All Saints Fun House

We just did a Saturday afternoon "All Saints Fun House" for 60 kids and their parents. Kids were organised into 6 tour groups (by age) and experienced the Bible story from Creation to Revelation. While waiting for their tour they visited several workshops: mural painting (Revelation), dough-making & bread baking (for next day's Communion and to take home), games, reading corner (books on saints from the local library) and making greeting cards. This idea comes from Gretchen Pritchard, a Christian educator in Connecticut. I am sure you could adapt this for a rotation. Sorry, but there isn't much on All Souls.
Blessings,
Hilary

The book Celebrations Make & Do ISBN 0758605854 has some info on All Saints Day. Under All Saint's Day the activity is to make Golden Incense Bowls.
Hope this helps.
--Carol

Saints- Ideas

• Mission Possible – make a stained glass window
• Lighthouse Café – decorate small pumpkins for tables at Saints on the Street
• Holywood – monologue on 3 saints for the day (need costumes) – interview members of the class – a brief biography and why they love God.
• Creation Station – decorate ornament for all who have died in parish family this year
• Special Assignments – Faith Crest – using a shield put the child’s name with a phrase “A Saint of God” draw images on the crest that tell about themselves and what they do for God
  

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• Mission Possible – Graffiti Wall - Divide long sheet/roll of paper on wall with line – one side write “With Christ” and other side write “Without Christ” – have them draw pictures and words that depict this
  Talk about Halloween and All Saints
• Lighthouse Café – Peace Offering Cocoa
• Holywood – monologue on other 3 saints and interview again –
• Heritage Bells - Ribbon of bright color – string a bell in honor of someone who has helped you understand God better – sing and pass the ribbons listening to the bells that tell of those who set the foundation for our faith
• Creation Station – paper weaving – all that have gone before us have woven the fabric of faith. Weave strips of colored paper naming someone that has helped them.
  
  childrensministries@gracesc.org

Well, right off the top of my head, how about:

1. Teach the hymn "I Sing a Song of the Saints of God"
2. Identify "saints" in your congregation~ those who have servant hearts and a love for God. Interview them and perhaps have the children create a power point presentation or video about these saints.
3. Brainstorm a list of "saintly characteristics". Have the children create mosaics, stepping stones, or "stained glass" and include the words that reflect those qualities

I hope that helps!

Blessings
Jan S

3 Ways to Celebrate All Saints Day
by Illustrated Ministry
Visit their page to see the expanded descriptions

Faithful Depiction: Invite the children to draw and share a picture of a person who has passed away and but made a big impact on their life and faith. Include the qualities that make them a "saint."  Draw them in their own "super hero" "super saint" costume.

Candle Lighting: In worship or Sunday school, invite members to light a candle for each person they’d like to remember, living or dead. Do this at one table up front or at stations around your space. OPTION: For increased safety, use battery-operated tea lights. Invite those who are lighting to come forward one at a time and say something like, “We remember and thank you.”

My Story is God’s Story:  Draw and share a "SAINT TREE" (like a family tree but with faces) featuring the faces of key people in your life.

Thank you all. Very helpful ideas! This was a change in plans given to me this morning and I was scrambling. Thanks for the help. Much appreciated

Beth

Disney and Pixar's COCO (2017) is a powerful and beautiful movie about the people in our past who continue to have a profound effect on our lives, and how we can honor their legacy through tradition and "remembering."  In other words, remembering and celebrating the saints.

COCO depicts the story of a young Mexican boy who wants to be a musician and bring back music to his family which has been banned for unknown reasons (grief).

Here's a video of the song and scene from the movie, "Remember Me" where Miguel helps to heal his great-grandmother's grief and loss by remembering the love that she has lost.

Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead on the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead, or what we might call "All Hallow's Eve"). After meeting a charming trickster named Héctor, the two new friends embark on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel's family history. The movie is powerful, moving, colorful, and funny. It immerses the viewer in a magical world that imagines how the dead are "alive" because we remember them. The opportunities to compare and contrast Christian beliefs with the movie's made-up story are many.

Highmark Caring, an inter-county grief counseling service for children and families in PA, loves COCO for the way it handles issues of grief and family particularly for children. Print a PDF of Highmark's take on COCO: https://www.highmarkcaringplac...TraditionsLegacy.pdf

Here's an excerpt from the PDF

Who have you lost?

How do you remember them on All Saints Day?

Miguel is taught that we keep their memories alive by storytelling. What stories do you know about the "saints" in your lives? What questions about your family's saints do you need to ask your parents about?

What about the saints in your family lives on in you?

What Does This Day Mean? A Handout for The Feast of All Saints & Souls at Home from Building Faith

You can download a PDF resource to print or give to families that supports the celebration of the Feast of All Saints & Souls at home here, This resource includes scripture, prayer, meditation, and wondering questions.

In part:

In the New Testament, the word “saints” describes the entire community of followers of The Way of Jesus. We all bear the word of God within us. From the very early church, followers whose faith and lives were particularly inspiring began to be described as “Saints” with a capital S. On All Saints’ Day, November 1, we remember with gratitude those Saints whose lives and actions we look to as models for our own.

All Souls’ Day, November 2, extends from All Saints’ Day as a time to remember and honor deceased family and friends. As The Book of Common Prayer teaches, “The communion of saints is the whole family of God, the living and the dead, those whom we love and those whom we hurt, bound together in Christ by sacrament, prayer, and praise.”