PENTACOST: A sensory exploration of the Revised Common Lectionary involving ideas to include even the youngest.

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 and for the Word of God.

Today we celebrate teh day of PENTECOST. It is the start of the longest season of the year and the Liturgical colour today is RED.

If you are worshipping from home you may like to set up a worship area and define it with a red, placemat, or ribbons or you might like to decorate your home or worship area, and you will find some ideas to do this in an earlier blog of mine.

You can do this by 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.

THEME SONG SING Full of the Spirit by Heather Price on her Full of the Spirit Album

Acts 2:1-21
or
Genesis 11:1-9
Psalm 104:24-34 and 35bRomans 8:14-17
or
Acts 2:1-21
John 14:8-17 and (25-27)

Above is a list of all 4 sets of readings for today.

As each reading is rich in imagery, my sugestion today is to take each reading, be it from a Children’s Bible or a from BibleGateway, or even from a Children’s story book or the Bible you prefer to read. There are many choices of Bible types and languages on the Bible gateway site.

Those who can read can start by marking their bible with a different colour for each of the senses, for each of the readings. If you would prefer you could print off the texts from Biblegateway for this task. (i really understand the concept of not drawing on books, but this is also good practice in helping your child to make their bible theirs)

My suggestions are that you use RED, for Touch;

BLUE for Visuals or things we see;

ORANGE for Taste;

PURPLE for Sounds or Hearing; and

GREEN for smells

For those who are not yet reading, print off the above pictures and have your child point to them, when they hear of a sense in the Bible reading, as it is being read aloud to them.

Here are some questions you might like to ponder when you read each of the Bible Readings?

I wonder what senses we could do without?

I wonder what sense helps us understand God more?

How did the senses help you understand the reading?

You might like to respond to today’s reading by constructing a sensory response to what you have read, for example using pieces from nature to constuct something or use to create a picture. Eg. or

SENDING HYMN 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. Please acknowedge this page if you find it useful. Thank you.

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

I have qualifications in Education, Theology and Children’s Spirituality, and have worked as a Children and Families Worker in a city church. I use simple and easily found ideas to help you share the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) readings. This is a ONE STOP SHOP where I have done the sifting for you to find theologically and developmentally appropriate material for your congregation or family, saving you time from sifting through many websites, facebook , pinterest, instagram, and blog posts.

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Pentecost: Ideas to help you share this weeks RCL readings with the 3’s and under.

Don’t forget to wear RED to Church today.

Point out the change in colour and any other special decorations that might in the Church today.

How wonderful that you have bought your young child to church, don’t waste this opportunity to share the faith stories and experience the wonder of worship.

If you are a parent or Guardian

Prepare a special church bag in advance each week so that you are ready for the rush on Sunday Morning.

Sit towards the front so they can see what is going on.

Sing or sway during the Hymns

Read during the Bible readings,

Pray during the prayers,

Colour, Draw or Craft during the sermon.

Craft or drawing or play are for spiritual responses not for a perfectionist piece that can be shown off. Don’t throw these out when you leave the church. Keep them at home in a special box, and bring them out to remind your child what has been happening or use as future prayer points.

Remember that little ones will need their own space to move and wiggle,

You have bought your child to worship. Enjoy engaging them in it.

If you are a small congregation without a Child and Family Minister have an area available near the front for parents/guardians to worship with their children, and print off this information so that it is readily available or direct them to this site. Set up an area with books and toys in it that will enhance their spiritual experience. (Ie not just toys for “keeping them quiet”).Spiritual Delights or Toy Box tat! andMake the books appealing

If you would like these ideas as a PDF file sent to you each week, please contact me.

FIRST READING: Acts 2:1-21

READ: The Day When God Made Church by Rebekah McLeod Hutto https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=The+Day+when+God+Made+Church&ref=nb_sb_noss

or My First Read Aloud Bible by Batchelor and Boshoff, The Holy Spirit pp.234-235

or The Lion Story Book Bible, The Day of Pentecost, p. 228

or The Beginner’s Bible, The Holy Spirit Came, pp.473-476

or The Jesus Storybook Bible, God Sends Help, pp. 326-330

or Bible for Kids App Holy Spirit Comes https://bibleappforkids.com https://bibleappforkids.com/parents/bible-story/2109/the-holy-spirit-comes

Colouring -In https://bibleappforkids.com/parents/bible-story/2109/the-holy-spirit-comes

or COLOURING-IN: https://store.illustratedchildrensministry.com/collections/coloring-sheets-posters/products/bible-story-coloring-pages-spring-2019 PURCHASE IS DOWNLOADABLE  AND IS IN AMERICAN DOLLARS FOR 14 WEEKS (Last WEEK)

MAKE: A Pentecost hat like https://buildfaith.org/pentecost-tongue-of-fire-hat/ but i would add blue streamers to the bottom of the band to suggest the wind, and write God Loves in as many languages as you can on the band to suggest the languages in which people could here.

IF you are part of the Uniting Church in Australia, make the flame out of the dove red shape in our logo. https://assembly.uca.org.au/resources/logos This will familiarise your children with the logo prior to the UCA Anniversary on the 22/6.

For other suggestions https://wordpress.com/post/thecrossinmybackyard.wordpress.com/221

OR Genesis 11:1-9

READ: The Lion Story Bible, The Tower of Babylon, pp.24-25

or The Beginner’s Bible, The Tall Tower, pp.34-38 (NOTE: American spelling)

or The Jesus Storybook Bible, p.48-55

or The Lion Picture Bible, The tower of Babel, pp.34-37

BUILD: Your own tower of babel, use bocks to see how tall you can get it before it falls down.

PRAY: As you place a brick on your tower pray for someone or something who needs God’s support.

Colouring In; https://christianpreschoolprintables.com/tower-of-babel-printables/

 

PSALM 104:21-34, 35b

READ: GOD Made by Stephanie Carmichael

OR https://www.psalmsforkids.com/psalm-104/

DRAW: Anything that God made

OR Draw the images in each verse of the Psalm

SECOND READING: Romans 8:14-17

READ/WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vwiaQTvH0U We Belong together: A Book about adoption and families by Todd Parr

as suggested by http://storypath.upsem.edu/lectionary-links-sunday-may-19-2013/

OR if tell their own adoption story if that is your situation

PLAY: A matching game, what goes with what. This can be done as a card game, but can be just as effective, very simply using what you have with you. For example foot/shoe, or sock/shoe, texta/paper, money/plate, plate/food, etc.

PRAY: Thank you God for wanting us to be in your family

Amen.

 

OR Acts 2:1-21

READ: The Day When God Made Church by Rebekah McLeod Hutto https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=The+Day+when+God+Made+Church&ref=nb_sb_noss

or My First Read Aloud Bible by Batchelor and Boshoff, The Holy Spirit pp.234-235

or The Lion Story Book Bible, The Day of Pentecost, p. 228

or The Beginner’s Bible, The Holy Spirit Came, pp.473-476

or The Jesus Storybook Bible, God Sends Help, pp. 326-330

or Bible for Kids App Holy Spirit Comes https://bibleappforkids.com https://bibleappforkids.com/parents/bible-story/2109/the-holy-spirit-comes

Colouring -In https://bibleappforkids.com/parents/bible-story/2109/the-holy-spirit-comes

or COLOURING-IN: https://store.illustratedchildrensministry.com/collections/coloring-sheets-posters/products/bible-story-coloring-pages-spring-2019 PURCHASE IS DOWNLOADABLE  AND IS IN AMERICAN DOLLARS FOR 14 WEEKS (Last WEEK)

MAKE: A Pentecost hat like https://buildfaith.org/pentecost-tongue-of-fire-hat/ but i would add blue streamers to the bottom of the band to suggest the wind, and write God Loves in as many languages as you can on the band to suggest the languages in which people could here.

IF you are part of the Uniting Church in Australia, make the flame out of the dove red shape in our logo. https://assembly.uca.org.au/resources/logos This will familiarise your children with the logo prior to the UCA Anniversary on the 22/6.

For other suggestions https://wordpress.com/post/thecrossinmybackyard.wordpress.com/221

GOSPEL READING: John14:8-17 (25-27)

READ: The Lion Picture Bible, The promised Gift, pp.344-345

or The Jesus Storybook Bible, God send Help, p.326

or The Rhyme Bible Storybook p.344 (last page)

Colour IN : When promises are made they are often sealed with a ring, ie your wedding or engagement ring. Because making a ring might cause a chocking hazard, I suggest you talk about your special promise rings and Colour in a ring http://www.supercoloring.com/coloring-pages/rings

or https://www.momjunction.com/print-coloring-image/?pageid=120506&print=2014/12/Diamond-Ring

PRAY;

Thank you God,

that you keep your promises

Amen

 

NOO! You are not finished even if the service has.

Now is the time to continue teaching your child beyond the walls of the church. 

Make or buy a cake, add candles and blow them out then read or retell the Pentecost story

Use the craft or drawings during the week to talk about the service or the stories.

Use any of the readings during the week, at bedtime, as story time or during the day in play or prayer.

Enjoy sharing your faith with your child.

Blessings

Wendy L.