Children
Love is in the Corners
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 15:19 — johnbubbThis is a paper exercise that I do with young children. After seeking their thoughts on what love is and how we share our love, I ask them to consider that this sheet of paper represents all of the love they have inside them. I then tear the sheet in half and give half to one of the children. I then tear my paper in half again, asking the child to tear their paper also. Now we have four owners of pieces of paper. I then ask the children how they feel about this exercise and how this really represents how love is shared. After a brief discussion we discover that love is not represented by the size of the piece of paper. I then ask them to count the corners on their piece of paper – to no-one’s surprise they each have four corners. This gives me an opportunity to talk more widely about love – that we do not lose love when we give it away and no matter how many times one divides their love among others, they still retain their own store of love. I also like to note that love most often happens in small corners – between one, two or a few people.
But an amazing fact is that if each recipient of a piece of paper were to give one piece to a different person each time they tore it in half, within only 34 rounds of tearing everyone in the whole world would have a piece of it. Now it may be hard to love the whole world - but if we make a start, with one person at a time we can make a major difference.
A Pentecost Children's Time
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 16:25 — richard.bottGetting a hard-boiled egg into a narrow necked bottle and out again
Good morning. Do you remember the name of last Sunday? Ascension Sunday, which, was about Jesus' values being uplifted to all the earth and we being uplifted by them. And this Sunday is? Pentecost. Jesus was born at Christmas, dies on Good Friday, rose on Easter, ascended on Ascension day 10 days ago, and came to us in spirit on the Jewish festival of Pentecost -to energize us, inspire us, direct us and walk with us. Pente? Know why the Pentagon is called the Pentagon? –Perhaps you've heard of the Pentateuch -1st 5 books of the Bible?. Pentecost is 50 days after Easter. Its about newness, hope, energy, imagination
I've brought an egg with me this morning. This one is hard-boiled and without a shell. We seem to have a fascination with eggs in the church? Why eggs at Easter? There's a lot to use up if yuopu don't eat them during Lent so we paint them etc.
Eggs don't appear all that ready to burst into new life, but from what looks like a stone, they do hatch into something much more wonderful, don't they, -that's much more lively and beautiful, and that sings.
Well let's say this egg is a human being. Even with all that Easter hope, do you ever get lonely? What would you say is the best cure for loneliness? That's right. Find a friend.
Well this bottle here, could be the church, where the friends are and God and fullness. (I use an ancient milk bottle, but a juice bottle whose opening is just a little smaller than the egg is as good, with perhaps a touch of oil on the opening)
Let's say this egg is a human being. Even with all that Easter hope, do you ever get lonely? What would you say is the best cure for loneliness? That's right. Find a friend.
Well this bottle here, could be the church, where the friends are and God and fullness. (I use an ancient milk bottle, but a juice bottle whose opening is just a little smaller than the egg is just as good, with perhaps a touch of oil on the opening)
So shall we see if we can get this lonely egg into this fellowship? It doesn't seem to want to go! If I push, what will happen? If it was you, would you want me to push? We'd have a Humpty Dumpty, or scrambled eggs; and we do want her to get in, in one piece don't we.
Well, the Pentecost story has the disciples gathered in a room, and there is a mighty wind, and tongues of fire on their heads whatever that was, and they experienced Gods’ spirit. God put a spark in them. I'd like to use to show you, God's spark, God's Fire and Wind, how God’s spirit helps us to be happier and live fuller lives. First, we'll roll up a little piece of paper, light it to make fire, and drop in into the bottle. Now when we set the egg on top, she just kind of slips in, or is pulled in, on her own. -Swoosh. Wow! Wind!
Now Jesus said that the full life is in going in and coming out (John 10). Did any of you bring your sleeping bags with you? You mean you're not staying over night? Of course not. We come here to be with friends with one another and God, -in order to leave again. We come in, in order to go out. That's our sense of call, to go out into the world to make a difference. So how are we going to get this egg out in one piece. It won't fall out will it? I can't pull it out. It's still bigger than the opening. The way is narrow. If it was you would you want me to stick a fork in to try to pull you out? Well God’s Pentecost wind or breath shows how God's spirit helps us move in -and out into the world.
(Turn the bottle upside down so the egg rests in the neck, touching on all sides. Now strongly blow air up past the egg, and the egg acting like a valve will plop out intact into your hand.) Well she’s a little damaged, but getting born again is no piece of cake, and this is no easy birth canal; Jesus spoke of the narrow way. When God's breath is allowed into God's fellowship, God's people are inspired to come in to find friends, and to go out to be friends. May we enjoy coming, and may we enjoy going, as disciples.
A similar approach would be to use a corn popper, with heat and air transforming cold & hard corns to light, fluffy, dynamic, nurturing, accessible, fun.
A 'Teaching' Communion Liturgy
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 11:13 — richard.bottPrior to my arrival at St. Marys United Church, children did not regularly participate in communion. We realized that part of the worry for some in the congregation is that the children didn't “understand” what was happening. As one of the ways of helping people to get past this fear, this liturgy was created.
The children headed to Sunday School for the first part of the service, to worship together, and to do some exploration about communion. They joined the rest of the congregation during the hymn before communion.
To help the children (and everyone else) learn a bit more about communion, I put together the following liturgy. As I searched for some way of integrating questions and answers into the eucharistic form traditionally used in that congregation, I remembered the Passover hagadah of our Jewish sisters and brothers. The maggid section of the hagadah is focused on helping everyone at the table to integrate the experience of the exodus from Egypt into their own being.
It struck me that this was exactly what we were trying to do with this communion service - help everyone at the table to integrate this part of the Christ storing into our own being.
A Walk? Sure! An Exodus Drama
Wed, 05/05/2010 - 22:48 — richard.bottA dramatic (and comedic) retelling of Moses' and the Israelites exodus from Egypt. Seven people plus congregation: Storyteller, Moses, God and Chorus.
A Family Christmas
Wed, 05/05/2010 - 22:38 — richard.bottA take-home resources to support families worshiping together at Christmas. Includes prayers and graces appropriate for an intergenerational gathering.
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