13th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C, Revised Common Lectionary: ideas to involve even the youngest.(Including ideas for Safe Church Sunday, Father’s Day and Season of Creation)

You have found a collection of ideas to help you contemplate the RCL readings. While designed to be used during a Sunday service at church or by zoom, these readings can also be used during the week to help you remember and build on what you experienced on Sundays. My objective is for faith to be a lived experience and for children to learn how to worship and explore the Bible and pray by participating in Worship with you. The goal here is not for them to learn names or facts though they may want to do that for themselves, but rather to find ways of connecting with the text and sharing that with others. The ideal is to form a life long love of Christ, for the Word of God and to participate in Worship.

We are now in the longest season of the Liturgical calendar, After Pentecost, it is often refered to as Ordinary Time, as no big celebrations occur in this season. The Liturgical colour is Green.

In the Uniting Church in Australia it is also Safe Church Sunday you will find a great colouring in sheet here

Shortened prayer taken from the UCA National Safe Church Unit Resources

God of righteous anger and tender compassion,

May all we do to create safe and welcoming communities

so that your good news might be proclaimed with joy

and children might find life and hope in the gospel. 

Amen

Father’s Day suggestions

Standz has produced a great list of ideas from prayers, songs to activities

Season of Creation

PRAYER

SING/LISTEN this song by Heather Price from the Full of the Spirit Album 8 Nature to Nurture is a beautiful fusion of some of today’s RCL’s theme’s and the Season of Creation.

Activity and prayers from Building Faith some adaption required.

If you are worshipping from home you may like to set up a worship area and define it with a GREEN placemat, or ribbons.

You might like to include items from the special days, such as photo’s of father’s, a personal object that reminds you of your Dad etc, or maybe something that you feel safe with ie a teddy or toy, a butterfly etc. For Season of Creation you might like to add flowers, animal toys, twigs, dirt etc. (This week is Ocean’ s so you might include a shell, some sand or some creatures from the deep) as well as setting up a candle, then add the things that remind YOU of God, a Cross, a Bible that everyone likes to read from, a special object, even something from one of the readings.

If able to worship in the Church buildings pack a special backpack, as well as filling, it with your Covid Safe equipment, add the books or materials required to help your young ones relate to today’s readings.

For adults and older students, you might like to use a journal with which to record anything that grabs your attention during the service. This could be a special, bound book or use your ipad or iphone. You could write a precis of the message (traditional words or pictures), draw, keep a record of emotions and hymns that you did or did not like. You could use a template like this free download. Remember, this is for you, you do not have to show anyone what is in it unless you want to, and you feel safe to do so.

CONGREGATIONAL USE: Though parents are the best at sharing their faith with their children. If you are a small congregation where children are a very small, or rare part of your congregational life, please feel free to make these suggestions available to your congregation. I am very happy for you to copy and paste ideas from here into your own Order of Service or for you to supply a link to this page. An acknoledgement though is always appreciated.

LET’S BEGIN:

THE LORD’S PRAYER:

You might like to start with the Lord’s Prayer if at home, or say the Lord’s Prayer within a set place if following along in a service. Here are 4 options

2 with ACTIONS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOugEQpcc_k OR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMjm93ylL2w

A more contemplative version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NuUo-igXDU&fbclid=IwAR2FasYCU-9mP1PaLQDjweXyhyUnJutt4J28KycjzeUEttWSesipX2jmJxE

Or for a more Intergenerational approach try Number 1 on the Table Settings album by Liturgical Folks

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF COUNTRY

If you are in Australia and attending a Uniting Church in Australia, in many cases an Acknowledgment of Country will be said. You can teach your young ones to do this too.

Prayers of the People

https://www.childrens-ministry-deals.com/blogs/childrens-pastors-only/how-to-pray-the-five-finger-prayer

INTRODUCTORY SONG Hey Ha Ha from the Full of the Spirit Album by

Heather Price Music

FIRST READING: JEREMIAH 18:1-11

READ: Children of God Storybook Bible by Desmond Tutu, Jeremiah and the Boy Prophet, pp.54-55

WATCH a potter making a bowl.

PLAY: I usually don’t recommend using play doh in church as it is messy, but today is the perfect day to indulge. My suggestion is that you bring it either home made or bought in a large shallow plastic (pba free of course) container. Or a large beeswax cloth if noone is allergic to the beeswax. Then let them create.

PRAY:

Roll a small amount of play doh in your hand as you pray

God said he was the potter

and I am the clay.

Mould me God

to be what you want me to be

Amen

PSALM 139:1-6 and 13-18

READ: Snuggle Time Prayers by Glenys Nellist WATCH from the 1.57min point to the 2.22min mark

OR God Knows all about me by Claire Page WATCH

SING/LISTEN: https://www.seedsfamilyworship, When you lie down lullabies scripture songs, number 3, Fearfully and Wonderfully made

OR for a less different version, also from seeds family worship from the power of encouragement album volume-5 Number 5 Wonderfully Made

SECOND READING: PHILOMEN 1-21

READ: Duck! Rabbit! by  Amy Krouse Rosenthal

WATCH:

A Storypath suggestion

DO: For the very young Draw a picture,(may be one of your dad?) then put it in an envelope and address it to your Dad or the Dad substitute in your life. Or you might like to write a letter to your Dad, how would you recommend him to someone else? Tell him in a letter or if you can not give it to him, still write the letter and either keep it or bury it.

PRAY

Help me see (cover your eyes)

From your view God (uncover your eyes)

Amen

GOSPEL READING: LUKE 14:25-33

READ: Fred stays with me by Nancy Coffelt

WATCH

A Storypath Suggestion

Do: What do you have to practice to get better at it, is it drawing, sharing, putting on your socks yourself, somersault,  practice something that is hard to do. Is the struggle worth it?

OR  you might like to make choices, ie do you want the blue or the pink pen, do you want the doll or the teddy, etc.

PRAY

Help me Lord,

to choose you

Amen

SENDING SONG Tell the World by Hillsong Kids Learn the actions here

Blessings

Wendy L.

Please check local guidlines before using items that are not mine especially if you are using this page for congregational use. If you find this page useful an acknowledgment is always appreciated. Thank you.

I am writing this on Wurundjeri land and wish to pay respect to all Elders, past, present and emerging.