Flame: Creative Children's Ministry

For some reason, the lectionary has given us three consecutive weeks on Jesus the living bread in John 6, so here is something to help children to engage with what can be quite an abstract concept! You will need: 2 copies of the printable sheet, card, glue, a laminator (optional) Print off the sheet here   (or here if you would prefer pictures with labels) Cut out the pictures individually and glue them to pieces of card so that the picture can't be seem through the back.  I also laminated mine to make them more long lasting (I intend to make good use of them!) Lay the cards face down and take it in turns to turn two cards over. If your cards match, keep the pair. If they don't match, turn them over again and wait for your next turn to try again. The person who has the most pairs at the end of the game is the winner. Talk about:  Can you name the different types of bread? Which one do you like most? Which have you never tried? What do...

For those of you who have followed this blog over a period of time, you will probably know that last month saw the publication of my first book.  I am so excited about it! The book looks amazing and has loads of ideas for helping you to introduce Holy Communion to under 5s.  There are play sessions for Creche areas, sessions for more formal children's church settings and ideas for when you have no children's groups at all. There is also a section for what families can do at home to explore the main themes. What is extra great about this book is that it comes with downloadable and printable material.  To give you a taster, here is one of the play dough mats that links with a session exploring what it means to be part of God's big family.   To print click here You can buy the book here (overseas postage is available) or on Kindle here. Have fun!

This is a game we played with our children when we were teaching them about what Holy Communion was.  Different symbols are used to help explain different aspects and themes of the liturgy and the children quickly started to make associations! Bread and wheat- Jesus as the bread of life/ bread used as his body at the last supper Grapes and cup- Wine used at the last supper (also linked to the true vine) Cross- remembering Jesus' death Dove- The Holy Spirit is present Heart - Jesus' love for us People- We all come together to share communion as part of God's big family  World- we pray for the world and remember that Jesus came for all of us Handshake- sharing the peace and forgiving others before taking communion You will need: two copies of the printable sheet, glue, 20 small cards (big enough to glue the pictures onto) Cut out the pictures.  You should have 20 (2 of each symbol).  Stick each picture onto a separate piece of card so that t...

As part of our series looking at Holy Communion we spent some time thinking about community, the sign of peace and what it means to make peace with others.  Here's what we did! Game: stand a stick of spaghetti into a bit of play dough and then thread cheerios onto it.  How many cheerios can you get on the stick in 1 minute? Eat the cheerios and then start again.  This game then leads on to talking about bringing people together as a community, which is what we do in the church family. Talk about:  belonging to our own families and to God’s family   How do you show that you belong to a group? Everyone is welcome in God’s family and it doesn’t matter who you are or what you have done or if you get on with that person! Think about  the part in the liturgy where we say “peace be with you’ and then we reply ‘and also with you’ What does peace mean? How does it feel if peace is ‘with you’? What does it mean to make peace? Why do you...

Over the next 4 weeks or so, the whole church (adults and children) is looking at and learning about various aspects of Holy Communion: what it is, why we do it, signs, symbols, stories and liturgy.  At the end of the series, we will have a special celebration where I will preside at communion for the first time and one of our children will take her first communion.  It is actually quite exciting to all be learning together! We have set up a 'treasure chest' for children to role play with during the service, using an old box we found in an antique shop.  This is what we put inside... Handkerchiefs in the 4 liturgical colours (plus extra white ones for children to use as purificatory to wipe the cup with), wooden crosses and doves. A felt book of church symbols (see a future post on this!) Some metal cups and plates found for a bargain price in a charity shop, some wooden bread, hearts, battery operated candles and a globe ball. We pu...

I had a lovely time recently, learning about liturgy boxes and how toys and other items can help children (including under 5s) to interact with parts of liturgy, especially when there are no formal children's activities. Carloynn over at the Spiritual Child Network  has put together details of how liturgy boxes work with some great  examples .  Using those ideas as a springboard I've come up with a selection of items to help children interact with parts of the Communion liturgy.  It probably works best with some guided adult interaction to start off with, but children will become more familiar as they get used to the objects and symbols!  Have a go and let me know how it works for you... Gathering/ worship/ awe and wonder: Dancing ribbons, shakers, a simple kaleidoscope and a reflection bottle. Confession: A holding cross Word/ Bible reading: Bible story books Intercessions: Play people and a globe ball Eucharistic...

This is the last sheet in the series of reflective colouring based on Holy Communion.  This sheet explores what it might mean to be 'sent out' in God's name.   Click here to print out the sheet. Have fun reflecting!

This is the next in the series of Holy Communion colouring sheets, to go along with the Gathering  and 'We are one body. '   This sheet shows in a symbolic way some of the stories that flow out of the Bible.  Have fun working out which stories are shown! Click here  to print out the sheet and get colouring...

A while back, a friend suggested that it would be good to have a reflective colouring sheet to fit different parts of the communion service.  This would help children, hopefully, to recognise parts of the liturgy and to reflect a little on what was happening.   Always one to rise to a challenge, here is the first in the set: the gathering... Click here   to print off the sheet and get colouring! Things to talk about: Whay do we come together in church?  What does it mean for the Lord to be 'with you'? Have you ever felt that God is with you? Pray: That God will be with us, our family and friends in the coming week.

I've been thinking recently about the symbols of Holy Communion and how we can help children to connect with the liturgy and actions of the service.  Here is a reflective colouring sheet I've come up with as part of that process! Click here to print out the sheet and get colouring!

Here are some ideas for activities if you want to try out Messy Communion!  Our celebration section wasn't officially communion, but we talked about the last supper and shared some bread and wine in a very open and mToving way.  Here are the crafts and activities we did before the celebration started...  Last Supper Play dough mats.  Click  here  to print.  Memory game tray: study the tray, then remove an item and guess what's missing  Making toast (use a bread stamp to stamp a message on the bread first!)  Remember me jigsaws.  Click  here  to print, then laminate and cut up!  Making grape juice  Decorating special cups Easter Word Searches Bread and juice to share

Here's another play dough mat- this time to help children to reflect on the last supper.  It might also come in handy when helping children to understand what communion is about. Click here to print, then laminate if possible (to make it reusable!) then get the play dough out!