Between sowing and reaping there is a time of waiting, a time of faith and hope… In the waiting time we are not alone.

~ Wendy Read, A Conspiracy of Love

God reaches out to us when we are off balance… God helps by calling us by name, by inviting us to reconnect with our true self, made in God’s image.

~ Nancy Reeves, Found Through Loss

The youngest children will benefit from having some ideas of the difficulties Jesus and the disciples faced during the days leading up to Jesus’ death in order to understand the wonder of the Easter story.

LEADERSHIP: The resources for the next two weeks are designed for all ages to come together to explore events of Holy Week and the story of Easter. Consider having a group of leaders (preferably a team other than those who offer weekly leadership) to plan and lead the sessions for this week and next.

• Invite youth or adult participants to be the storytellers for the engagement with the focus passage.
• Choose a variety of Respond activity zones (see “Responding” below) to meet the needs of the age range of the group. Detailed instructions are in your resources.
• Prepare seven stations with small tables or boxes covered with different colours of fabric, placing one of the following items in each one:
• green fabric – tree branch
• yellow fabric – perfume bottle
• purple fabric – loaf of bread and bottle of grape juice
• grey fabric – rock
• red fabric – picture of a rooster
• black fabric – small cross or poster Crucifix found in your resources (see description below)
• length of white cloth

• Access Spirit Sightings for connections between current events and the focus passage.

• Option: use the paraphrases “Jesus Gets Ready to Die” and “Jesus Goes to Jerusalem” (p. 99) based on Mark 11:1-11 from the Lectionary Story Bible, Year B; also available as an mp3 and projectable art download

Choose from the following activities:

• Art Zone: art supplies such as finger paints, watercolours, pastels, collage items
• Meditation Zone: copies of this week’s resource sheet, “Holy Week Reflections,” construction paper
• Clay Zone: modelling clay
• Game Zone: enlarge the symbol illustrations on the bottom of the “Holy Week Reflections” resource sheet and make several copies; cut symbol “cards” apart, making sets of cards with two of each symbol in each set
• Bible Zone: make copies of the April 1 biblical background

• Poster Crucifix: (17 Century Mexican polychrome wood carving). The cross is where Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem ended. Little is known about the origins of this carving. Is it a representation of the cross on which Jesus was crucified, in which the wood is weeping with guilt for its role or with compassion for Jesus’ suffering? Or is it a portrait of Jesus the Christ in which he is so deeply identified with his sacrificial death that his very body has become a wooden cross? Either way, this stark representation points us to equally stark truths: profound grief and profound love.
• Listen to the songs “To You, O God” (#17), “Don’t Be Afraid” (#2), and “Comfort Me” (#14) on the Seasons Music CD, Volume 7 or available as an mp3 download

April 8: Easter Sunday

(Focus: John 20:1-18)

The session will continue the story begun last week on Palm/Passion Sunday, using the symbols from telling the Holy Week stories as a review of the events that led to Jesus’ arrest, trial, death, and burial. The resources are designed to help participants recognize that this was not the end of Jesus’ story and to celebrate the wonder of the Resurrection.

For SeasonsFUSION (which inspires worship in a setting for all ages) see the SeasonsFUSION blog and sign up to receive the SeasonsFUSION tip of the week.