Worship and learning for the whole Church – wherever you are
Resources for families with school-aged children to use at home
Welcome to #faithathome with ROOTS. We're delighted to be part of the Church of England's #faithathome initiative working with Oak National Online Academy.
HOPE A house not made with hands
2 Corinthians 4.18b-5.1
Material for primary-aged children
A prayer and activity to introduce the theme.
Prayer
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
when our bodies and minds are tired,
we come to you.
When it’s hard to see or understand you,
we come to you.
We come to this house built by humans,
but one day we will come to your house,
where we will be with you for ever.
Amen.
House and home
Look at and play with a doll's house or toy house, or build a house using bricks or LegoTM.
Talk about what you can see inside a home and also what you can’t see, but is there, e.g. air, love, memories.
Paul's world
Download and use the Paul's world sheet to understand the historical context of Paul’s letters.
Visualisation exercise
Use Imagine on the Paul’s world - life in Corinth Sheet to set the scene. If you're doing this as a family group, invite some people to close their eyes as someone reads it, and others to keep their eyes open. The reader uses gestures and is expressive with their face and hands for the latter group’s benefit. Compare experiences. Then read out Paul’s words. Does the exercise help to understand what he is saying?
Talk together to connect faith with everyday life
How do you imagine ‘a house not made with hands’?
Look around you. What can you see, and what is there, but invisible?
How might it feel not to have an earthly home?
Invisible pictures
An activity to reveal the unseen
You will need: thick white paper/card, white wax crayons or long thin candles that can be used to write with, watered-down poster paint, paint brushes.
Everyone has a piece of paper and a crayon/candle. Draw a simple picture, e.g. a house, a flower. Older children might prefer to choose a phrase from today’s Bible verse. It will be almost invisible.
Now paint over the picture or words so they become visible.
Material for secondary-aged children
Download the Paul's world sheet to read background and introduce the theme. The materials are based on 2 Corinthians 4.13-5.1.
A point of view
Give everyone a card with a simple character description on it, e.g. an elderly grandparent, a graduate starting a new job, an adult with a long-term illness, a refugee, a student facing an exam, a young carer, someone just about to become a parent. Discuss briefly the hopes and fears these different people might have.
What positive feelings/concerns did your character have?
What things in life are visible but temporary?
What things are invisible but eternal?
Visible and invisible
Play Charades. Provide cards with a mixture of objects or things that are visible, e.g. a mountain, a puppy, an exam paper, and abstract ideas that are invisible, e.g. love, hope, trust.
Reflect on the temporary
Give each person a Steradent™ tablet and a ballpoint pen and ask them to write on it something they are worried about connected to the current situation. Invite them to take it in turns to drop their tablet into a large bowl of water and watch it dissolve. Have a time of silence for reflection on the temporary nature of current difficulties and hope for the future.
Colour prayer shapes
Provide a selection of A5 coloured card. Ask the young people to think of a personal, local or global situation where people are suffering and change is needed. Invite everyone to choose a colour of card to represent how they feel, e.g. blue for sad, red for angry. Invite the young people to tear their card into an appropriate shape and hold it in prayer, asking for God’s presence and hope to shine through.
Listen
Promises, Sanctus Real on Run
Live your faith
Find a way to be in contact with church friends while away from the building. Agree to text each other a short blessing or meet up online for a social one evening.
Next week 15-21 May: Courage - prayers to use through the week
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Find more ROOTS at home resources for families worshipping together while schools and gatherings are suspended.