Week 1: God’s Love Frees – The Passover Story (Exodus 1-12)

Story Station Idea

Materials:

• Pillows
• A copy of a Haggada (an adult one, or one for children, such as the one found at https://www.aish.com/h/pes/f/aac/86323047.html)
• Crown for Pharaoh, Staff for Moses
• Plastic flies (locusts)
• Aluminum foil balls (hail)
• Red dot stickers (boils)
• Paper, tape, red paint and brushes

Presentation

Opening:

Welcome the group to your “home” and invite them to sit on pillows around a low table. Explain that part of celebrating Passover is eating a meal together called a Seder and that during the Seder, the story of the very first Passover is told. Show group the Haggada, and turn to the section where the story is retold.

Dig:

Many, many years before Jesus was born, God’s people were enslaved in Egypt. They were treated horribly and God was not pleased. God called Moses to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let God’s people go. (Get volunteers from the group to be God, Moses and Pharaoh. Have them act out the story.)

God: Moses, go to Pharaoh and tell him to let my people go!
Moses: (to Pharaoh) God says to let my people go!
Pharaoh: No!

Because Pharaoh was being stubborn and not letting God’s people go, God had to convince him. God sent several plagues to Egypt – God turned the water red, made all the Egyptian animals sick, and sent lots of frogs to jump all over the place. After each plague came, Moses went back to the Pharaoh to tell him to let God’s people go.

Allow kids to throw “hail” balls and flies and stick the sticker “boils” on Pharaoh. After each plague -
Moses: Let God’s people go!
Pharaoh: No!

After God had sent 9 different plagues, and Pharaoh was STILL keeping God’s people as his slaves, God knew that God would have to do something drastic. God told Moses what would happen. God told Moses to tell the people to pack to go quickly on a journey. They were to bake some bread without waiting for it to rise, and on a certain night, they were to kill a lamb and roast it. They should take the blood from the lamb and put it on their door post, and this would be the sign that the last plague should not come to that home. The last plague would be for the first born of each and every family in Egypt – even the Pharaoh’s family – would die.

Allow the kids to paint red paint on the (paper covered) doorpost to the room. Encourage them to think about keeping the people they love safe, as the people of God must have thought about during the first Passover. Invite kids to name the people they love, and say a prayer of thanks for their safety. After the prayer, invite Moses to go back to Pharaoh:
Moses: Let God’s people go!
Pharaoh: Go, take them and go!

God kept the Israelite people safe, and Moses led them to freedom. God told Moses, and Moses told God’s people to remember God’s blessings every year by telling the story again and by eating flat bread and lamb. That is why Jewish people, to this day, celebrate Passover with a Seder every year. That is also why Jewish families have a mezuzah on the doorpost of their homes. (Families will make their own mezuzah at another station that night)

“The origins of mezuzah are traced to the Exodus story of when the slaves prepared to escape from Egypt. They marked their doorposts with animal blood to inform the messengers attacking the Egyptian households to “pass over” the living quarters of the slaves involved in the drive for freedom. Today we have moved past the sacrificial system as a religious form for transformation and holiness, now we mark our doorposts with mezuzot (plural of mezuzah), which, when used with threshold consciousness can help “blood” from appearing on the doorposts of our relationships.” (Rabbi Goldie Milgram)

Idea posted by Heather Eaton

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

Week 1: God’s Love Frees – The Passover Story

Creation Station: Make a Mezuzah

Lesson was based on a craft found at chadiscrafts.com (no longer available).

Supplies List:

• Directions for baking at home
• Copper tubes, ¾ to 1 in. in diameter (or other object of similar size to be a form – we used markers and glue sticks)
• Waxed Paper, tape and Sharpies
• Knives for slicing design pieces and rolling pins
• Clay for sheets, for snakes and for slices: We made 65 mezuzahs. We used 2 boxes (3 1/2 pounds total) of the new Terra Cotta Sculpey (or white Sculpey in boxes). For the decorations I managed to use less than 40 ounces of clay. I usually buy the 30 piece sampler to get 30 colors! (30 0z per box) More colored clay would be used if you decorate the entire object front and back. We mainly did only a few slices and snakes on the front only. We also got an assortment of pre-formed picture tubes – sort of like slice and bake cookies with the pictures in the middle of them?
• Paper and pens for prayers to include in the case.

Mezuzahs, Mezzuzahs, Mezuzzahs
A mezuzah is the object used by Jewish people to mark their door jams. It is a reference to the blood that marked the doorpost of God’s people’s homes during the first Passover, protecting the families inside from the plague of the firstborn. Today, the mezuzah’s purpose is to be an identifying symbol that the family inside is Jewish, to bring to mind God’s love and protection, and to inspire people to live lives that reflect God to those around them. Upon entering the home, it is a powerful reminder to a family to treat each other with love, honor and peacefulness, that no “blood” shall be shed in their relationships. Upon exiting the home, the mezuzah can be a reminder to a family to behave, in public as well as private, in a way that honors God. Many Jewish people mark all doors in a house they live in: kitchen, bedroom, office, den etc, while others only mark the outside door. Mezuzahs can be made of ceramics, wood, metal, glass, clay etc. It contains a prayer written by a scribe in Hebrew on a parchment.

Tonight, families who attend the Communion Class will write their own prayers to put in their family’s mezuzah case. Invite families to discuss together the wishes and prayers they have for their family right now, and write them down on the slip of paper. Then invite them to write a blessing – which could be as simple as “God bless this family and all those we love. Help us to follow your way in our home and in the world. Amen.”

Info Sources:
chadiscrafts. com/fun/claymezuzah (no longer available)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezuzah

Preparations:

• Pre-cut wax paper
• Pre-wrap tubes with foil
• Pre-slice design slices and lay them out on wax paper for people to select from.

Teacher Instructions:

I found a copper tube about 4 inches long in a recycle hardware store, but any solid object with a diameter of 3/4 - 1 inch is ok. The form gives children a hard work surface so they don't collapse the project when working on it. We wrap it with aluminum foil making sure that the ends are left open. (This allows the rod to slip out before baking.)

We use the bulk boxed white Sculpey (more cost effective when you are making 100) or the bulk new Terra Cotta color Sculpey that comes in a 1 3/4 pound box. (Or bigger if you order the 24 pound box though Dick Blick)

We roll a sheet of clay out either by hand or using a pasta machine. Teachers can either do this before class or have the children help you with the pasta machine. Have kids play with/soften the clay. When clay is softened, roll through a pasta machine on the #1 setting or roll flat sheets about 1/4 inch thick. Children love taking turns turning the handle of the pasta machine.

Wrap the sheet of clay around form. Shape the clay as desired, leaving the top with an opening and the bottom closed. Put a hole in the top and bottom to allow for the mezuzah to be hung on nails.

The form can be decorated in any manner you wish.

Bake as directed. (The baking directions are on each package. Basically, you will be baking at 275 degrees for 15 minutes for each ¼ inch of clay thickness. Always use an oven thermometer to accurately maintain these temperatures. A glass baking sheet or dish is recommended, however, you can use a cookie sheet, covered in foil. I work on index cards, which I can then transfer, card and all, to the cookie sheet for baking. The card will not burn. This way both sides of my clay have an even, matte surface. Always allow the clay to cool completely before handling it, you can damage your designs while they are still warm and flexible.)

When cooled coat with Sculpey Gloss/Satin Clear Protection, or Future Floor Wax.

Baking info to put on handout to take home:
Bake it at 275 degrees for 15 minutes for each ¼ inch of clay thickness. A glass baking sheet or dish is recommended, however, you can use a cookie sheet, covered in foil.
When it has cooled, coat with Sculpey Gloss/Satin Clear Protection (available at craft stores,) or Future Floor Wax to protect the clay.
When the wax/glaze has dried, read aloud the blessing you wrote together, and then insert it in the back of your case. Attach the case in the top third of your home’s front door.

An idea posted by Heather Eaton

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

Week 1: God’s Love Frees – The Passover Story

Active Station: Passover Games

Based on the lesson previously posted at rotation.org.
(Somewhat edited for time constraints and to eliminate the Bible story readings at the beginning of the lesson, as for our purposes they happen in another area.)

Room set-up:

Set up two bread mixing stations at tables.
Place croutons around the room. You do not need to hide them, but they should not be so noticeable that the children would easily see them before you’re ready for them to.

Supply List

Bread mixing stations:

• Two mixing bowls
• Two mixing spoons
• Two Ziplock bags with 2 cups of flour in each bag
• Two measuring cups with ½ cup water in each cup
  
  Game #1: Cleaning the yeast out of the room:
• A piece of sliced bread
• Croutons
• 2-3 small Ziplock bags for collecting croutons
  
  Game #2: Passover Seder items:
• Small plastic or stuffed lamb
• Red food coloring in clear jar
• Herbs (rosemary sprigs, basil leaves)
• A piece of matzah
• Tunic from the drama costumes
• Small door from a children’s building play set or a picture of a door
• Empty book or box of matches or a picture of a fire
• Dark pillowcase or bag for objects

Lesson

Opening:

Greet the children and introduce yourself.
Explain the purpose of this workshop: Today we will look at the instructions God gave His people for a special festival.

Opening:

Say: Before we can play our games today we need to make some bread.

Divide the children into two groups and have them go to one of the two mixing stations that have been set up. [Each station should have a bowl, spoon, ziplock bag with 2 cups of flour, and a ½ cup water ready for the children to mix dough. The proportions of flour and water are not important, because they will not actually finish making the bread.]

Before they finish mixing the dough say (EXCITEDLY!) “Stop mixing and follow me!” Lead the children out of the classroom, down the hall, through the offices, etc., eventually returning to the room. When the class returns to the classroom, have them sit down and say, “When God set the Hebrews free, they left so quickly they never had time to finish making their bread. They ran to the desert and had to bake it in the hot sun. They had no time to put yeast in the dough to make it light and fluffy. God instructed the Israelites not to use yeast to make their bread right before he led them out of Egypt because there would not be time for the bread to rise before they had to leave.”

Tell the class that:

• The bread we are used to eating has flour, water, and yeast in it.
• Yeast is the ingredient that makes bread puff up. (Show the children a piece of regular sandwich bread and point out all the “bubbles” that are formed by the yeast.)
• When yeast is used in baking regular bread, the dough has to sit for a while to rise before it can be baked.

The Bible tells us that God gave the Hebrews instructions for the first Passover (that was when God led them out of Egypt) AND instructions for how to celebrate the Passover every year after that.

Listen to Exodus 12:14-15: “You must remember this day forever. Each year you will celebrate it as a special festival to the Lord. For seven days, you may eat only bread made without yeast. On the very first day you must remove every trace of yeast from your homes. Anyone who eats bread made with yeast at any time during the seven days of the festival will be cut off from the community of Israel.”

Game #1: No Yeast!

We are going to pretend we are Israelites about to celebrate the Passover. We are going to clean the yeast out of our room. Divide the class into as many groups as there are adults to help. (2-3) Give each group a small ziplock bag and tell them to collect the croutons you have placed around the room, the hallways, children’s ministry office, the work room, and the gathering area. Instruct the children to look quietly and calmly. They should stay with their group. Give each group an area to look and give them 5 minutes to search their area.

When they return tell them that even today many Jewish families begin their Passover celebration by getting rid of anything that has yeast in it.

Game #2: What's This Have to do with God's Instructions:

Optional, if there is time: Passover Seder items
God gave the Hebrew some other instructions for what to do for the first Passover and how to celebrate it every year after that. In this bag I have some object that are symbols of some of those instructions. [Select a child to reach in your bag and select something without looking. Ask the child if they know what the object has to do with God’s instructions for the Passover. If they do know, compliment them and read the scripture listed next to the object below. If they do not, read the scripture listed next to the object below.]

Lamb- Exodus 12: 3, 5, 6, & 8
Red liquid (blood) – Exodus 12:7
Herbs (rosemary sprigs, basil leaves) – Exodus 12:8
Matzah – Exodus 12: 8, 15, 20
Tunic – Exodus 12:11
Small door from a children’s play set or a picture of a door – 12:7, 22
Matches or a picture of a fire -12:9, 10

Reflection:

Pulling it all together (closing discussion):
I wonder what would have happened if the Hebrews had not put the lamb’s blood over their doors?
I wonder what would have happened if the Hebrews had put yeast in their bread and waited for it to rise before they started to leave Egypt?
I wonder why God gave the Hebrews all of these special instructions for celebrating the Passover every year? [After the children have given their answers read Exodus 13:3 &16 to give them God’s reason for the specific instructions.]

An idea posted by Heather Eaton.

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

Week 2: God’s Love Remembered – Last Supper

Story Station - using toy figures

(Matthew 26:17-29, Mark 14:12-26, Luke 22:7-22)

Storytelling adapted from the “Jesus’ Last Passover” story from Young Children and Worship by Sonja M. Stewart and Jerome W. Berryman. (Copywrite issues preclude sharing the text of the story.)

Figures for storytelling were purchased for other purposes from Beulah Enterprises (note link removed as product no longer available on that site - see new suggestions below), but seemed too perfect to pass up for use in this storytelling situation. We loved the various shades of stain used on the wood, and the way wood (vs. plastic, metal etc.) feels when manipulating it. We used the “church play set” with 2 extra families so there would be 12 disciples. Changes to set: We didn’t use the baptismal font, communion table or the lectern, added a rectangular wooden unit block for a larger table (so all the people would fit around it), a square of green felt and a small plastic communion cup and a Ritz cracker. The “wall” and felt square were enough to suggest an inside and outside while still allowing enough open space for children to move figures around.

Read the text as presented in the book. Present the figures as directed, but involve children in the telling – ie. children move figures, children may be prompted in dialogue by 2nd storyteller, children break the “bread” and share the cup with all of the figures etc.

With a large group of children/families, it is possible to do this “life-sized” – having people instead of figures, real bread instead of a Ritz cracker, a real table instead of a block etc. It can be a pre-rehearsed “performance” by youth/adults, or it can be a spontaneous thing with children, though that is more difficult.

May 4/2016 - Moderator update:   there are a couple of playsets that would work for this story currently available they are:

• Check out what is the Story Table Workshop and lots of ideas and resources link.
• Last Supper Set" by Trinity Toyz!.  Blocks very similar to Lego.  286 pieces, plus 13 figures, that you can use to recreate the Last Supper.
  
  
• Galilean Boat Play Set (Tales of Glory Series)  by Cactus Game Design.  Includes ship with sale and 13 figures (Jesus & the 12 Disciples).
  
• Jaymie Derden's The Last Supper - Drama Diorama "Story Table" Workshop link.

Week 2: God’s Love Remembered – Last Supper

Active Station: Making wine/juice

Supplies:

• Grapes (lots of 'em!)
• Large container for stomping them in
• Water, soap and towels for cleaning up
• Drop cloth if doing activity inside
• Pot and spoon
• Stove
• Water
• More Grapes
• Cheese Cloth and Strainer
• Sugar
• Cups

Presentation

Opening:

Remind kids of the story of the Last Supper. Two foods that were talked about – bread and wine. Today we’re going to explore two ways to make wine (or grape juice.) One way is to crush the grapes with our feet. The other way is to cook the grapes on the stove. We’re going to make some juice on the stove AND stomp some grapes tonight. At the end of the evening, we’ll taste some of the grape juice we’re making on the stove.

Dig:

Activity: Start the cooking recipe first, and then crush the grapes with feet while waiting for the grapes to simmer.
Wash the grapes, and then put them in a pan on the stove, with just enough water to cover the grapes. Set them to simmer.

Invite kids to look at the picture of a person stomping grapes at a vineyard. (Do a google search using the keywords: stompimg grapes to make wine in Algeria pictures.
(You might find one you can make a poster from. We just printed out the picture on a color printer.) People stomp the grapes (or the grapes are crushed with machines), then the juice produced is put into large containers/barrels, sugar is added, and then you wait. After a while, any grape skins and any other bits of grape leftover are strained out of the juice, and then the juice is put into bottles. The wine is aged, tasted, then purchased and enjoyed by people.

Remind kids to roll up pants and take off shoes and socks. We’ll do the grape stomping out on the grass, and have some soap and water available for washing up after. (If weather prohibits being outside with bare, wet feet, be sure to lay down a tarp or shower curtain to prevent grape juice from going EVERYWHERE)

After stomping, wash up, and come back inside to kitchen. Strain grapes and water through cheesecloth, then add sugar and a bit more water if needed. Give each child a bit to taste. What does everyone think?

Recipe for “wine”
by Anne Gilbert

Wash grapes.

Place in pan and just barely cover with water.

Simmer until seeds separate from pulp, about10 minutes. Do not boil.

Strain through several layers of cheesecloth. This makes a concentrate.

For juice, add equal amount of water and sugar to taste, about 1/2 c. per quart.

Resources:

Crushing Grapes Ideas https://www.rotation.org/topic/...8#295011598215956498

An idea posted by Heather Eaton

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

Week 2: God’s Love Remembered – Last Supper

Creation Station: Personal Chalices & Family Bread Cloth

Supplies:

• Christian symbols & explanations, especially those relating to communion
• Several examples of chalice and plate sets, real and/or in photos
  
  Personal Chalices –
• Disposable plastic wine glasses
• Paint markers or colored Sharpies
• Sequins and other decorations
• Glue Dots
  
  Family Bread Cloth –
• Muslin (cut into 12-18 inch squares)
• Fabric markers or paints

Show families examples of chalice and plate sets. Look for symbols on them, and look up the meaning of the symbols in your symbol resources. Explore any other symbols that you’d like people to know about that are not found on the chalice/plate sets. Invite people to create a chalice for each member of their family, and a family bread cloth to be shared. Suggest that symbols and family names be included in the design of the bread cloth.

An idea posted by Heather Eaton.

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

Week 3: God’s Love Today – Communion at Our Church

Story Station: Communion at Our Church

Lesson based on Puppet Lesson by Kirk of Kildare: http://www.kirkofkildaire.org/...essons/LSPuppets.htm

For the “Story Station” this week, we asked a deacon to come demonstrate how communion is prepared at our church, and to answer any questions they had. This list of questions was wonderful to give to him so that he’d have an idea of what to think about ahead of time, in terms of what questions kids might have – and what he might want to explain even if kids didn’t ask. Many thanks to Kirk of Kildare for posting the puppetry lesson this is drawn from – it’s a great one!

Communion Questions:
Note: The leader does not need to memorize or read these answers. The answers are written out here as an example of what you can say, but you do not need to use these words exactly.

QUESTION 1: “Where do you get the grape juice and bread for communion?”
ANSWER: “A member of the church buys the bread and juice at any grocery store. Sometimes church members choose to make the bread at home, though, as a way to share their talents with the congregation. During the communion service we pray that God will use these regular foods in a special way to grow closer to God.”

QUESTION 2: “How do you get the grape juice in those little cups?”
ANSWER: “We fill this little squirt bottle with grape juice. Then we squirt it out into the cups. We could just pour it from the grape juice bottle into the cups, but the squirt bottle is neater than pouring would be.” (The workshop leader may borrow the squirt bottle and several small plastic communion cups to demonstrate.) Call Hazel Allen, Worship Committee Chair (380-0398) if you would like to use these.)

QUESTION 3: “How do you get the bread in little pieces?”
ANSWER: “Church members help with that job, too. They just cut the bread with a knife into little pieces.”

QUESTION 4: “Where did the communion plates and trays come from?”
ANSWER: “Sometimes a church buys their communion plates and trays, but other times people give them as a gift in memory of a friend or family member. Some of the communion plates and trays at the Kirk were given in memory of people who died.

QUESTION 5: “Why are the communion plates and trays so fancy?”
ANSWER: “Do you ever use special or fancy dishes at your house on holidays or birthdays? That is a way families make those times of celebration more special. We are doing that in the church, too. When we use pretty or fancy communion plates and trays it shows the congregation that this is a special service.”

QUESTION 6: “Who are the people that serve communion?”
ANSWER: “The leaders of our church are called elders. They have been elected by the congregation to make decisions for our church. Only elders may serve communion. Once you have been an elder in any Presbyterian Church you may always help serve communion.

QUESTION 7: “What does the name communion mean?”
ANSWER: “It means ‘to share’. When we have communion we are sharing with God and with other members of the church.”

QUESTION 8: “I heard someone use the word ‘sacrament’ when they talked about communion. What’s that?”
ANSWER: “The word ‘sacrament’ is related to the word ‘sacred’ which means ‘holy’ or ‘set aside for the worship of God’. When we celebrate communion, we are setting aside the bread and juice as a special way to worship God.”

QUESTION 9: “Why is everyone so quiet during communion?”
ANSWER: “Being quiet is a way to show respect for something or someone. We are respectful toward God and the other people in church when we are quiet. It gives people around us time to pray, think about God, and remember how good God has been to them.

QUESTION 10: “Why do we pass the trays of juice and bread sometimes and other times go to the front of the church?”
ANSWER: “There are many ways of sharing the bread and the juice. The tradition in our church is to pass the trays along the pews, but sometimes a change is nice and we go to the front to receive communion. In some churches, people go to the front of the church and kneel and the minister gives them the bread that way. The way we receive the bread and juice is not as important as remembering Jesus and using this time to worship God.”

QUESTION 11: “What happens to the little cups after communion?”
ANSWER: “They are plastic and we throw them away. We use new cups the next time.”

QUESTION 12: “Who takes communion?”
ANSWER: In the Presbyterian Church anyone who has been baptized can share communion. This applies to children, too, if their parents agree. In some families children begin to share communion when they are very young. In other families, the parents think it is best for the children to be older and have a better understanding of Jesus, God and the church before they share communion. If you are not sure if it is ok for you to have communion, ask your parents.”

QUESTION 13: “I went to another church one time and they said I couldn’t take communion there. Why not?”
ANSWER: “Some churches have a rule that you must be a member of that particular church to take communion with them. If you visit a different church and they are having communion, ask your host or your parents if you can share communion there, too.”

QUESTION 14: “My mom says that communion is her favorite worship service. It seems kind of boring to me. I don’t get it.”
ANSWER: “For many people, communion is a time when they feel very close to God. It is a very nice feeling to notice the peace of God near you and to feel that God loves you and cares about you. For many people this is what they feel during communion and why communion is a special time for them.”

QUESTION 15: “I forget what we say when we pass the bread. What is it?”
ANSWER: “In our church, we say ‘The body of Christ broken for you’ when we pass the bread. By saying this we remember that Jesus died on the cross for us—that his body was broken for us—even though we did not deserve such love and care. These are also the words that Jesus said to the disciples when he shared bread with them. Do you remember we read that earlier today?”

QUESTION 16: “What do we say when we pass the juice?”
ANSWER: “In our church we say, ‘The blood of Christ shed for you’ when we pass the juice. Again this helps us remember that Christ died for us—that his blood was shed for us. This is also similar to what Jesus said to the disciples. How amazing that Jesus would do that for us!”

QUESTION 17: “Who decides when we will have communion at the Kirk?”
ANSWER: “The elders and ministers of our church meet together to make decisions for the Kirk. Each year, they decide on which Sundays we will have communion. We usually have it about 6 times a year.”

QUESTION 18: “What doe we call the table we put the bread and juice on?”
ANSWER: It is called the communion table. The table we use for communion is always in the front of the church. You can see it there every Sunday. It is called the communion table. This table is a way to remember that we share with each other around a table just like Jesus shared with the disciples. When we are going to have communion, we put a special tablecloth on it, just like you might have a special tablecloth at home.”

QUESTION 19: “Once I had communion and they had little flat crackers. What were those?”
ANSWER: “Sometimes churches use bread that does not have any yeast in it because this might have been the kind of bread that Jesus was using. When bread does not have any yeast—it is hard and crunchy, like crackers.”

QUESTION 20: “I’m confused about the juice and wine stuff. Why do we use grape juice, but the Bible talks about wine?”
ANSWER: “Wine was very common at the time of Jesus because it was a way to preserve the juice from the grapes. They didn’t have refrigerators then to keep juice cold and fresh like we do. Since it is easier for us to keep grape juice fresh now than it was in Jesus’ time we just use grape juice instead of wine. Some churches, though, still use wine since that is more similar to what Jesus used.”

QUESTION 21: “I think it would be nice to have communion at home sometime. Could we borrow the cups and plates for that?”
ANSWER: “No, in our church, communion is to be part of a regular worship service not a private service at home. The communion service should include hymns, Bible reading, confession and prayer and those are the things that we include in our regular worship at church. Not just anyone is allowed to offer communion. Communion needs to be led by our pastors. They have been given special training and authority to offer this sacrament to us. Come to church and share communion with lots of other people who believe in Jesus, too.”

An idea posted by Heather Eaton.

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

Week 3: God’s Love Today – Communion at Our Church

Active Station: Baking Bread for World Comm. Sun.

Recipe for Thin Bread
Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
¼ tsp salt
1 tbsp butter
2 tsp oil
¼ cup water

Directions:

1. Mix flour, salt, and butter (best if melted) in a bowl.
2. Mix oil and water into the bowl until it leaves the side of the bowl, and forms workable dough. If the dough is too crumbly, add a small amount of water (1/2 tbsp) until pliable. If the dough is too sticky, add a small amount of flour.
3. Put a small amount of flour on a bread board and knead the dough lightly.
4. Flatten the dough until it’s thin, about 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch thick. Pick it up, turn it over and roll out thin again.
5. Perforate with a fork and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
6. Bake 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees until light brown.

Prep:
Gather ingredients. Also gather: one bowl, spoon and baking sheet per family; one set of measuring cups and spoons per table; one set of ingredients per family; one copy of the recipe per family. Distribute materials to tables. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Presentation

Intro to activity:
Refer back to story of Passover, reminding children that when God’s people were fleeing Egypt, they didn’t have time to let their bread rise, so they made special bread that was flat, similar to what we’ll make tonight. When people celebrate Passover, they eat a type of unleavened – or flat – bread called matzo. When Jesus and his disciples were gathered for the Last Supper, a Passover Seder, they were eating matzo as well. We’ll make some flat bread tonight for our congregation to eat this upcoming Sunday (World Communion Sunday) during Communion. Review ingredients, pointing out that there are no leavening agents in this recipe (such as yeast or baking powder/soda) that would make the bread puffy.

Invite families to make the recipe together – if you wish, have each family make 2 batches - one for Communion, one for taking home. Have some communion cups and the squeeze bottles used to fill them with available for children to use during the baking time if needed.

Another resource: The Free Internet Bread Recipe Archive- http://www.reciperascal.com/pennsylvania-altar-bread/
Info about World Communion Sunday: https://www.globalministries.o...mmunion_sunday_ideas.

An idea posted by Heather Eaton.

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

Week 3: God’s Love Today – Communion at Our Church

Creation Station: World Comm. Sunday Bulletin Covers

Briefly explain what World Communion Sunday is:
World Communion Sunday offers congregations a distinctive opportunity to experience Holy Communion in the context of the global community of faith. The first Sunday of October has become a time when Christians in every culture break bread and pour the cup to remember and affirm Christ as the Head of the Church. On that day, they remember that they are part of the whole body of believers. Whether shared in a grand cathedral, a mud hut, outside on a hilltop, in a meetinghouse, or in a storefront, Christians celebrate the communion liturgy in as many ways as there are congregations. World Communion Sunday can be both a profound worship experience and a time for learning more about our wider community of faith. (http://www.ucc.org/worship_communion)

Distribute paper, markers, clip-art/glue sticks etc. to families. Be sure to mark a box on the papers that is the correct size for the space available on the cover of the worship bulletins. Invite families to create illustrations for the bulletin covers – encourage them to include symbols for communion in general, and World Communion Sunday specifically. Remind people to write first names and ages on the back of each illustration, to be written below the illustrations when they are used on the bulletin covers.

An idea posted by Heather Eaton

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.