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Welcome

Getting Ready to Worship

Introduction to the Unit

Gathering Song

Getting Ready for Bible Storytelling

Interactive

Storytelling

Saying Sorry to God

Saying Sorry Action

God Gives us a New Start

Prayers for Other People

Prayer Action

Thank You God

Creative Response

Sharing God's Peace

Taking God's Love

Into the World

Prayer Action

➜ Guide: p.223 & 225

 

Continue with one of the Prayer Action options outlined below, or you can use the Prayer Action options 2 and 3 from the 'Jesus' Wonderful Love' unit at any time of year.

Prayers Action, Week 1: All the saints

➜Action: placing battery tealights or paper stars on a cross/heart or dark or white/gold piece of fabric (see Book 1, p.183 for tips)

 

Place one or more baskets/trays with lit battery tealights or paper stars in front of you.

If using battery tealights:

Now as we pray, we’re going to turn the lights off

for a moment and look at these candles.

Ask an adult or child to turn off the lights.

The saints are like lights in the world!

God calls us to be little lights in the world too.

In a moment,

Name and Name are going to bring around these candles/stars.

If you like, you could take a candle/star

and hold it up like this.

Model to the children holding their tealight/star up.

Let’s sing as we wait in the dark to be given our little light.

Hum the tune together, with the words ‘Jesus, hear our prayer!’ as a refrain, until all the children and adults who wish to take tealights or stars have done so. Continue holding up your tealight/star throughout as a model.

Let’s pray that we can be little lights in the world for God.

Let’s give our light prayers to God as we sing.

Hum the tune together, with the words ‘Jesus, hear our prayer!’ as a refrain, as you lead the children in placing the candles in the centre of the circle on a cross/heart or on a dark or white/gold piece of fabric. Some groups may like to invite two children to go around the circle with a cross or piece of fabric on a tray to collect the candles. This can then be placed in the centre.

End this time of prayer with the final verse of the Prayer Song you’ve chosen.

Prayers Action, Week 2: Remembrance Sunday

➜Action: placing poppies on a piece of brown fabric (used in the Bible Storytelling)

Show the children one or more baskets/trays containing poppies.

In a moment, Name and Name

are going to bring round these poppies.

If you like, you could take one and hold it up like this.

Model to the children holding up their poppy.

Let’s ask God to see our poppy as a prayer for peace.

Lead the children in humming the tune together, with the words ‘Jesus, hear our prayer!’ as a refrain, until all the children and adults who wish to take a poppy have done so.

Let’s give our poppy prayers for peace to God as we sing.

You can put your poppy anywhere you like on our cloth.

Indicate the cloth that was laid over the ‘small world’ people in Bible Storytelling (see Book 1, p. 151).

Let’s ask God to hear our poppy as a prayer

that we – and all our leaders –

will use our words instead of fighting.

Hum the tune together, with the words ‘Jesus, hear our prayer!’ as a refrain, as you lead the children in placing their poppies. Some groups may like to invite two children to go around the circle in opposite directions with trays to collect the poppies. The poppies can then be laid on the cloth by one or two of the children.

 

End this time of prayer with the final verse of the Prayer Song you’ve chosen.

Prayers Action, Week 3: All who have died

➜Action: placing candles (battery tealights) or flowers on a cross, paper heart or piece of fabric

 

I wonder whether you know someone who’s died?

Or maybe you’ve heard an adult talking

about someone special who has died,

like my Nanny Ken.

Either: If you don’t know anyone who’s died,

you could join me in remembering my Nanny Ken.

Or, if appropriate:

If you don’t know anyone who’s died,

you could join our church in remembering

Name, Name, and Name.

List the first names of 1–4 people who’ve died and are being remembered in your church or other group at the moment.

Let’s close our eyes for a moment.

Let’s remember someone who’s died now.

Let’s remember something that they did

that makes us smile . . .

Let’s open our eyes.

Place your cross, heart or fabric in the centre of the circle.

If using battery tealights:

Now as we pray, we’re going to turn the lights off

for a moment and look at these candles.

Ask an adult or child to turn off the lights.

In a moment, Name and Name are going to bring around

these candles/flowers.

If you like, you could take one and hold it up like this.

Model to the children holding their flower/candle up.

Let’s ask God to see our flower/candle

as a ‘thank you’ prayer for our special person who’s died.

Hum the tune together, with the words ‘Jesus, hear our prayer!’ as a refrain, until all the children and adults who wish to take a flower/candle have done so.

Let’s give our flower/candle prayers to God as we sing.

You can put your flower/candle

anywhere you like on this heart/cross/fabric.

Hum the tune together, with the words ‘Jesus, hear our prayer!’ as a refrain, as you lead the children in placing their flowers/candles. Some groups may like to invite two children to go around the circle in opposite directions with trays to collect the flowers/candles. The trays can then be placed in the centre.

 

End this time of prayer with the final verse of the Prayer Song you’ve chosen.

Prayer Action, Week 4: Christ the King

➜Action: placing a paper crown, a battery tealight or another object on a piece of fabric, a cross or another symbol of Jesus (for instance a drawing or painting, an icon, a manger, a throne)

Place your cross, fabric or other symbol of Jesus in the centre of the circle. Show the children one or more baskets of paper crowns or pictures of crowns, or other object you’ve chosen.

In a moment, Name and Name

are going to bring around these crowns.

If you like, you can take a crown and hold it up to God.

Model holding a crown in the air to the children.

Hum the tune together, with the words ‘Jesus, hear our prayer!’ as a refrain, until all the children and adults who wish to take a crown have done so.

Let’s ask God to see these crowns as ‘thank you’ prayers.

In a moment, if you like, you can put yours

anywhere you like on this cross.

Let’s say ‘thank you’ to Jesus, our King.

Let’s give King Jesus the crown he deserves!

Hum the tune together again while the group place their crowns. Larger groups may like to invite two children to carry the cross on a tray around the circle to collect the children’s crowns. This crown can then be placed in the centre of the circle.

 

End this time of prayer with the final verse of the Prayer Song you’ve chosen.

Prayers Action, Extra: Remembering People in Need

If you still wish to keep a time of prayer during this week’s session, hold it at the end of the extended activity.

Place a tray of whatever you have made in the centre of the circle.

We’ve made these beautiful _______

to help people who need God’s help.

Let’s hold our hands out towards them

and show what we’ve made to God.

Lead the children in holding their hands out with palms up towards the tray.

Let’s ask God to see them as a prayer

for the people we want to help.

For __________________________.

Let’s sing together.

Sing the last verse of yourPrayers for Other People song as you hold your hands out towards whatever you’ve made.

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