Flame: Creative Children's Ministry

This is a great idea from our amazing children's worker, Sharon.  A few weeks ago we were looking, as a congregation, at the question of what heaven is like. We talked about one of my favourite passages,  Revelation 21:1-4 . Those who were being creative with the passage looked especially at verse 4:    He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain. All the old ways are gone.” Sharon had the brilliant idea of using handkerchiefs to convey the message of heaven being a place where God wipes all of our tears away.. Here's what they did. You will need:  White fabric or  white handkerchiefs ,  fabric pens Thinks about what heaven will be like and what it will be like never to be sad or in pain again. What would it be like for God to wipe our tears away? On the handkerchiefs, draw or write words about heaven and take the handkerchief home as a reminder of what we hope for.

We've been thinking about the creation story this summer and here's a colouring sheet we created for both adults and children to use during the service. To download and print the colouring sheet  click here .  

 As part of our summer all age series we are looking at big questions about God. The first question we asked was- Why did God create the world? In the craft zone we made tree weavings and people of all ages joined in!  The time spent weaving gave a great opportunity to chat about the creation story from Genesis 1 that we had just heard. You will need: Paper plates, scissors, wool (we used brown and green). 1. Cut 7 or 6 slits in the top of a paper plate and 1 slit at the bottom. Thread wool through the slits so that it looks like the picture below. 2. Use the end of your wool to gather the strands together from the bottom... 3. ...tie the wool off to finish making the trunk and branches. 4. Now use another colour of wool to weave between the branches as 'leaves'

Another activity this week, looking at the theme of Love your Neighbour, was this reflective colouring sheet.   If you'd like to download and print the sheet,  click here   and let me know how you get on! Think about Who is your neighbour? What does it mean to be a neighbour? How might you show love to others, especially those who are different to you?

Yesterday we were thinking about the theme of 'love your neighbour', and made these paper people circles as a symbol of all being joined together in the community. You will need: print out of the 'love your neighbour' sheet or paper, pencil and scissors Option 1-Download the printable sheet and cut the circle of people out Option 2-Download the printable and fold it into eighths.  Cut along the marked edges of the front eighth and open up to show your circle Option 3-Cut out a paper circle and fold it into eighths.  Draw the half people shapes on the front eighth (as shown below) and cut!

You will need : cooking or baby oil, food colouring and water, jam jars with labels removed or clear plastic bottles and lids/ tops Mix food colouring into the water and fill each jar or bottle with a ratio of roughly 1/3 oil/  2/3 coloured water.  The oil will settle on top of the water. Observe the fact that the water and the oil do not mix- just like the Jewish people and the Samaritans in the time of Jesus.  Put the lid/top very tightly on the jar or bottle and gently shake it. Watch the oil and the water droplets create swirls and patterns as they separate out again. The two substances have worked together to create something quite mesmerising and beautiful.  Think about what happens when the Samaritan reaches out to help someone he wouldn’t usually mix with.  How might that work in our own lives and communities?