season when we get ready for Jesus' birthday—a season we call Advent.
Step 1. Advent (purple). A time in the church year to get ready for Jesus' coming to earth. Advent means "coming" (Advent candles).
Hand the Christmas symbol to a child to place on the step next to Advent. Continue to have the children mark the steps with the appropriate symbols as you briefly describe how the seasons remind us of what God has done for us.
Step 2. Christmas (white). The celebration of Jesus' coming to be our Friend (manger).
Step 3. Epiphany (white and green). The season when we celebrate the three kings coming to find Jesus. Jesus came for all people everywhere (king's crown).
Step 4. Lent (purple). The time when we remember Jesus’ death (crown of thorns).
Step 5. Easter (white). The resurrection of Jesus, when we celebrate with great joy that Jesus rose from death to live again (butterfly).
Step 6. On Pentecost (red) we celebrate God's sending the Holy Spirit to us. The Sundays after Pentecost (green) remind us how to live and grow in our Christian lives (leaves).
AUTHOR Colette Volkema DeNooyer
Benediction
Say: Loving Creator, Thank you so much for all of the wonderful seasons of the church. Amen.
Call to Worship
(Sung to “The Bear Went over the Mountain”)
Let’s worship God, let’s worship God, let’s worship God,
With joyful hearts, with joyful hearts, with joyful hearts,
Let’s worship God with joyful hearts!
Joys and Concerns
Have the children share a few joys and concerns they have and follow with a prayer thanking God for our joys and asking God to be with us in our concerns.
Sharing
Ask: What is your favorite season? (Summer, Winter, etc.)
Listening
We keep track of time and seasons of the year by using calendars. Did you know there is a calendar of seasons just for church? The church uses the seasons of the year as an opportunity for festivals and holidays, and sacred time set aside to worship God.
The Church Calendar focuses on the life and ministry of Jesus. We learn about what happens at the manger, listen on a hillside, walk the streets of Jerusalem, hear the roar of a mob of people, stand beneath the cross, and see the resurrection! The rest of the church year gives us a chance to understand God’s relationship to us, God’s people.
The Christian calendar is organized around two parts of Sacred Time: Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany; and Lent, Holy Week, and Easter, ending at Pentecost. The rest of the year after Pentecost is known as Ordinary Time. Ordinary Time is used to learn about our Faith, especially the mission of the church in the world.
It is important for us to learn about the church calendar. It helps understand what God has done, what God is doing, and what God will do.
Exploring
Teaching the Church Year
The following ideas have been adapted from the lower elementary level of the Alleluia curriculum, published by Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis MN.
Create a six-step liturgical-year path on the floor (see descriptions of steps below). Have the children examine the path, explaining that each color represents a part of our church's celebrations. The path is like a whole year of worship and celebration in the church. Permit them to walk over the path. Ask the children to be seated around the path. Tell them that the color of each step is the color used to celebrate a season or special day in the church year. The church year is different from our calendar year. It begins not in January but during the season when we get ready for Jesus' birthday—a season we call Advent.
Step 1. Advent (purple). A time in the church year to get ready for Jesus' coming to earth. Advent means "coming" (Advent candles).
Hand the Christmas symbol to a child to place on the step next to Advent. Continue to have the children mark the steps with the appropriate symbols as you briefly describe how the seasons remind us of what God has done for us.
Step 2. Christmas (white). The celebration of Jesus' coming to be our Friend (manger).
Step 3. Epiphany (white and green). The season when we celebrate the three kings coming to find Jesus. Jesus came for all people everywhere (king's crown).
Step 4. Lent (purple). The time when we remember Jesus’ death (crown of thorns).
Step 5. Easter (white). The resurrection of Jesus, when we celebrate with great joy that Jesus rose from death to live again (butterfly).
Step 6. On Pentecost (red) we celebrate God's sending the Holy Spirit to us. The Sundays after Pentecost (green) remind us how to live and grow in our Christian lives (leaves).
AUTHOR Colette Volkema DeNooyer
Benediction
Say: Loving Creator, Thank you so much for all of the wonderful seasons of the church. Amen.
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