Throughout all these activities please consider the sensitivities of your group. If anyone is going through a time of bereavement consider how to handle this material; talk to their families and other ministers of the church and ensure you provide the support they may need.
You will need: Lazarus and tomb template; scissors; pens.
Print out the template on thin card, or stick it on to card.
Colour in the tomb and Lazarus, then cut out Lazarus, leaving the long tab attached to him.
Cut along the arch of the doorway to the tomb and the slot for the tab to go through at the back of the tomb. For young children you might want to do this beforehand.
Slide the tab on Lazarus through the slot you have cut at the back of the tomb, from the back of the piece of the card, so that Lazarus is behind the card. When you push the tab forwards, Lazarus appears through the doorway of the tomb.
People in my life
Think about the people we can turn to when we are sad.
You will need: a hexagon shape divided into six segments; blunted matchsticks; colouring pens or pencils; card.
Beforehand, cut out a hexagon for each person and a few spares. Mark the centre point clearly.
Give each child a hexagon divided into six segments.
Ask the children to think about who they would turn to when they are sad.
They can write these names or draw pictures of these people into each of the segments so that they have six different names or drawings.
Use the matchstick to create a centre balance on which the hexagon can swizzle.
Invite the children to think of a time when they might feel sad. They should spin their swizzler and see whose face it lands on. Ask themselves if this person might help them face the situation.
Encourage the children to repeat the exercise thinking about different sad times but recognising that there is a range of people ready and able to help them feel better.
For young people
Lazarus dominoes
A craft activity.
You will need: A4 size stiff white card for each person; paints, brushes; glitter; anything else that you can find to enable the activity; table protection; old shirts to protect the group from paint; a ‘washing line’ to hang up the painted cards to dry.
Invite the young people to decorate their card on both sides, one to represent Lazarus dead and the other Lazarus alive.
Once decorated, allow the cards to dry.
Once the cards are dry, lay them out so they overlap just a little in a long line, with the ‘dead’ side uppermost.
Say ‘Lazarus is dead’ and invite the group to look at the images.
Then say ‘Lazarus come out!’ and pick up the lowest card and turn it over, so that the turn effects a domino change, and all the cards turn over to present the Lazarus alive side.
Cheer if it works!
Life changes!
Mapping the moments.
You will need: A4 plain paper; felt pens; a simple map of a journey (use ‘Google maps’ to illustrate or print off a route map on an internet journey planner).
Explain that life can be likened to a journey and you are going to invite them to draw their life as a map of the journey so far.
You might like to demonstrate your life recently, so that everyone understands the concept.
The junctions are the significant points in your life, so you might like to put on diversions, etc. to illustrate where you think your life might have gone if.
Include things like starting school, joining this group, birthdays and significant other dates. They might also think of times when they felt sad, bereaved, supported by friends and think of symbols for their map to mark these moments.
When everyone has finished, give them a moment to reflect on what their life looks like.
Ask them to consider
- What were the significant points for you?
- How can you see God at work in your life?
Lazarus, come out
A drama exercise.
Invite the group to work in pairs and they should be numbered one and two.
Explain that they are going to show eight still pictures, representing Lazarus coming back from the dead. ‘1’ is dead, ‘8’ is fully alive.
Number one lies on the floor, as if dead and Number two slowly counts from 1-8.
Lazarus slowly comes back to life, in a series of still pictures, as if watching a movie being projected at a slow speed.
They might like to take turns being numbers one and two.
Ask the young people how they felt during this exercise? Older groups might consider how Lazarus might have felt being pulled back from the dead.