6th Sunday of Easter 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.

Review

Ask:  This is the 6^th Sunday in the Easter season.  Can anyone tell me what the next feast we celebrate is?  <the feast of the Ascension>  On the feast of the Ascension, we celebrate the fact that Jesus went back to heaven.

Ask:  Can anyone tell me what we talked about last week?  <show the symbol of a person>  We talked about asking for help from others and from God.  We talked about how important other people are to our lives and how important prayer is.

Say:  Does anyone remember what else our church needs?  <each other, the Mass and the Eucharist, forgiveness and love>  If we can keep building with these things, we will come close to building what Jesus wants for us!

Introduce symbol

Say:   Today our symbol is a dove.  Does anyone remember what a dove might stand for?  <let the children respond>  It stand today for the Holy Spirit.

Say:  Jesus promised that he would send an advocate to be with us after he left earth.  Advocate is a big word.  Can anyone tell me what it means?  <an advocate is someone who stands up for or defends someone else.>

Say:  Let’s look at today’s poster.  What does it say? <Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.>  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 from the Acts of the Apostles. (Acts 8: 5-8, 14-17)  This is a story about St. Philip in Samaria.  Does anyone remember anything about the people who lived in Samaria?  The people were called Samaritans.  <probably someone will recall the story of the good Samaritan>  When Jesus lived on earth, very few people liked the Samaritans.  No one would talk to them or be nice to them or even get near them.

Ask:  Do you know anyone like that now?  That others are afraid to be with?  <let the children respond – possibilities are: the elderly, people from other countries, other faith traditions, etc.>  In this reading, we hear about something that happened in Samaria.  Pretend that you are a child in Jerusalem and you are listening to what happened.

Have the reader read the first reading.

Ask: Did you hear what happened?  <the Holy Spirit came to the people in Samaria>  this reading reminds us that the Holy Spirit is available for anyone who believes in Jesus – even people who are not exactly like us, even people we might be afraid of.

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

Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.

Say:  Today’s Gospel reading comes from the book of St. John.  (John 14:15-21).  St. John tells us about Jesus’ promise to send the Holy Spirit to us.  He promised that he would not leave us here alone.  Let’s listen to see if we can hear who Jesus said he was going to send to us.

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:  What happened?  <let the children retell what they heard>  What was the promise that Jesus made?  <that when he returned to his father, he would send the Holy Spirit to us>  What else do we need to build our faith community?  <the Holy Spirit>

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 thing they can do this week to make time to listen to the Holy Spirit.

 

Explain: Color this symbol of a dove and bring it to the altar (don’t forget to put your name on the back!)  to show that we have learned about the Holy Spirit being here with us all the time..

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.

Use this dove in a small size for the poster symbol and a medium size for the banner symbol

This graphic is used for the large black line coloring page used for the Offertory

Parent Letter

6th Sunday of Easter  A

Dear Parents,

             Today is the 6^th Sunday in the Easter season.  The children listened to two of the same readings you did: Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 and John 14:15-21.

Symbol: dove

To reinforce at home:

In the Acts of the Apostles today we hear about a surprising group of people who received the Holy Spirit, the Samaritans.  Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit to give us the strength and wisdom to carry on his work… but imagine how surprised the Jewish people were to hear that the despised Samaritans also received the Spirit.  The Holy Spirit has been promised to all believers.

In the Gospel we are reminded that the world neither recognizes nor values the Holy Spirit.  When we chase after the things the world values, like money or the most possessions, it is hard to her or appreciate the Holy Spirit.  We are encouraged to continue living the way Jesus taught us anyway with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Activities to do at home:

*Watch television commercials together with your child.  Find some things in the commercials that emphasize the qualities of our world that do NOT reflect Jesus’ message (some examples?  The messages in the commercials – you will be happy if you buy a bigger car, you have to have this new toy in order to find happiness, etc.)

*Pray together!  Find a quiet time together to pray to the Holy Spirit for wisdom in making a difficult choice.  When your child has a decision to make, remind them that the Holy Spirit can help them make it.

Thank you for sharing your children!

May 7, 2023 5th Sunday of Easter A

5th Sunday of Easter 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:  Today is the 5^th Sunday of the Easter Season.  Can anyone tell me what we are learning about during this Easter Season?  <building the early church, building a faith community today, what we need in order to build a faith community>

Ask: What was the symbol for last week?  <sheep & gate>  We talked about how Jesus loves and forgives us when we do wrong things.  We learned that love and forgiveness are important things that are needed in Jesus’ church.  Does anyone remember any of the other important things we have talked about for our faith community?  <going to Mass, sharing in the Eucharist, needing each other>

Introduce symbol

Say:   Today’s symbol is a person. Today we are going to talk about what happened when the early church grew.

Say:  In the early church, just like now, the Apostles were very busy and overworked.  There was always so much to do.  There were hungry and sick people to help.  There were lots of people who needed to hear about Jesus.  There were letters to write and prayers to say.  And the Apostles still needed to figure out how to get money so they could live.  And in the middle of all this, just like us, they had their own feelings and questions.  God had asked them to do a special job.  How were they going to handle everything?  Today we will hear some readings to help us find out what they did and see if it is something that we can do, too.

Say:  Let’s look at today’s poster.  What does it say? <You open your hand to us, Lord; you answer all our needs.>  This is our Responsorial Psalm for today.  The Responsorial Psalms also come from Scripture, from the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament.

Say:  The Responsorial Psalm gives us a good clue about what to do when we get confused.  What do you think that you should do when you are confused?  <pray, trust God, have faith>  We need to trust that God will help us.

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, the Acts of the Apostles. (Acts 6:1-7a)  When Jesus went back to heaven he asked the Apostles to do a special job, to start his church.  He asked them to continue teaching his message to everyone.  As the Apostles did that, there were more and more people to take care of – just like we talked about earlier.  Listen closely to this reading and find out what they decided to do to handle their problems.

Have the reader read the first reading.

Ask:  What did the Apostles do?  <they asked others for help>  Just like us, the first thing we nee to do is ask for help.  And then we have to let go of the job.  This is even harder to do sometimes.  What that means is letting other people help in their own way (which isn’t always the same way we think things should be done!)

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

You open your hand to feed us, Lord; you answer all our needs.

Say:  Today’s Gospel reading comes from the book of John.  (John 14:1-12). When Jesus’ friends found out that he was leaving them alone, they were afraid.  They were worried that they couldn’t handle the job without him.  Jesus told them not to worry, that once he was in heaven, they would be able to do the same things that he did.  Listen to what Jesus told his friends.

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:  What did Jesus tell them?  <that he had to go, that they could never go wrong if they believed in him>  When they talked about knowing the way, they were also talking about knowing what to do.  Sometimes when we are confused, we feel lost.  Jesus said that when we know him and believe in him, then we will know the way (or what to do!).

Say:  The Gospel reading reminds us that we need our faith for our new church.  We need to believe in God.  We also need each other.  We need to ask for help from each other and from God.  How do we ask for help from God?  <prayer>

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

Hand out the symbols to color. (The symbol is a person).  Ask the older children to write one thing they can do this week to show that they need others to help them in their lives.

 

Explain: Color this symbol of a person and bring it to the altar (don’t forget to put your name on the back!)  to show that we have learned about needing others 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.

Use this same graphic (or one of your choosing) for the small light-colored poster cut-outs, the mid-sized banner symbol and the full-sized Offertory symbol

Parent Letter

5th Sunday of Easter  A

Dear Parents,

             Today is the 5^th Sunday in the Easter season.  The children listened to two of the same readings you did: Acts 8:1-7a; John 14:1-12.

Symbol: person

To reinforce at home:

For several weeks, we have been talking about what is needed to create a strong church or faith community.  We have mentioned faith, attending Mass and participating in the Eucharist, love and forgiveness.  Today we talked about  the fact that we need God and other people.  The readings today remind us to ask for help.  We ask others for help and we ask God for help.  To build our church, today we add other people and prayer.

Activities to do at home:

*We need each other!  Together with your child, brainstorm ways that you need other people in order to live your life the way you do right now.  For example, talk about the people who provide you with food, from the farmer to the owner of the grocery store, or the people who provide you with transportation, from the highway department to the engineer who designs vehicles.

*Who needs you?  Together with your child, make a list of the people who need you.  Don’t forget the elderly person who waits for your smile each time you arrive or the teacher who needs a student.  Emphasize that we are all inter-dependent upon each other.

*What can you do to help?  Other people need your help.  Run an errand for a neighbor.  Buy an extra food item at the store this week to donate to the hungry.  Write a letter together to a relative you haven’t seen in a while.

*Feel like you can’t help?  Never underestimate the value of prayer!  With your child, make a list of people you’d like to help but don’t know how.  Pray together for those people.

Thank you for sharing your children!

3rd Sunday of Easter Cycle A

3rd Sunday of Easter 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

Ask:  Can anyone tell me what our focus is during this Easter season?  Does anyone remember from last week?  <building Jesus’ church>  Why do we need to think about building a church?  Do we need hammers and nails?  <no, we are creating a community>  What we do here in the name of Jesus is create a FAITH COMMUNITY.  Our church is a FAITH COMMUNITY – because we all believe in the same things.  We are all different, just like Jesus’ apostles were all different, but we believe in the same things.

Ask:  Does anyone remember what our symbol was for last week?  <show the hand>  It represented one of the things we need to build our FAITH COMMUNITY.  Can anyone remember what the symbol represented?  <each other!>

Introduce symbol

Say:   Today’s symbol is bread.

Ask:  What do you think of when you see bread?  <eating!> 

Explain:  Bread is food, right?  Bread fills us up.  Even if we don’t have anything else, bread makes a nutritious meal and satisfies our hunger.  When we say the words ‘breaking bread together’, what does that mean?  <eating together>  Did Jesus give us a meal to share?  <YES>  What is it?  <the Eucharist>  He told us to come to Mass and to share the Eucharist.

So for our FAITH COMMUNITY, we need the MASS and the EUCHARIST.

Say:  Let’s look at today’s poster.  What does it say? <I love you, Lord, my strength.>  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 from the New Testament Acts of the Apostles. (Acts  2:14, 22-24)  In this reading, Peter talks to the people of Jerusalem on Pentecost.  Pentecost is the next great feast that we celebrate, when the Holy Spirit came to the Apostles and gave them the strength they needed to go tell everyone about Jesus.  These are the same people who turned Jesus over to the authorities.  In other words, these are the same people who were responsible for Jesus’ death.  Listen to what Peter has to say to them.

Have the reader read the first reading.

Ask:  What did Peter say?  <that Jesus’ death was part of God’s plan>  Jesus is stronger than death.  Did the people do a bad thing by killing Jesus?  <yes>  But what Peter is telling them is that they can be forgiven, that Jesus lives again and that he loves everyone no matter what!

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

I love you, Lord, my strength.

Say:  Today’s Gospel reading comes from the book of Luke  (Luke 24:13-35).  This reading tells us about two of Jesus’ friends traveling on a road to a small town that was called Emmaus.  They were talking to each other about everything that had happened.  A stranger joins them and asks them to tell him what they are talking about.  Pretend like you are walking along the road with  these three people and listen for one special thing that you haven’t heard before.

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:  What one special new thing did you hear?  <let the children respond>  Who was the stranger who joined the two friends?  <Jesus>  Did they know who he was?  <no>

Explain:  Why do you think that they didn’t recognize Jesus at first?  <let the children respond> First of all, they saw Jesus die.  Even if he looked exactly the same, they KNEW he was dead – so their minds would not believe it was Jesus.  Second, we know that he rose from the dead, just as we will one day, he had what Scripture calls a ‘glorified body’ – it was perfect and different – no sicknesses, no scratches or scars, no unhappiness of any kind.  Maybe it really looks different to people.  And third, can you think of a reason why Jesus might not want them to recognize him?  <maybe he wanted to really hear what his friends were saying without him there, maybe he wanted his friends to know that they could learn about him from strangers, maybe he wanted his friends to know that he would always be with them, even when they didn’t see him>

Explain:  When did they figure it out?  <when they ate together>  When they all three sat down together and shared their bread, Jesus revealed himself to them.  That tells us that we too can recognize Jesus with us when we gather and break bread.  When we come to Mass to share the Scripture readings and the Eucharist, we experience Jesus with us.  To build our FAITH COMMUNITY, we need to gather together regularly and talk about Jesus and share in the meal he left for us at the Last Supper.

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

Hand out the symbols to color. (The symbol is bread).  Ask the older children to write one thing they will do this week to show that they understand the importance of gathering with their FAITH COMMUNITY.

 

Explain: Color this symbol of bread and bring it to the altar (don’t forget to put your name on the back!)  to show that we have learned about how we need to come to Mass with our friends and share in the Eucharist together.

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.

Use a small oval in light colors to add children's names to the communal poster

Use this graphic to make the banner symbol (in browns) and the full size coloring page for the Offertory gift

Parent Letter

3rd Sunday of Easter  A

Dear Parents,

             Today is the Third Sunday of Easter.  The children listened to two of the same readings you did: Acts 2:14, 22-24; Luke 24:13-35.

Symbol: Bread

To reinforce at home:

Today we listened to Peter as he reassured the people of Jerusalem that Jesus’ death at their hands was part of God’s master plan.  Jesus could not rise from the dead if he had not been killed.  He wanted the people to know that they could be forgiven by Jesus who was stronger than death.

We continued our theme of building the new church, talking about things we needed for our own FAITH COMMUNITY.  The Gospel tells us about the disciples on the road to Emmaus who were joined by a stranger that they did not recognize.  They walked along sharing the confusing events of Christ’s death and resurrection with this stranger.  They never even recognized that it was Jesus until they stopped and shared a meal together.  Building a strong church for Jesus, a strong FAITH COMMUNITY, requires that we gather together and share in the meal that Jesus left for us.  We must attend Mass regularly and participate in the Eucharist.

Activities to do at home:

*Sometimes going to Mass regularly is not easy, especially with small children.  Make a decision to do it anyway.  Get the schedules of all the Masses of churches within driving distance.  Sometimes you can’t make it to your own church but might be able to get to a different one.

*With your child, try a weekday Mass or prayer service with communion.  Make a special effort to gather with those who are in your faith community.

Thank you for sharing your children!

2nd Sunday of Easter Cycle A

2nd Sunday of Easter 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:  Today is the 2nd Sunday of Easter.  Last week, we had some changes in the way we celebrate Mass and in the decoration of the church.  Did anyone notice what they were?  <the music is back, lots of flowers, etc.>  You will notice when we read the Gospel that the Alleluia is back too.

Explain:  Does anyone remember what the symbol for the last Sunday was?  <a shining sun>  And what did it represent?  <the light of Jesus, Jesus rising from the dead, Jesus conquering death>

Introduce symbol

Ask: Before I begin, I have a question for you:  can anyone remember where our first reading usually comes from?  <the Old Testament>  The New Testament book called the  Acts of the Apostles tells us about the early church. It tells us about the things that happened to the Apostles in the very beginning right after Jesus rose from the dead.  During the Easter season – from now until the feast of Pentecost, we will be talking about how the new church began.  We will see the kinds of problems that the Apostles faced, which happen to be many of the same problems we face today.  We will learn what we need to build our church community right here at <say the name of your church>

Say:   Today’s symbol is a hand.

Ask:  What does a hand make you think of?  <let the children answer>  We use our hands to do things for each other and for ourselves.  Our hands can hold on to each other – and they can prove things to us by using the sense of touch.

Explain:  One of the most important things that we need to build a strong church community for God s each other.  We need each other to live the way that Jesus taught us to live.  Today we’ll hear a little and talk a little about how we can help each other be good folowwers of Jesus.

Say:  Let’s look at today’s poster.  What does it say? <Give thanks for the Lord is good.  God’s love is everlasting.>  This is our Responsorial Psalm for today, a psalm of praise.

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 from the first New Testament book of Acts. (Acts 2:42-47)  In this reading, we learn how the apostles and other early followers of Jesus treated each other.  If you think about Jesus’ message, how do you think his followers would treat each other?  <let the children respond>  Let’s pretend that we don’t know about Jesus.  His followers are strangers to us.  Let’s listen to this reading and see if the way the apostles lived is the way most people in the world live.

Have the reader read the first reading.

Ask:  How did they live? <discuss>  Do you think that everybody lives this way?  <no>  What is different?  <they shared everything, they sold all their things and gave away the money, they spent a lot of time praying together>  Do you think that it is possible for us to live the way they did?  Why or why not?

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

Give thanks for the Lord is good.  God’s love is everlasting.

Say:  Today’s Gospel reading comes from the book of the Apostle John.  (John 20:19-29). Do you remember who the Gospel writers are?  And how many? <4 – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John>  During this season of Easter, we will hear mostly from St. John.

This reading tells us about two times when all of Jesus’ friends were gathered together in an upper room with the doors locked, probably the same one where they shared the Last Supper with Jesus. It was right after Jesus rose from the dead.  The Apostles were frightened of the Romans and of their fellow Jews.  Remember that their friend, Jesus, had just been tried and executed as a criminal.  Can you imagine how you would feel if you were one of Jesus’ friends?  <let the children respond a little>  They were afraid that they would be arrested and killed too.  They still believed in all that Jesus told them, but they didn’t know what to do.  Pretend that you are one of the Apostles and listen closely to the Gospel to find out what happened on those nights.

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 you already know this story?  Did you hear anything new?  <let the children respond>  On the first night, what happened?  <Jesus appeared to the Apostles>  How do you think the Apostles felt? <glad to see him, scared a little because they had watched him die, worried about what it all meant>  What did Jesus tell them? <he said he was sending them out, just like the Father had sent him>  Then what happened?  <they told the other Apostles about seeing Jesus>  Who was second night all about?  <Thomas>  Thomas didn’t believe, did he?

What did Thomas say to the Apostles?  <that he would believe that Jesus had come back when he actually saw him and felt his wounds>  When Jesus appeared the next time, what did he tell Thomas?  <blessed are those who believe without seeing>  Do you know anyone who believes in Jesus but has not seen him?  <US>  Thomas needed proof that Jesus had risen – and Jesus loved him anyway.  Thomas received his proof with his hands.  We can help each other to find the proof we need to have faith in Jesus.

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

Hand out the symbols to color. (The symbol is a hand). 

 

Explain: Color this symbol of a hand and bring it to the altar (don’t forget to put your name on the back!)  to show that we have learned about being Jesus for each other.

Ask the older children to write down one thing that they can do this week to show how they can be Jesus to someone else.

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.

Poster graphic

 

Banner Symbol and Offertory gift

Parent Letter

2nd Sunday of Easter  A

Dear Parents,

             Today is the 2^nd Sunday in the season of Easter.  The children listened to two of the same readings you did: Acts 2:42-47; John 20:19-29.

Symbol: Hand

To reinforce at home:

Today we talked about the beginnings of the church after Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead.  That will be our focus for the entire Easter season – until Pentecost.  We talked about one of the key ingredients in building our church community: faith.

We need each other as described in Acts.  We need to treat each other like family, spend time with each other and take care of each other’s needs.

We need faith in Jesus, faith that he is God who made the supreme sacrifice for us just because he loves us.  Like Thomas, sometimes we need to see to believe, but how much more blessed we are when we can have faith without proof.

Activities to do at home:

*With all the pressures of life today, it is difficult even to treat our own families like family.  Talk with your child about how you can spend more time together as a family.  Turn off the television and play a game together.

*Read your church bulletin with your child and choose one activity to participate in with your parish.

*Call your church office and find one parishioner who needs your help.  Consider making an anonymous donation for that person.  Or perhaps you and your child can help someone in your parish who needs help with yardwork or running errands.

Thank you for sharing your children!