Pentecost Sunday A

Pentecost Sunday Cycle A

Welcome children to their worship space.

Ask them to get their carpet squares and sit down in a circle.

Introduce yourself and your helpers.

Introduce

              Say:  This it!  The great feast Pentecost!  Does anyone remember what it is that we celebrate today? <the coming of the Holy Spirit>  Who did the Holy Spirit come to?  <at that time, the Holy Spirit came to the Apostles – now the Holy Spirit comes to each one of us>

Ask:  Can anyone tell me what we talked about last week?  <show symbol of the praying hands OR if your parish celebrated Ascension instead of 7^th Sunday, the cross with globe>  Remind the children that they need to spend time in prayer alone and together with each other. 

Introduce symbol

Say:   Today’s symbol is a Holy Spirit.

Ask:  What do you know about the Holy Spirit?  <let the children respond>  The Holy Spirit is one of the three persons in one God.  The Holy Spirit is often compared to the quality of wisdom.  Can anyone tell me what wisdom is?  <like being smart>  Part of wisdom is being smart, but the greatest part of wisdom is understanding what you know. 

Say:  Quite often we know a lot of things, but we still don’t know what to do with that knowledge.  Wisdom helps us figure it out.  The Holy Spirit brings us wisdom.

Say:  Let’s look at today’s poster.  What does it say? <Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.>  This is our Responsorial Psalm for today.  The Responsorial Psalms also come from Scripture, from the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament.

Ask:  Renew means to make new again.  How would the Holy Spirit do that?  <let the children respond>

Introduce readings

We have two readings today.

Say:  Let’s light the candle to show that we are ready to listen to the Word of God.

Say: Today’s first reading is again from the New Testament book of Acts of the Apostles. (Acts  2:1-11) In this reading we hear what happened to the Apostles on Pentecost.  They were all gathered again, probably in an upper room.  They were still probably trying to figure out how to get Jesus’ message out to the whole world.  They were probably still a little afraid of the soldiers.  Pretend like we are the Apostles, gathered to gether here, and see if we can understand what happened to them.

Have the reader read the first reading.

Ask:  What happened to the Apostles?  <let the children share>  What did they see?  <tongues of fire upon each of their heads>  And then everyone who heard them could understand them – all in different languages.  When we pray to the Holy Spirit to help us do what God wants us to do, we receive the strength and the ability to do it.

Say: Now it is time for the Responsorial Psalm.  Your part is to say:

Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.

Say:  Today’s Gospel reading comes from the book of St. John.  (John 20:19-23). The Gospel reading today tells us how Jesus sent the Apostles out to spread his word among all people.  There is a Sacrament mentioned here too.  See if you can figure out what it is.

Say:  Now we will stand and get ready to hear the Gospel

(hold up card)  Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Have the reader begin: “a reading from the holy gospel.....”

Read:  Read the Gospel

Ask:  Did anyone hear which Sacrament Jesus mentioned?  <Reconciliation>  He gave the Apostles the ability to forgive sins in Jesus’ name.

Hand out the poster cut-outs of a flame so that the children can write their names on them for the poster.

Hand out the symbols to color. (The symbol is a Holt Spirit dove).  Ask the older children to write one they could ask the Holy Spirit to help them with this week.

 

Explain: Color this symbol of the dove and bring it to the altar (don’t forget to put your name on the back!)  to show that we have learned about needing the Holy Spirit in our lives.

If there is time, ask questions and go over the lessons one more time to help the children remember.

Give out stickers and hand-outs as they leave.

Make small cut-outs in light yellows and oranges for the communal poster

Use this dove symbol for the banner.  The dove is done in white over layers of yellow, orange & red

Use this dove graphic for the coloring sheet used in the Offertory

Parent Letter

The Feast of Pentecost A

Dear Parents,

              Today we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. Your children listened to two of the same readings you did: Acts 2:1-11 and John 20:19-23.

Symbol: Holy Spirit

To reinforce at home:

The readings today tell us about the Holy Spirit coming to the Apostles and how then people of all nations were able to understand the Apostles speaking in their own languages.  The Holy Spirit was sent here by Jesus to be with us until he comes back again.  We talked about ways to recognize the Holy Spirit in your life and about the special gifts he gives us so that we can more ably do God’s will.

Activities to do at home:

*Celebrate!  Have a family party to celebrate the Holy Spirit.

*With your child, think of one special gift that the Holy Spirit brings each of you and how you can use it to glorify God.

Thank you for sharing your children!

Feast of Pentecost Cycle C

Pentecost  Sunday   Cycle C

Welcome children to their worship space.

Explain: Today is Pentecost Sunday, the feast we have been preparing for, the birthday of our church.

Ask:  Does anyone remember what our symbol was for last Sunday? (praying hands)  And what did it symbolize? (praying for the Holy Spirit to come to us)

Explain: So we have learned several things that would help build the new church.  What are the things we have read in Scripture in the last few weeks? We know that our work is needed.  We have learned that we have leaders to help us and that we are supposed to be leaders for others. We have learned about the love that Jesus wants us to have for each other.  We have also heard the message that Jesus wants us to tell everybody about what He had to say and that we need to pray while we wait for guidance.

Introduce symbol

Say:  Our symbol today is a dove which represents the Holy Spirit.  The dove has some colors around it - red, orange and yellow.

Ask:  What do you think these colors might mean? (Fire) 

Explain:  In the readings today, the Holy Spirit appears to Christ’s followers in the symbols of wind and fire.  What does fire do?  (burns old things away to make room for new, kills germs that spread disease) What does wind do? (blows things away, brings new things in)

Ask:  What might these symbols tell us about what the Holy Spirit would bring to the Apostles’ lives?  What about our lives?  (clear away wrong thinking - promote understanding, give us strength to share Christ’s teachings, make us receptive to new ideas)

Ask:  Jesus’ friends, the apostles, were waiting for the Holy Spirit to come to them like Jesus promised.  Why do you think they would do that? What would the Holy Spirit do for them?  (try to lead the children to think of the qualities that the apostles needed to spread Christ’s word - strength, wisdom, understanding, love, patience, etc.)

Explain:  Today, Pentecost, is the birthday of the church.  This is the day that we celebrate the beginning of our work on earth spreading Jesus’ teachings with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Say:  Let’s look at the poster.  What does it say? <Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth >  This is our Responsorial Psalm for today.  The Responsorial Psalms also come from Scripture, from the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament.

Introduce readings

Say:  Let’s light the candle to show that we are ready to listen to the Words of God.

Say: Today’s first reading is from the New Testament book the Acts of the Apostles. (Acts 2:1–11) The first reading is from the Acts of the Apostles.  This is the reading that tells what happened that night in the upper room when the Holy Spirit came to Jesus’ friends.  What happened there is the basis for the Sacrament of Confirmation that you will receive when you are older.

Have the reader read the first reading.

Ask: What happened to the apostles? <the Holy Spirit came, they were all able to speak different languages>  Why do you think they were speaking different languages?  <so that they could tell everybody about Jesus>  Jesus is for everybody – not just a certain special few.

Say: Now it is time for the Responsorial Psalm.  Your part is to say:

Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

Say:  Today’s Gospel reading comes from the book of John.  (Jn 20:19-23)   It tells us about how Jesus sent His friends out to spread His word among all people.  There is a Sacrament mentioned here too.  See if you can figure out what it is.

Pretend you are one of Christ’s friends gathered together trying to figure out what you are supposed to be doing.  By this time, Jesus had visited several times so you are hoping to see Him again.  Listen closely to all the readings and see if you can remember the two Sacraments that are referred to in today’s readings.

Say:  Now we will get ready to hear the Gospel

(hold up card)  Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Have the reader begin: “a reading from the holy gospel.....”

Read:  Read the Gospel

Ask:  What  sacraments did you hear about? <Confirmation and Reconciliation>  Do you think the Holy Spirit is working with us today?  Why or why not?  <discuss>  Remember, Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would remain with us – so, yes, the Holy Spirit is still here helping us to understand.

Ask: Does anyone remember the sign that we give to each other to show that there is God’s peace between us? 

Say:  Let’s give each other a sign of peace. 

Allow a few minutes for the sign of peace.

Ask children to add their names to the cutouts (flames) provided.  Remind the children that we are making a poster for each Sunday and that they will sign a cutout and glue it on when they are here.  The flames represent the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Hand out the symbols to color. (The symbol is a Holy Spirit dove).

  

Explain: Color this symbol of the Holy Spirit and bring it to the altar (don’t forget to put your name on the back!)  to show that we have learned about how the Holy Spirit came to the Apostles and how the Holy Spirit helped them <and us!> to go out and continue Jesus’ work by forming the church.

If there is time, ask questions and go over the lessons one more time to help the children remember.

Parent Letter

Pentecost Sunday  C

Dear Parents,

              Today is the feast of Pentecost.  The children listened to the same readings you did:  Acts 2:1-11 and John 20:19-23.

To reinforce at home:

           

Happy Birthday to the church!  Today’s discussion centered around the receipt of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  We talked about the Holy Spirit coming to the Apostles that night in the forms of wind and fire.  We talked about the meaning of the wind and fire – destroying the old and making way for the new. 

We talked about the fact that the Holy Spirit empowers us to use the gifts God gave us to continue the work of his son, Jesus.

Activities to do at home:

*We have been called by our Baptism to use our gifts to do Jesus’ work.  Help your child discover his or her own particular talents to share with the community.

*This is a good time to review the meaning of the sacraments with your child.  Today’s readings describe both Confirmation and Reconciliation. 

 *Celebrate the birthday of the church with a small party at your Sunday meal!

Thank you for sharing your children!

Pentecost Sunday B

Pentecost Sunday Cycle B

Welcome children to their worship space.

Ask them to get their carpet squares and sit down in a circle.

Introduce yourself and your helpers.

Introduce

       Say:  This the Feast of Pentecost!  This is the feast we have been waiting for, the coming of the Holy Spirit and the official birthday of the church.

Ask:  Does anyone remember all the things we have read about in Scripture that tell what Jesus wants us to have in this church we are building for him?  He wants us to have peace between each other, to read his holy Word, to love one another and to pray!

Introduce symbol

Say:   Today’s symbol is a dove.  This particular dove has some colors all around it – red, yellow and orange. 

Ask:  What do you think these colors might mean?  <fire> 

Explain:  In the readings today, the Holy Spirit appears to Christ’s followers in the symbols of wind and fire.  What does fire do?  <burns old things away to make room for new, kills germs that spread disease>  What does wind do?  <blows things away, brings new things in>

Ask:  What do you think these symbols tell us about what the Holy Spirit can bring to the Apostles’ lives?  What about to our lives?  <clear away wrong thinking – promote understanding, give us strength to share Christ’s teachings, make us receptive to new ideas> 

Ask:  Jesus’ friends, the Apostles, were waiting for the Holy Spirit to come to them like Jesus promised.  Why do you think they would do that?  What would the Holy Spirit do for them?  <try to lead the children to think of the qualities that the Apostles would need to have in order to spread Christ’s word all over the world- strength, wisdom, understanding, love, patience, etc.>

Explain:  Today, Pentecost, is the birthday of the church.  This is the day that we celebrate the beginning of our work on earth spreading Jesus’ teachings with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Say:  Let’s look at today’s poster.  What does it say? <Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.>  This is our Responsorial Psalm for today.  The Responsorial Psalms also come from Scripture, from the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament.

Introduce readings

We have two readings today.

Say:  Let’s light the candle to show that we are ready to listen to the Word of God.

Say: Today’s first reading is again from the New Testament book of Acts of the Apostles. (Acts  2:1-11) This reading tells us what happened that night in the upper room when the Holy Spirit came to the Apostles.  What you will hear is the basis of the Catholic sacrament of Confirmation that you will receive when you are older.

Have the reader read the first reading.

Ask:  What did you hear?  <let the children retell the reading>  Where was the wind and fire?  <there was a noise from heaven that sounded like a might wind, the tongues of flame that appeared above each person’s head> And each person began to speak about Jesus in a different language.

Say: Now it is time for the Responsorial Psalm.  Your part is to say:

Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.

Say:  Today’s Gospel reading comes from the book of St. John.  (John 20:19-23). The Gospel reading today tells us how Jesus sent the Apostles out to spread his word among all people.  There is a Sacrament mentioned here too.  See if you can figure out what it is.

Say:  Now we will stand and get ready to hear the Gospel

(hold up card)  Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Have the reader begin: “a reading from the holy gospel.....”

Read:  Read the Gospel

Ask:  Did anyone hear which Sacrament Jesus mentioned?  <Reconciliation>  He gave the Apostles the ability to forgive sins in Jesus’ name.

Hand out the poster cut-outs of a dove so that the children can write their names on them for the poster.

Hand out the symbols to color. (The symbol is a dove).  Ask the older children to write one they could ask the Holy Spirit to help them with this week.

 

Explain: Color this symbol of the dove and bring it to the altar (don’t forget to put your name on the back!)  to show that we have learned about needing the Holy Spirit in our lives.

If there is time, ask questions and go over the lessons one more time to help the children remember.

Give out stickers and hand-outs as they leave.

Make these small for the poster project - use light flame colors - yellow and orange

This graphic makes a really pretty banner symbol.  I did this in layers of shapes... bottom layer is red, then orange and yellow.  The dove is on top in white

 Use this graphic for the full-sized coloring sheet Offertory symbol

 

Parent Letter

The Feast of Pentecost B

Dear Parents,

             Today we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost.  The children listened to two of the same readings you did: Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11; John 20:19-23.

Symbol: Fiery dove

To reinforce at home:

Today we celebrate the birth of the fledgling church that was charged to carry on the work of Christ.  We talked about the coming of the Holy Spirit and what that meant to the Apostles.  We talked about the symbolism of wind and fire, the symbols associated with the coming of the Holy Spirit.  We also talked about what the Holy Spirit can do for us.

Activities to do at home:

*Have a small celebration at home to mark the birthday of the church

*Join in your parish Pentecost celebration.

*Talk with your child about the role the Holy Spirit fills in your life.

Thank you for sharing your children!