Welcome
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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
Saying Sorry Action: Option 1
âžœPsalm 103.12
âžœAction:remove paper weeds from a ‘garden’ filled with paper flowers
In Green Time, everything grows!
Flowers grow, trees grow
Either: and the Church grows.
We’re part of the Church, so we’re growing too!
Or: and we grow.
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If appropriate: What do gardens need to grow?
Accept the children’s responses.
You might like to add/repeat:
Gardens need sun, rain, etc., to grow.
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To help gardens grow, we also need to pull the weeds out.
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Place your ‘garden’ in the centre of the circle.
Let’s imagine that our heart’s like this garden,
covered with weeds.
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When we say sorry to God,
it’s like we’re weeding our heart.
We’re pulling all the bad things out
and making space for the beautiful flowers.
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Let’s go round the circle
and pull one weed out of the garden each
so we can see the beautiful flowers growing beneath.
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While all the children and adults who wish to weed the garden do so, lead the group in either:
Option 1: singing the ‘I’m sorry’ refrain, or
Option 2: humming the first two lines of the ‘We need a new start’ song followed by singing the refrain ‘We’re sorry, we’re sorry, we need a new start’
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Ask the last child to remove any remaining weeds on behalf of the group. If your group has a large number of children, you may wish to carry two ‘gardens’ around the circle in opposite directions.
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When the group is ready:
Look at our beautiful garden!
Now we can see all the flowers growing.
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The Good News is that when we say sorry,
God will always give us a new start!
We can grow beautifully again
Just like our beautiful garden.
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After three, let’s say ‘God gives us a new start!’
1, 2, 3: God gives us a new start!
Let’s use our new start to share God’s love this week!
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Saying Sorry Action: Option 2
âžœAction: growing from a seed
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The Good News is:
God always wants to give us a new start!
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God wants to plant a little seed,
Show imaginary seed between fingers
the seed of love, in all of us.
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Let’s close our eyes for a moment.
Let’s imagine Jesus coming to us now.
Let’s ask Jesus to make our hearts ready.
Now let’s imagine Jesus planting
that seed in our hearts.
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Let’s open our eyes again.
Let’s imagine we’re the little seed
that Jesus has planted in us.
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Let’s curl up into a ball.
Lead the children in curling up into a ball.
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Let’s show our roots with our fingers.
Lead the children in wiggling fingers.
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We need to let our roots grow down deep.
Lead the children in wiggling fingers down.
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Then after three, let a little shoot pop up.
1, 2, 3 . . . Pop!
Poke your hands up over your head like a little shoot.
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Then start to grow up tall.
Gradually stand up, swaying like a growing stalk.
Taller and taller onto our tiptoes . . .
Reach up with pointy hands and on tiptoes.
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Let’s turn our faces up towards the sun!
Then let our leaves or branches spread out wide.
Arms stretch slowly outwards.
After three, let’s say ‘God gives me a new start!’
1, 2, 3 . . . God gives me a new start!
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What beautiful plants!
Let’s ask for Jesus’ love
to grow inside us today.
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And let’s remember to share Jesus’ love
by caring for each other and for God’s beautiful world.
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