Flame: Creative Children's Ministry

 Themes you might investigate: God's love and protection God being with us in good times, hard times and danger Feeling safe Following the shepherd and following God

If you're looking at the story of the road to Emmaus, this is a really effective activity to help explore the theme of recognition and seeing clearly who Jesus is! You will need: A clear glass baking pan, a glass, paint, water, a story or Bible verse sheet (see below). Mix some paint and water so that you have a cloudy but not thick mixture. Do NOT mix this in the baking pan as the sediment sticks to the glass bottom and makes it hard to see the pictures!  Pour the paint mixture into the pan. Put the sheet you are using under the pan and push the bottom of a glass onto the bottom of the tray to reveal the pictures underneath! Either: Reveal pictures that tell parts of the story and see if children can recognise which part of the story the picture relates to. Or Reveal numbered parts of a bible verse from the story and put them all in the correct order. Talk about what a 'fire' burning inside you might mean! To print off both of the above options, click here.

 This Sunday, as we journey through the resurrection story, we get to the story of the disciples who meet Jesus on the road to Emmaus.  This play dough mat will help children to explore the story they've heard, while also creating something with their hands.  Click here to print off the sheet. As usual, cover with a plastic sleeve and you'll be able to use it again! Extra things to talk about as you create a path: I wonder... ...how the disciples felt when the stranger joined them? ...where have you seen Jesus breaking and sharing bread before? ...what it felt like to recognise Jesus? ...why Jesus vanished/

 Here is a useful colouring sheet if you are exploring the story of Jesus appearing to his disciples in John 20. It captures the moment when Jesus invites Thomas to put his hands in the wounds from the cross and to check how real he is.  To print out the sheet click here: Colouring gives a great window of opportunity for reflection and discussion. Have a think about these things: I wonder why Thomas is uncertain? I wonder what questions you would have had if you had been there? I wonder if you have ever seen something unbelievable?

Story Cubes are a great way of both telling and recalling parts of a story. With this cube, tell the story of Holy Week and then throw the cube to remember individual events. There are 2 versions- a colour your own page and a page that is already coloured and labelled. Use one or both! Click here to download and print. Think about all of the things that happen- Palm Sunday, Last supper, Garden of Gethsemane, Crucifixion, Burial in the tomb and resurrection and wonder about them. I wonder... ...which part of the story is your favourite? ...which part of the story makes you ask a question? ...where you are in this story?

  I love investigating what is going on generally in the creative world and I've recently been massively inspired by the work of Anna Bruder at A Line Art - particularly her recent work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Click here to see all about that! It struck me that bringing colour to black and white flowers was a really powerful symbol of the new life of Easter Day, so that's what we will be doing in our Easter day service. My plan is to give everyone who comes a flower and to invite them, at any point in the service to come and fill the flower with colour at one of our craft tables. We'll then use them at the end of the service as a symbol of the new life of the resurrection and create a flower garden. This works particularly well if you are using the passage from John's gospel where Jesus is mistaken for the gardener. Here's a quick how to: Print some flower shapes onto card (if you want to use mine, click here ). Stick the flower head to a paper st...