A Spooky Halloween Organ Concert and Tour

I have just come from a wonderful Halloween children’s Organ Concert at church.  There were jack o lanterns at the doors.  The organist wore his black turtleneck sweater (and really needed a cape).  Children and their parents were decked out in their Halloween costumes.  Most were on their way to a community sponsored “trick or treat on the Lawn” at the local university up the block.  The organist played the spooky Halloween organ piece you always hear in haunted houses in shows and a couple of shorter pieces featuring really Halloween-y sounds.  He concluded with a piece he played only with his feet.  The children were then invited up to see the organ.  He showed them several different stops, played a variety of pipes, replayed a riff from the feet-only piece so they could see how fast his feet moved, and answered their curious questions.  It was all over in less than 45 minutes.

But, in that 45 minutes the children experienced a sanctuary that was a fun place to be, got a larger exposure to the organ and it’s possibilities, met the organist who turned out to be sort of a fun guy, and were loved by the church in their Halloween costumes.  I suspect they will listen for the organ in a different way the next time they are in the sanctuary.  Which only proves that worship education comes in many different forms. 

Could you have a Spooky Halloween Organ Concert next year at your church?

Year A - Thanksgiving Day

Apologies to y’all in Canada for posting this when it is of no use at all this year.  But I also have a question – should an Virginia resident presume that she has anything to offer Canadians about their celebration?  Are the US and Canadian Thanksgivings similar or different in subtle, but important ways?  If you are here, speak up in the Comments. 

Even in the US Thanksgiving worship happens in a variety of settings.  I’m guessing some will read these texts at community services.  Others might use them on the Sunday before Thanksgiving (ditching the Christ the King/Reign of Christ texts).  And, who knows how others will use them.  Again, leave a Comment and tell the rest of us how you will use them.

General Thanksgiving Ideas

Involving children in community services is a good way to draw a crowd and to introduce children to their community’s religious base.  Anything that works on Sunday morning will work at a community service.  Particularly good ideas include:

-          Have the children in classes in participating congregations illustrate hymns that will be sung.  Scan their drawings and project them during the singing.

-          Include children’s choirs in the singing.  Either gather children in all the churches into one choir or invite several children’s choirs to sing at different points in the service.  The former requires at least one rehearsal which can be a minus (another meeting) and a plus (chance for children to sing with friends in other congregations and to be in at least one of their buildings).  The latter requires no extra gatherings, but can turn into a choir competition – not terribly conducive to giving thanks.

-          What have you seen well done?

Thanksgiving music for children

-          Before singing the Doxology, invite all the children to meet you at the front.  Note that you are about to sing a song that begins, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.”  Define “blessings” as those things that are so good they make us happy to be alive.  Name one or two of your blessings, then ask the children to name a few of theirs.  (And, yes video games are blessings to certain people.  So, don’t let the congregation laugh at them!)  Then send the children back to their seats to join the congregation in singing the song praising God for all their blessings.

-          In advance get children (maybe in their classes) to draw illustrations of the verses or even phrases of one or more of the songs you will sing.  Scan them and project them while the song is being sung.  Probably the best songs to illustrate are

For the Beauty of the Earth

All Things Bright and Beautiful

-          The old standard Thanksgiving hymns (“Come, Ye Thankful People Come” and “We Gather Together to Ask The Lord’s Blessing”)are not easy for children.  They are filled with unfamiliar vocabulary and metaphorical harvest images.  Older adults learned them at school when they were growing up.  Children today do not. 

-          “We Plow the Seeds and Scatter” is a better harvest hymn.  It sets concrete harvest images to a simple tune. 

-          “Now Thank We All Our God” is a more general thanksgiving hymn children can sing at least parts of.

-          “Grateful,” a song by John Bucchino, is illustrated in a book of the same name that comes with a CD of Art Garfunkel singing the song.  One way to use it in worship is to scan and project the pages, teach the congregation the chorus, then listen to Garfunkel sing joining him on the chorus as the book is projected.  (The seminary professor I saw do this, said she felt she was OK on copyright grounds since she bought the book and absolutely refused to lend her power point of it – “even to my very best friend on a desperate night.”)  The third verse is the most child accessible.  I would start there to introduce the song and define “grateful.”  Many of the ideas in the other verses are beyond the experience of children.

-          What songs would you add?

The Secret of Saying Thanks, by Douglas Wood, insists that giving thanks makes us happy.  “We cannot feel thankful and unhappy at the same time.”  “We don’t give thanks because we’re happy.  We are happy because we give thanks.”  The book can be read in about 8 minutes.  With a small group sharing the pictures as you read is the way to go.  With a larger group, bring props (a big yellow paper sun, a flower, a tree leaf, a rock, a stuffed animal -a bird if you can find one, a shiny silver star cutout, a bottle of water, and a big red paper heart) to display or hand to people nearby as you read the pages about the things which lead us to be thankful.

This is the only Thanksgiving story book I can suggest for use in congregational worship.  I checked out Barnes and Nobles – yech!  And the public library is all about pilgrims and Indians.  Do any of you have favorites to suggest?

Thanksgiving begins with noticing what is all around you.  It is easy to overlook our blessings.  Remind worshipers of Moses noticing the burning bush, stopping to look at it, and meeting God there.  If you used the Moses display earlier in the fall, bring out the candle that you lighted each week to remember the burning bush story.  Then read and discuss Elizabeth Barrett Browning famous poem.

“Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.”
― Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Finally, provide paper and crayons or markers for children (and older worshipers) to write poems or draw pictures of where they see God all around them.

Especially if it is the beginning of Thanksgiving week, assign homework.  Encourage households or individuals living alone to take time once each day this week to list things for which they are thankful.  Suggest that they do it at the same time each day – before or after a meal, at bedtime, whenever works.  Households turn it into a prayer by saying together “we thank you, God” after each thing is named by each person.  Individuals can add the phrase as they identify their blessings.  (If you want, admit that you hope that by doing this every day for a week, people will decide to keep doing it.  You are encouraging a simple daily prayer practice.)

Thanksgiving Day Texts

Deuteronomy 8:7-18

Children will not follow this story as it is read straight through.  To help them reread it as follows:

Ask them (and all worshipers) to close their eyes and see with their imaginations each thing you read about in verses 7-10.  Read slowly pausing between phrases.  Conclude with comments about the good land Moses’ people were entering and the good land in which you live.

If you focused on the Moses story earlier in the fall, go phrase by phrase through verses 14 – 16 recalling the stories to which they connect.

Finally, read verses 11-14b and 17-18 and restate Moses’ warning to those people and to us. 

Psalm 65

This is not the most familiar psalm of Thanksgiving.  Children (and older worshipers) need help identifying the things for which the psalmist is thankful.  So, print it for everyone to see and call for people to point out the things for which the psalmist thanks God.  Don’t let them overlook verse 1’s thanks that God is!  That sets you up to watch for things God does.  After working through the psalm this way, read it aloud in unison or read it aloud with words available for all to follow.

Print the psalm in large print for children and invite them to underline all the things for which the psalmist is thankful and then illustrate the psalm with drawings of those things and others that they would add.

2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Decorate the central table with a cornucopia of fresh fruits and vegetables which God provides.  Bank the table with canned foods that we create using the fresh foods God gave us.  Send all to the area food bank after worship.  Before reading this text, point to this display asking worshipers to listen for its connection to Paul’s message.  Afterwards explore the connection between the gifts on the top of the table and those stacked around the sides.  (Paul said grateful people found ways to share God's with others.)

Grant Wood, "American Gothic."
Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Display this famous picture and ask worshipers to imagine eating dinner with this couple.  Go on to imagine Thanksgiving dinner or a birthday party.  Then read verse 8 asking what Paul might be telling this couple.  You might also offer one or more pictures of very open, happy couples to compare.

.

Luke 17:11-19

Before reading the scripture gather 10 “lepers” at the front.  The lepers might be a collection of folks of different ages – including at least one child.  Or, they might come from a single class of older children, youth, or adults.  As the lepers come forward pose each one handing them, even wrapping them in props that describe the life of lepers.  You will need several big cloth bandages to wrap around limbs.

1.      Instruct one to wrap up an arm as you describe the open, oozing sores. 

2.      Tie a bandage around the head of another, explaining that the sores could show up anywhere, even on your head. 

3.      Put a sticky bandage across another’s nose and imagine what it would feel like if you had sores right in the middle of your face. 

4.      Wrap a bandage vertically around one’s head covering the ears noting that sometimes the sores on ones ears made the ears fall off completely.

5.      Have another make a fist and wrapped it up in a bandage as you point out that fingers often got so diseased that they fell off. 

6.      Hand another a crutch or cane and bend one leg up so their toe just balances on the floor, noting that toes also fell off. 

7.      Tell one to put his/her hands out in the stay away gesture telling how contagious leprosy is and noting that people had to live away from town, often in caves. 

8.      Get another down on knees with hands outstretched to beg explaining that the only way they could get food was for people to bring it to them.  Note that some families regularly brought food to a family member living with the lepers, but others had to beg from passers-by. 

9.      Throw a larger raggedly piece of cloth around the shoulders of another pointing out that they were also dependent on others to bring them clothes which meant they were often wearing dirty ragged clothes.

10.  Sit one down on the floor facing away from everyone with head in hands looking down.  Imagine how discouraged and sad one would get living this way, often for years, with no hope of getting better.

Either pose the lepers then read the story, thank the lepers, and send them back to their seats. 

OR

Involve the lepers in telling the rest of the story.  (This will require one brief rehearsal with the lepers.)

Point out that one day all these lepers saw Jesus coming.  Knowing that he had cured people with many diseases they called out to him saying “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”  Ask several of the lepers or people in the congregation to say the phrase the way they think the lepers would have said it.  Instruct the lepers to be ready to say the phrase when it appears in the story.  Then go to the lectern to read the story.  Point to the lepers to call out in verse 13.  All lepers then all move slowly off toward the side in verse 14.  The tenth leper who was discouraged slowly turns and comes back to the center facing the reader, kneels and raises his or her arms in praise.  The reader takes the role of Jesus, stepping toward the leper, reciting verses 17-19 while holding out a hand to the leper, pulling him to his feet, and turning him to join the others.  The leper walks off.  The reader turns to the congregation to say “The Word of the Lord.”

Go to Year C - Proper 23, 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time which includes the story about the ten lepers for ideas about identifying blessings.  Also, see more general thanksgiving suggestions at the beginning of this post.

Year A - Proper 29, Christ the King, the Reign of Christ (November 20,2011)

This Sunday is New Year’s Eve in the church year.  We conclude the year remembering that Christ is the beginning and end of all life and remembering his story as we have followed it through the concluding year. Next Sunday we begin again.  That makes this a good opportunity to take the long view of the church year.

Bring out all the seasonal paraments and drape them over the central table in order.  Connect each one to its season. 

I would give this sketch  to an artist in the congregation for "slicking up"

Give the children a coloring sheet of the church year and crayons with which to color in the seasons adding important words and pictures that go with each season.

Devote the whole service or just the sermon to reviewing the year.  Read a key text, talk about the main theme, pray a prayer, and sing a song from each season.  Recall the ways your congregation has celebrated each season during the past year.  Praise God for the journey through the seasons each year.

Put the focus on the life of the Lord of the seasons.  Tell a story of Jesus and sing a song about Jesus for each season.  Children who often do not connect all the stories about Jesus into a whole especially benefit from the chance to connect them all.  Adults benefit from rehearsing the long arc of the story and placing it in both all of history and the cycle of the church year.

Christ the King

Go to Year C - Christ the King, Reign of Christ to read about how children understand kings and ideas based on the kind of king Jesus chose to be.

Christ the Cosmic Power

Children are intensely interested in power.  They recognize early that they have very little and aspire to have more.  The parents, teachers, and baby sitters have absolute power.  The biggest and oldest among them have certain power within the group.  They admire superheroes with super powers.  This Sunday says to them that Jesus has all the power in the universe, always has had it and always will.  But Jesus chose not to use that power to get all the good stuff for himself.  Instead he used it to take care of and love people.  He calls himself a shepherd king.  And, he calls us to use our power in the same caring, loving way. 

AUTHORITY   DOMINION   REIGN  RULE  POWER

Children need help with biblical power vocabulary.  Authority, dominion , reign (sounds like a weather event to non-readers), even rule are unfamiliar terms.  Choose one or two to use today.  Make one or all of them into a POWER POSTER printing the words in big powerful fonts.  

Christ, the Shepherd King

Sheep and shepherds appear in several of the day’s texts.  At the beginning of worship give children strips of small sheep stickers and instruct them to listen for the sheep in the songs, stories, prayers and sermon and to place a sticker in their printed order of worship each time they hear one.  (Younger readers will put their stickers anywhere on the page.  More proficient readers can be encouraged to place them at the correct spot on the page – and thus become more familiar with the printed order.)

During a children’s time make shepherd’s crook crosses to take home as Bible bookmarks.  Each child will need one pipe-cleaner to bend into the shepherd’s staff and a 2 inch piece of pipe cleaner to wrap around the staff forming the crossbar.

Few urban or suburban children know much about sheep or shepherding.  For many a shepherd is a fierce guard dog and a staff is a group of people at the school or recreation center.  So display a cuddly stuffed sheep and talk about real sheep who do not smell very good, can’t find their own food, wander off if not watched constantly and  wade into water that can soak their wool and drown them.  As you talk slowly move from cuddling the stuffed sheep to holding it at an arms distance with disgust.  Talk with admiration about the shepherds and the job they do taking care of sheep.  Then, sitting the sheep in a prominent place for the rest of the service, note with surprise that Jesus compared himself to a shepherd and us as his sheep.  Ponder why that fits and point to a song or prayer you will use today that refers to Jesus as shepherd.

Sing “The King of Love My Shepherd Is” or your congregation’s favorite psalm 23 hymn rather than other shepherd hymns.  Most of the images in them are too complex for children to understand.

                   Today’s Texts

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

I was struck by the difference it made when these verses are printed as poetry rather than prose.  All the individual sheep images stand out more clearly.  Go to Hedwyg's Blog to see it.  Print it down the middle of a large sheet of paper leaving lots of marginal space.  Read through it with children talking about the sheep and shepherds, then invite them to illustrate it during worship and post it on the rail at the front of the sanctuary or in some other designated place at the end of worship or at offertory time, if that is appropriate.  Take time to look at and comment on any you see as children leave the sanctuary.

Matthew has Jesus dividing the sheep from the goats.  Ezekiel has the shepherd separating the lean from the fat sheep.  Children understand Ezekiel more readily.  Talk about the ways we push each other around to be first in line or get a good seat on the bus or get to the cookie plate first.  Take time to show where human flanks and butts are and how we use them against each other.  Children are delighted that the word butt is in the Bible and will remember Ezekiel’s message as they engage such shoving matches in the future.

Psalm 100

Turn the psalm into a congregational reading with many short lines that new as well as experienced readers can follow.  (The two groups could be choir and congregation or two halves of the congregation.)

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Psalm 100

Leader:           Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.

Group 1:         Worship the Lord with gladness!

Group 2:         Come into God’s presence with singing!

Leader:           Know this!  The Lord is God.

Group 1:         Know this! We belong to the Lord who made us.

Group 2:         Know this! We are God’s people, and the sheep of God’s 
                                 pasture.

Leader:           So, enter God’s gates with thanksgiving,

Group 1:         Come into the holy courts with praise.

Group 2:         Give thanks to God and bless God’s holy name.

Leader:           For the Lord is good;

Group 1:         God’s steadfast love endures forever,

Group 2:         God’s faithfulness is for all generations.

                    Based on NRSV and Presbyterian Book of Common Worship

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

If you sing “All People That on Earth Do Dwell” in the USA on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, have a soloist or the choir line it out for the congregation.  That is the way the pilgrims sang it.

Psalm 95:1-7a

Psalm 100 may be more familiar to the adults (or some of the adults), but this psalm is filled with simpler references from the created world that children more readily understand. 

Ephesians 1:15-23

Paul insists that Christ is the most powerful force in the whole universe and that Christians can tap into Christ’s power.  Christ, not monsters, evil leaders, bullies, scary storms, or anything else is the most powerful power there is.  When we are connected to Christ and acting as Christ’s servants we also have great power.  The CEV translation of verses 19 -23 makes this clearest to children.

Beatrice’s Goat, by Page McBrier, describes the impact one goat has on a family in central Africa.  The goat gives the children milk to drink, extra milk to sell.  The money enables them to put a tin roof on their little house and to pay for Beatrice to go to school.  She excelled and won a scholarship to a New England prep school.  The goat, from the Heifer Project, was probably purchased by a church or Sunday School class.  Ponder the power of the gift these Christians gave. 

To highlight the last phrase of the Lord’s Prayer and celebrate Christ’s power and glory, create a litany.  Each entry reviews events or the theme of one of the seasons.  The congregation responds, “Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory forever.”  It could be an affirmation of faith following a sermon exploring Christ’s glory and power as seen in the seasons of the church year.  Point out the format before inviting the congregation to join in reading it.

Matthew 25:31-46

Because this is a rather long passage that can lose children in all the words, invite worshipers to join in reading it as a play.  The worship leader sets it up and serves as Narrator.  A second reader stands front and center as the King.  The right half and the left half of the congregation read the appropriate parts.

& & & & & & & & & & & & & &

Matthew 25:31-46

Narrator:  When the Son of Man comes as King and all the angels with him, he will sit on his royal throne, and the people of all the nations will be gathered before him. Then he will divide them into two groups, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the righteous people on his right and the others on his left.   Then the King will say to the people on his right,

King:    Come, you that are blessed by my Father! Come and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world.  I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.

Narrator:  The righteous will then answer him,

Right Side:  When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink?  When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you in our homes, or naked and clothe you?  When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?

King:  I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these members of my family, you did it for me!’

Narrator:  Then he will say to those on his left,

King:  Away from me, you that are under God’s curse! Away to the eternal fire which has been prepared for the Devil and his angels!  I was hungry but you would not feed me, thirsty but you would not give me a drink;  I was a stranger but you would not welcome me in your homes, naked but you would not clothe me; I was sick and in prison but you would not take care of me.

Narrator:  Then they will answer him,

Left Side:  When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison,and would not help you?

King:  I tell you, whenever you refused to help one of these least important ones, you refused to help me.

Narrator:  These, then, will be sent off to eternal punishment, but the righteous will go to eternal life.

                                                            The Good News Bible

& & & & & & & & & & & & & &

Copyright: Jan Richardson
Image available at
janrichardsonimages.com

Methodist minster-artist Jan Richardson created Christ in the Scraps from scraps of paper she had tossed aside while working on other projects.  Help the children find the face by looking first for the eyes, then the nose and mouth.  Ponder how hard it can sometimes be to see Christ’s face in the world around us – especially when that face is found in the trashed, tossed aside, discounted people and places.  For your own enjoyment and to fill out your understanding of this art, read Jan’s description of how she created this face on her blog The Painted Prayerbook.

Display photos of a grand variety of people from around the world.  Select some that are inviting and others that are threatening.  Ask worshipers “Can you see Christ here?”  After discussing which pictures are harder for us to find Christ in, reread all or part of the king’s conversation with the sheep and the goats. 

If you do this as a children’s time, guide the conversation carefully.  It is easy to fall into children’s cute comments about culturally different people.  Actually, this conversation is more powerful as part of the “real” sermon.  Children realize that adults have trouble seeing Christ in some of the pictured people too and the adults can’t write the exercise off as something cute with the kids.  

Year A - Proper 28, 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (November 13, 2011)

Judges 4: 1-7

This year the Nobel Peace Prize is shared by three women from Northern Africa and the middle East.  They look and dress like Deborah would have looked and dressed.  Display pictures of them from the internet and briefly introduce them as you introduce Deborah who was a leader like they are.

Psalm 123

By the time you highlight the servant metaphors in the first part of the psalm and put the last part into words that make sense to children, nobody of any age particularly cares.  So, given the richness of the other texts for the day, I would pass over this psalm today.

Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18

This dire outline of a frightening Day of the Lord is not for children, but adults.  The prophet’s message that people do not believe that God acts in history is beyond a child’s view of the world.  There are other Day of the Lord texts that make more sense to them.

Psalm 90:1-8, (9-11), 12

F If you did not have this psalm read by readers of different ages on October 23, do so today to celebrate God’s presence in the lives of all the generations.  Enlist a child, a teenager, a young adult, a middle aged adult, an older adult and an elderly person, including readers of both sexes.  (I have omitted the verses about our vulnerability before God’s wrath because I think those verses require careful explanations to avoid fearful confusion among children.  The verses below bypass that issue, but still communicate the psalmist’s message.)

& & & & & & & & & & & & & &

Psalm 90:1-6, 12

Reader 1:      Lord, you have been our dwelling place

in all generations.

Reader 2:      Before the mountains were brought forth,

or ever you had formed the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

Reader 3:      You turn us back to dust,

and say, “Turn back, you mortals.”

Reader 4:      For a thousand years in your sight

are like yesterday when it is past,

or like a watch in the night.

Reader 5:      You sweep them away; they are like a dream,

like grass that is renewed in the morning;

in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;

in the evening it fades and withers.

Reader 6:      So teach us to count our days

that we may gain a wise heart.

                                                                                                NRSV

& & & & & & & & & & & & & &

F Use this psalm praising God to invite worshipers to flip through the section of hymns praising God in your hymnal.  You could simply point out a few of those sung often in your congregation and briefly highlight a key phrase in each one.  Or, you could have a singing sermon in which you speak briefly about the message of several hymns, singing verses or whole hymns together as you go.  Some that children can sing at least parts of include:

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

Immortal, Invisible God Only Wise

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

God, You Spin the Whirling Planets

I Sing the Mighty Power of God

There’s A Wideness in God’s Mercy

F The  hymn “Our God Our Help in Ages Past” is based on this psalm.  If you sing it, take time to point out the connection and put one or two verses into your own words.  Verse 3 about a thousand ages being like an evening to God fascinates children when it is pointed out.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

F Print on bulletin covers, project, or enlarge and display a copy of Gustave Dure’s version of the Last Judgment (it is in the public domain).  It is hard to see details, but point out the sweep of the image with God at the top surrounded by light and figures in the light, angels casting out those who have been judged in the middle and figures falling into the darkness at the bottom.  Point out that there are lots of such scary pictures and that they are truly frightening.  Even, by the time Paul was writing letters to his friends people had seen or heard about such pictures and were scared.  Then clearly state that Paul insisted that they need not be frightened or worried.  Paul told them that they would be at the top in the light near God in such pictures.  Introduce the terms “children of light” and “children of dark”, then read the text.

F Verse 11 probably offers most to children.  Paul says because they are children of light they can have hope.  They belong to God no matter what happens around them.  Given that, they can love and support each other.  A simple true example of this happened in my church school class last week. 

A teacher leaned in to tell a very squirmy, wiggly first grader lying next to her that she needed to do something with her feet so she would not accidently kick and hurt the girl in front of her.  That girl turned around, scooted over a little on the floor and said, “You could come sit beside me.”  The squirmer smiled, sat up straight and scooted up.  The two later worked on a craft project together.  That is the kind of encouragement Paul is talking about.

F Go to Rumors: Sermon Helps for Preachers with a Sense of Humor and scroll about two thirds of the way down the blog to find “When You Thought I Wasn’t Looking” a poem about parents encouraging their children.  You might create other tributes following the poet’s format, “When you though I wasn’t looking, I saw… and I learned.”  You might even create some about what you have learned from the congregation.  Encourage worshipers to create some of their own for people who are shaping their lives.  Children might use this worksheet to write or draw their own verses.

F Before singing “God of Grace and God of Glory,” briefly identify it as a hymn the Thessalonian Christians could have sung after reading Paul’s letter. The verses sing of all the hard things people face.  The chorus is a response to those hard things. Point out the repeated words in the chorus and encourage young worshipers to sing them even if they can’t read all the other words. 

Matthew 25:14-30

F The Contemporary English Version of the Bible calls the money in this parable gold coins rather than talents and provides a good reading of this text.  If you use a translation that calls the money talents, take time before the reading to remind young worshipers that a talent was a coin in Jesus day – a coin that worth a very large amount of money.  Also point out that these talents are not the abilities and skills that we call talents today.  For added emphasis, present a collection of large golden coins (check a party store for Mardi Gras coins year-round).  After defining talent, count coins into the three piles of the beginning of the parable and encourage worshipers to listen for these piles as you read.   

F All the coming and going in this parable makes it ideal for younger children to act out during worship.  You need a minimum of four children, but can add others as the family of the master/mistress.  They will need to rehearse before worship with the reader. Costumes as simple as head scarves and head ties are grand additions for both the actors and the watching congregation.

Setting the stage:

Draw “$$$$” in green marker on 15 brown paper lunch sacks.  Pile 8 of them in one stack to one side for the master to give the servants.  Pile 5 in a second pile and 2 in a third pile.  (These could be in place at the beginning of worship or the reader could take the role of the stage manager putting props in place, briefly explaining what is in each bag, and introducing the actors before going to the lectern to read the story.)

The action:

The master or mistress or master’s family stands by the big pile with the servants in a line before him/her/them as verses 14-15 are read.  He/she/they give the bags to the servants, then move to the edge of the stage.

The first servant takes his/her bags to the pile of 5, adds them, stands behind the pile folding arms across chest and smiling broadly.  (verse 16)

The second adds the two talents to the pile of two and strikes the same happy pose.  (verse 17)

The third sneaks that bag off to one side, covers it with a square of brown cloth or an inverted flower pot, sits in front of it as if to hide it, folds arms over chest with a frown on his/her face.  (verse 18)

When the master/mistress/family returns…

He/she/they go to the first servant, put hands on hips and look at the servant for an explanation (verse 19).  The servant waves one hand over the big pile of bags with a smile.  The master/mistress/family shake the servant’s hand (verses 20-21). 

The process repeats with the second servant (verses 22-23). 

When the master/mistress/family comes to the third servant, that servant does not even stand, but sits scowling as verses 24-27 are read.  The master/mistress then takes the one bag (maybe dusting it off) from the third servant and gives it to the first servant (verse 28-29), then shoos the third servant off the stage (verse 30) and stands between the two servants a hand on each one’s shoulder smiling broadly.

F If it is stewardship season, after exploring the parable offer children (or all worshipers) wrapped hard candies.  You could give them small bags of 5 each or invite them to take two from baskets of candies as they are passed up and down the pews.  One is for them to enjoy now.  The remainder is/are for them to pass to other people to let them know that you care about them.  Suggest that they might want to share a candy with someone in their family to show their love.  Or, they could watch for people who don’t often get such attention – maybe someone at school or other place they go this week.  Tell them that they are stewards of the candies and are to use them to share God’s love. 

Year A – Proper 27, 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (November 6, 2011)

If you are celebrating All Saints Day on November 6, go to Year A - All Saints Day.  If you are following the lectionary for November 6, keep reading.

Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25

F Invite all worshipers to join in the reading of this text.  Take the role of the Narrator, introduce the Joshua reader, and call the congregation to imagine themselves among the Israelites who had come out of the wilderness and were beginning to settle in the Promised Land.  Tell them that Joshua has called a meeting.  Instruct them to stand in place as the people would have stood.  Then, read the text together.

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Joshua 24: 1-3a, 14-25

Narrator: Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God.   And Joshua said to all the people,

Joshua:   Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve God in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.   Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

People:   Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods;  for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. The Lord protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed;  and the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, who is our God.

Joshua:  You cannot serve the Lord, who is a holy God. The Lord is a jealous God; and will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.  If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then God will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good. 

People:  No, we will serve the Lord!

Joshua:  You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.

People:  We are witnesses.

Joshua:  Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.

People:  The Lord our God we will serve and will obey.

                                                                                                Based on NRSV

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F Children get the “make good choices” lecture repeatedly.  They enjoy hearing Joshua give it to the adults.  The text also lets them know that making good choices is something they will not outgrow.  They will be facing hard choices and trying to make good choices when they are parents, even grandparents.  So, they might as well start perfecting their choosing skills now. 

F “Choose Your Own Adventure” is a classic series of books for older children.  On every page readers face choices and are sent to different pages to continue the story based on the choice they made.  Each book contains many, many stories dependant on the readers’ choices.  To explore one of these books in worship, read the introductory page to set the scene.  Then read several of the ending pages.   (They are easy to find because they each bear THE END in large print.)  Be amazed at the very different endings and ponder the choices that would bring the reader to them.  The point of this is to emphasize the importance of choices.

Some story-based children’s video games also require choices that effect dramatically how long you can play, how many points you accumulate, and where you end up. Again, choices matter. Or, choices have consequences.

F One of the difficult choices many children and parents face is whether a child will participate in travel team sports.  Being on a travel team brings more advanced competition and coaching.  It also takes over the whole family’s weekend and wipes out church participation for the season.  This is such a hard choice because it a choice between two good things rather than between good and evil.  You’ve got to decide what your stance on these decisions will be. 

IMO, the church has copped out by not giving families guidance on this.  It is a clear, “choose this day who you will serve” decision.  When families choose the travel team, especially if they choose the travel team repeatedly, children get the clear message that sports are more important than being among God’s people on a regular basis.  While you might not want to say that choosing travel team is always a bad choice, you might want to suggest that families include worship (either in their rooms or visiting churches in the towns where they play) in their weekends.  It might also be a once-for-each-child choice.  A church might also provide “on the road” worship resources for families to pack with their gear.

Psalm 78:1-7

Go to Rumors: Sermon Helps for Preachers with a Sense of Humor and scroll down to a paraphrase of Psalm 78:1-7 by Jim Taylor.  He sets it around the ancient campfires with women gathering the children to hear their wisdom.  Ask one or more women to gather the children around them (possibly around a set, but unlit campfire) and read the paraphrase there.

Amos 5:18-24

The heart of this reading is verse 24, “Let justice roll down like water.”  If you do projections, this calls for a video of a river.  Try this one from You Tube

Or go to http://www.ncwaterfalls.com/video1.htm for a wonderful video of a rushing river carving rocks in Canada.  Personally I prefer this video, but am not sure it can be easily captured and projected clearly.  If anyone finds another rolling water video, please share with the rest of us.

Wisdom of Solomon 6:12 – 16 or Wisdom of Solomon 6:17-20

  

"Figure of Wisdom," stained glass window
 in Unity Church,  North Easton, MA.
Copyright ©2005 by Daniel P. B. Smith
 and released under the terms of
 the GNU Free Documentation license.

Introduce children to the personified Wisdom before reading either of these psalms.  Use the picture to talk about the fact that Wisdom is often pictured as a wise woman with quiet strength and authority.  It might help American children to compare her to the Statue of Liberty which pictures Liberty and a strong tall woman.  Encourage worshipers to listen for other adjectives that describe Wisdom as you read one of the texts. 

Psalm 70

With so much richness in the other texts for the day, I’d skip this psalm with the children – and probably all worshipers.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

F The Christians in Thessalonica, who believed that Jesus’ return was eminent, were worried about the fate of the Christians who died before Jesus returned.  Largely because Paul so clearly settled that question in this text, children today do not ask that particular question.  But they do ask the question, "what happens to us when we die" – more likely, "where is Grandpa now that he has died?"  This text can be used to assure them that when we die we go immediately to be with God and Jesus and are safe there.

F This text also provides an opportunity to speak with children as well as adults about “the rapture” as it appears in lots of current literature.  This text is not so much a calendar of events at the end of time as it is assurance that the dead are safe with God.  Much current literature, e.g. the Left Behind series, however uses this text to build a time line. Be aware that there is a Left Behind series of books for pre-teens that has been widely read and discussed among older children.  This is another situation in which if their church does not speak up about what they are reading and hearing from other children, children are left to draw whatever conclusion they can.  So speak up.

Matthew 25:1-13

F Children need help with a couple of the details in this parable.

Unlike today when the bridesmaids escort the bride to her wedding, in Jesus’ day the bridesmaids escorted the groom to meet the bride for the wedding.  Instead of carrying flowers, they carried oil lamps so that everyone could see how handsome and well dressed (rich) the groom was and the groom could see his way to his bride.

In a day of battery powered flashlight, children need a brief lesson on how to keep an oil lamp burning.  Show an clay lamp (like the one in the picture) and point out where the oil and the wick went.  Or, get a modern floating candle that works just like the oil lamp and actually light it.  Place either in a very visible place for the rest of the service and invite worshipers to listen for ten oil lamps in this parable.

F If you are going to build on the idea that we are called to keep our spiritual lamps burning so that we are always ready to illuminate Christ the Bridegroom, take time to explain oil lamps, specifically list ways we keep our spiritual lamps burning, even sing a few light songs:

Give Me Oil in My Lamp

This Little Light of Mine

F Several commentators worry that this is really an Advent story about staying alert and waiting.  So, get out at least one purple parament or the box with the Advent wreath in it.  Point out that Advent begins in 3 Sundays.  Remind worshipers that Advent is the four weeks before Christmas and is a time when we think about watching and waiting for God.  We tell stories about the surprising ways God came to Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the whole world when God came among us as a baby born in a barn.  Then, fold up the parament or close the box.  Insist that it is not yet Advent BUT….  We watch and wait for God every day of the year, not just the four weeks before Christmas.  The bridesmaids in the story needed to be watching and waiting as they got ready for a wedding.  We need to be watching and waiting as we go to school, play on sports teams, ride in the car with our family, etc.