NOTE: Because there are so many similarities in
what needs to be considered each Easter, I am reprinting with significant
editing much of the Year A post. That
way you will have what you need in one place.
Do, however, use the Lectionary Index to check out specific resources
for other years.
Good News! He Is
Alive! Alleluia!
The
“good news” of Easter is somewhat different for children and for adults.
U For most children victory over death is not very interesting. The lucky ones have little experience with
death, beyond maybe the death of a pet.
Those who have experienced the death of someone very near to them know
that even on Easter the missed person is still gone. Though most have absorbed some of the
culture’s fear of death, few worry about it very often.
U Similarly, since for children all of life is new every day, Easter
claims of new life are not exactly good news. Butterflies, lilies, and eggs that are often
presented as new life symbols really make more sense to children as Easter
surprise symbols. You don’t expect a
butterfly to emerge from a dead-looking cocoon, a flower to grow from a clumpy
old bulb, candy to come from an egg, or a dead body to come out a tomb alive
again. But on Easter they do. For children, all are good news because they
are surprises about what God can do rather than because they are signs of new
life.
What IS “good news” to children on
Easter is …
U God
is proven the most powerful being in the universe. On Friday the
bad guys thought they had won. They had
killed Jesus and sealed his dead body in a guarded tomb. On Easter, Jesus totally surprised them and
blasted out of that tomb proving that God and God’s ways are the most powerful
power in the universe. It is the
ultimate good guys beat the guys story.
Children, who know themselves to be not very powerful and long to be
more powerful, relish being allied with the most powerful Easter God.
U Children find good news in Jesus’ Easter promise to be with us
always now and even after we die.
Instead of seeing Jesus conquering death, they see Jesus proving that
even after death we are safe with God/Jesus.
It is simply the way things are.
U The third Easter message that is good news for children is Jesus’ forgiveness. This is most clear to children in the stories
of Peter which we will read on the third Sunday of Easter this year.
The vocabulary of Easter is filled with big, hard to pronounce, but
interesting sounding words. They are fun
to define and pronounce together.
“Resurrection”
means “Jesus is alive again!” or “Jesus is not dead anymore!” “He is risen!” can be confusing. It sounds like he got out of bed rather than
came back from being dead. So it helps
to talk about it before asking children to sing or shout it.
“Alleluia!” and “Hallelujah!” sound a lot alike and both mean “Hurray for God!” or
“Look what God has done!”
If an Alleluia poster was buried for Lent, bring it out with fanfare
(even trumpet fanfare) before the Call to Worship. Yell the word a time or two with the whole
congregation, use it in a responsive call to worship, then sing an opening hymn
filled with Alleluias urging worshipers who can’t keep up with all the words to
at least sing every Alleluia. (The words
in the verses of “Jesus Christ Is Risen Today” are more easily understood by
children than those of the very similar “Christ the Lord is Risen Today!”)
Challenge the children to count the alleluias in the worship service
and to tell you how many there were as they leave the sanctuary. To convince them that their presence is
important to you, have a pocketful of hard candies so you can give a candy to
each child who has counted – no matter what the count.
U For many children the most impressive Easter worship service is a short
sunrise service, outside if possible, featuring a telling of the story
and singing of one or two familiar Easter hymns. Simply getting up before dawn to celebrate
the story “when it really took place” gives it a reality the mid-morning
sanctuary can never quite match.
U A second possibility is an Easter Vigil designed with the presence of
children in mind. The fire,
candles, bell ringing, and story-telling of this early evening service can walk
children who have missed many of the Holy Week services through the whole
gospel story. Go to Year C - Observing Lent and Celebrating Easter (2013) and scroll all the way down to Easter Vigil for details.
U No matter what time they come to Easter worship, remember that many
children will have missed the Passion story. The worship leaders will have to tell a
little of that story to at least set the context for the Easter gospel
reading. Two ways to do that are:
Recall the Passion by beginning the service in a bare sanctuary. Briefly, retell the Passion ending with a
moment of silence. Trumpets then
interrupt the silence followed by a reading of the gospel and the singing of an
Easter hymn. During the hymn Easter
paraments are put in place and Easter flowers are carried in and set in place.
If you use a decorated paschal candle, invite the children close to it
before the call to worship and processional.
Point out the cross, the alpha, and the incense “wounds,” briefly telling
the story of Jesus as you do. (To keep
things moving, one person may need to talk while another inserts the incense.) Briefly recall that Jesus did not remain
dead. He is alive. Light the candle and point out the date and
the omega noting that Jesus is with us today and everyday lighting up our
world. Then, either have the children
follow the candle into the church and back to their seats or send the children
back to their seats before the processional begins.
U And, if there will be overflow seating for Easter services, plan for
the children who will be seated there with their families. Especially if there will be only audio and
not video connection to the sanctuary, think about what the children will
see. Flowers on a table are not enough
of a worship center to hold their attention.
Add Easter banners, candles, and loaf and cup (if communion will be
celebrated). Bring some of the action to
this space. Plan for the processional and
recessional to pass through here. Have
acolytes light candles. Staff the
space with a worship host (not necessarily clergy, just someone who will be “up
front” directing people how to participate).
If you have been exploring God’s sacrificial
love during Lent,there are two possible Easter hearts
U One is simply a large red heart mounted on the biggest empty cross in
the room. On Easter Sunday we are left
with God’s huge love that is there for us always, no matter what, no matter
where. We are loved and forgiven period.
U The second bears a large black question mark and a gold glitter
exclamation point. It goes best with
Luke’s version of the story and is a chance to both celebrate what we know for
sure about Easter and admit with awe what is too big for us to understand about
it. Display it before reading Luke’s
account challenging worshipers to listen for people who might have had a big
question or been ready to shout a “Hurray!” or “Alleluia!”
Year C
Easter Texts
Acts
10:34-43
U The challenge in Peter’s sermon for the children is that it is all
generalities, e.g. “Jesus healed and did good.”
Help them by illustrating the generalities with pictures of specific stories
children will recall, e.g. Jesus healing a blind man or Jesus reaching
up to get Zacchaeus down from the tree.
The pictures might be posters from the church school teaching picture
file or projected images from the internet.
Use the pictures to illustrate the scripture as you read it or as you
walk through it in the sermon to review Jesus’ whole story for those who
haven’t been in church since Christmas.
Or, to explore the Easter surprise theme, use the
pictures above to illustrate a series of stories in which Jesus surprised
everyone, e.g. being born in a barn, proving there was enough food to feed
everyone at a huge picnic, washing his disciples’ feet, making friends with
Zaccheus, being killed on a cross, and rising from the tomb.
U If you celebrate Communion on Easter morning, combine this text with
the Great Prayer response “Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ
will come again.” After walking
through the summary of Jesus life using pictures as above, say or sing the
response. Point to each of the pictures
and finally to the Communion Table, singing or saying it as you do. Practice it with the children and point out
where it will come in the communion liturgy.
Encourage them and their parents to sing/say it at the right time today
(and every Sunday) remembering the whole story of Jesus.
Psalm
118:1-2, 14-24
Use verses 21 -24 with the children as
the call to worship. Gather the children at the front, point out
all the celebratory decorations and plans for the service. Introduce the psalm as the way you will get
worship started. Walk through the verses
with the children, interpreting as you go.
Vs 21: We are talking to and about Jesus in these
verses
Vs 22: Read the phrase about the stone and ask who
might be the stone which was rejected but turned out to be the most important
stone. To help children find an answer,
challenge them to think back through the week, who was rejected and killed on
Friday but is now the most important part of the church?
Vss 23-24: As you read add a summary of Good Friday
through Easter events immediately after the “This” and then read the rest of
the verse.
Having done this, ask the children to
stand and with you to call the congregation to Easter worship by echoing each
phrase as you say it. Go from this into
the first Easter hymn as children return to their seats.
Isaiah
65:17-25
This is God’s Easter dream/wish for the
world. Before reading it, give
worshipers one clue and a set of questions with which to listen to God’s
dream/wish. The clue is that Jerusalem
is a code word for the whole world. That
means this is God’s wish for the whole world.
The questions are.
How long will people live?
What does God wish for people and their houses?
What does God promise people with gardens and
orchards?
How often will people talk to and hear from God?
What does God say about the lion and the lamb?
It would be possible to repeat and
answer the questions together after the reading or simply to let the questions
help worshipers of all ages pay fuller attention to the reading. In the latter case, you might want to refer
to one of the questions and discuss it as part of the sermon.
1
Corinthians 15:19-26
Paul’s line of reasoning here does not
make sense to literal thinking children.
To them it does not seem fair that because Adam messed up they have to
die. And since Paul mentions Adam first,
the children are so busy objecting to what he says about Adam that they hardly
hear what he says about Jesus. Even if
they do hear it, most are so stuck on the issue of fairness that they never
hear Paul’s intended message. This text
will have to wait for them to mature.
John
20:1-18
Mary Magdalene’s Easter experience as told by John is one of the best to explore with
children. It is simple. Mary was totally sad and scared. Jesus had been her best friend and her
teacher. Not only that, he had healed her.
After she met Jesus, her life was different – and lots better! But now Jesus had been killed and
buried. Not only that, it appeared that
someone had stolen his body. She was sad
and angry and hopeless. She was crying
so hard she didn’t recognize the angels or even Jesus, at first. Then Jesus called her by name. Everything changed. Jesus was alive, he was still with her (even
though she may not touch him), he called her by name. So Mary knew that everything would be
OK.
 |
"Having your best friend move away is scary"
from Some Things Are Scary, by Florence Parry Heide |
U Open
discussion of this story by
talking about how it feels when your best friend moves far away. Name the
feelings you have as you think about the things you always did with that friend
and might not be able to do anymore.
Describe the difference in having a person with whom you can share
secrets and suddenly not having that friend around. Then, point out that it was just like that on
Easter morning for Mary Magdalene.
U If
there will be a children’s time,
set it immediately after the reading of John’s gospel. Before the reading encourage all worshipers
to listen carefully and encourage children to listen especially to what happens
to Mary. After the reading, sitting with
the children, name some of Mary’s feelings as she sat crying by the tomb. Together imagine and demonstrate how her face
looked, how she held her shoulders, what she was doing with her hands (over her
eyes?, clutched in fists?, wrapped tightly around her shoulders?....) Then, reread Jesus conversation with her in
vss 15-18. Ask, “now how was she
feeling?” (surprised!, happy!, amazed!,
relieved!…) Imagine and demonstrate how
her face, shoulders, and hands looked now.
Luke
24:1-12
U Have the story read by a woman. Consider starting with 23:55 to further set
the scene. To emphasize the response to
the women, have a man read 24:11-12.
U To combine the John and Luke stories, turn to one of these children’s
Bible story book accounts.
The Family Story Bible, by Ralph Milton, “Mary of Magdala Sees Jesus” is the
shortest to read and focuses on Mary in a very understandable way.
The Children’s Illustrated Bible, “The Resurrection” is the least interpreted of these
stories and is second shortest.
The Children’s Bible in 365 Stories, by Mary Batchelor, is a fuller account and also
tries to explain how characters felt as the action unfolds.
U In both John’s and Luke’s stories, all those present at the empty tomb
are scared. Either someone has stolen
Jesus’ body and the horror of Friday is going to continue or Jesus is alive
again which changes everything and is scary.
Rather than simplify the story to pure good news, be honest about its
being both scary and wonderful. Teach
the children to expect to be wondering about the meaning of this story for the
rest of their lives. It is a
mystery, bigger than our minds can understand.
We’ll get to explore it further when we read the story of Thomas on the
Second Sunday of Easter this year.
 |
Burnand, Eugène, 1850-1921. Disciples John and Peter on their way to the tomb on Easter morning,
|
U To explore both the joy and the fear, display the picture of Peter and
John running toward the tomb. Identify
the several of the feelings in their faces.
Imagine what they were thinking. Use this to introduce the banner or poster
heart bearing both a question mark and an exclamation point. Insist that our hearts and faces are often
like those of the disciples on Easter.
There is lots we do not understand.
What we do know is that God did not let Jesus stay dead and that Jesus
forgave everyone who had hurt and killed him and that God and Jesus will do the
same for us. That is why we can say
“Alleluia!” and “God, we love you” even with all our curious questions.
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I am
also reprinting this reminder from Years A and B because it is so important and
so easily lost in all the other preparations for Easter. Stop everything right now. Make whatever contacts are needed to be sure
the Easter nurseries are being as thoughtfully prepared as the sanctuary.
A word about
Easter nurseries:
Many parents who have not brought their infants and toddlers to the
church nursery during the winter out of fear of catching the bugs other
children bring, will decide to try it on Easter. If their experience is a good one, they will
come back. If not, they may disappear,
some for a very long time. So, it is
important to be sure the Easter nursery is spotlessly clean, well-staffed, and
ready to receive the children. If it is
also decorated with an Easter lily and a picture of Jesus, there is quiet
Easter music playing in the background, and families are greeted with “Happy
Easter,” parents assume that more is going on than warehousing children so
their parents can worship. Find more
directions and resources to use with preschool children who are not in the
sanctuary for worship in Sharing the Easter Faith With Children.
