Children's Liturgy Ideas
& Stories
We invite you to share your ideas and stories related to children's
liturgy, particularly the Liturgy of the Word with children. To
prompt further discussion, you may wish to click the article
Questions Most Often Asked By Children's Liturgy Leaders.
Click
here to join the discussion.
Question #1:
We are just developing children's liturgy
in our parish. Does anyone have any practical advice, any pitfalls
that you can warn us about before we start? Thank you.
Submitted
by Polly Murray, Children's Liturgy Coordinator, on May 27, 2002.
Reply #1:
Success or failure often hinges on how
well or poorly we plan a new project. Here is a list of planning
questions to consider:
- Who will be involved? (Selected parents,
other parish staff, catechists?)
- How will you present the idea? What
objections/obstacles do you anticipate? How will you resolve
such difficulties?
- Who will be the primary/core team?
How will you prepare yourselves to be prayer leaders/homilists?
- What materials will you need?
- How will you finance it?
- How will you sustain it with competent
leadership? How often will the leaders/homilists meet to prepare,
evaluate, refine?
- How will you promote/publicize it?
- When will you begin?
We invite you to download the article
under Children's Liturgy entitled, "Questions
Most Often Asked by Children's Liturgy Leaders."
Two brief points: One common pitfall is
using liturgy to teach religion. Children's Liturgy of the Word
is public worship, communal prayer. Leaders are servants of the
Word and facilitators of the community's prayer. While liturgy
has an inherent pedagogical influence, the purpose is not to educate
as you would using catechetical methods.
Another pitfall, with two parts: 1) trivializing
the ritual with entertainment and 2) watering down the Word with
what we think the children will understand. Related to #1: Leaders
often think they need to introduce activities. The ritual is the
activity: singing and singing with gestures, listening, responding,
standing, processing. Related to #2: As servants of the Word,
we encourage children to express what they heard God say to them.
If they seem not to have heard the reading, read it again while
you're inviting them to share with you what they heard. Most often
we leaders will leave with far more learning than we came to "teach."
If we leave with more wonder than answers, we've probably done
it right. It's a matter of being present to the Spirit. As the
Little Prince observed: When one is confronted with mystery, one
dare not disobey.
Submitted by Gerard Pottebaum, Editor
of Treehaus Communications, on May 31, 2002.
Question #1:
I am working on a children's liturgy
of the word. We began last year, doing it a few times in the course
of the year. I am looking for ideas for ways to present the lessons
(without being too cutesy) and for ways of doing confession, prayers,
creed. I have used Caroline Fairless' confession with stones,
which worked well, and which we will continue. I wonder about
having some variation, though. Same with prayers. I like the idea
re: the creed that I read about on this site; we'll try it. Mostly,
I am interested in that first part, conveying the lesson in a
meaningful way, that retains the beauty of our liturgy, but that
is accessible to children.
Thanks.
Submitted byKim McPherson,
Trinity Episcopal Church, on July 23, 2003.
Dear Kim,
Hello again, and thank you for your inquiry. You may wish to subscribe
to the SUNDAY Liturgy of the Word Planning Guide. It provides
suggested creedal statements and prayers based on each Sunday's
readings. It also features the inquiry method of reflecting on
the
> readings with children (which I think you are calling the
"how to present the lesson"). This reflection process
is fully described in the Introduction to the Planning Guide.
You can download sample Sundays from our website, but briefly,
the inquiry method uses open-ended questions that follow three
steps.
Step One: Ask open-ended questions that engage the children in
the story or reading. The object is not to check on whether the
child has listened to the reading, but to engage the child in
the story, on the child's terms. E.g. I wonder what it was like
to be at the table with
> Jesus. I wonder what it was like for Zacchaeus to be up in
the tree. What would you have done if... What would you have said
if... etc.
Step Two: Ask open-ended questions that look out of the story
at our lives today. What is it like for you to walk with Jesus
today? In what way does Jesus ask you to come into your house?
How does Jesus ask us to change (as Zacchaeus felt the need to
change)?
Step Three: Ask open-ended questions that invite the children
to respond. What can we do to change? How can we share the presence
of Jesus with others who walk with us, who are at table with us,
etc?
The object is to explore how the Word might become flesh in us,
so that we are changed by the power of the Spirit into the presence
of Jesus, carrying on his life and work in the world today.
As you can see, the process is one of drawing from the children
(the lesson) what they have heard God say to them and to invite
them to share that with one another. Our part, as leader, is to
tell the story and get out of the way, to speak God's word and
engage the children in
> a conversation with God (which, as you know, is what the
word "homily" suggests...a conversation). As this conversation
unfolds, the leader can take what the children have observed and
summarize their insights in the formula of the creed: "Do
you believe that God sent Jesus to... Do you believe that Jesus
shows us the way to change? Do you believe
> that the Holy Spirit gives us the power to change our lives
and our world?" The creedal prayer can flow into the Prayer
of the Faithful, first inviting the children to express their
prayers, and then the leader can add prayers, again that compliment
the reflections on the
> readings. "Let us pray for the leaders of nations, that
they might change etc. For our church that we might examine our
integrity as Zacchaeus did... For our families that we might welcome
Jesus into our homes, etc." These prayers lead us seek help
in changing our
> lives so that we might become the presence of Jesus in the
world today, and then celebrate that presence as we gather to
receive Jesus as our Food at the Table.
The principle is based on this observation: children already have
a relationship with God. They already experience the presence
of God in their lives. They do not have the language with which
to describe or to share those experiences. Our responsibility
as adults is to provide
> the children with access to a language that is worthy of
these experiences that the children already are having. The biblical
imagery provides such a language, when presented in such a way
that the children can bring their perceptions of their experience
to those images and metaphors, on their terms, rather than on
our terms. This does not mean that we don't have anything to offer;
we can share our reflections with those of the children, but our
reflections should not pre-empt the children's, as we are all
children, gathered listening to God's Word.
Should you need more information about the Planning Guide, call
800.638.4287. The inquiry process and background is fully described
in the book TO WALK WITH A CHILD (Treehaus).
Best wishes,
Gerard Pottebaum
Our catechists for Children's Liturgy
of the Word would like to know of resources which give some ideas
and suggestions for visuals they can use. We currently use the
Treehaus LOW Planning Guide, but they would lik to supplement
this with creative visuals. Any suggestions?
Thank you.
Submitted by Denise Anderson, St. Francis
of Assissi, on July 15, 2003
Dear Denise,
Thank you for your inquiry. The only graphics that we are aware
of that illustrate the Sunday readings are those shown in the
SUNDAY Liturgy of the Word Planning Guide. The graphics that appear
in the Guide for each Sunday are available in large poster size
(17 x 22) for families to color. We are not aware of any other
graphics available in this country that illustrate the Sunday
readings and provide the Psalm Response and Gospel Acclamation.
These posters can be mounted and displayed to the side, but keeping
the Book of Readings as the central "visual aid".
There are other suggestions in the Planning Guide (under Liturgical
Environment) that have to do with additional decorations to compliment
the liturgical season. Other than these, we suggest that you keep
the liturgical environment simple so that the Book of Readings
is the featured visual/symbol. When you choose additional visual
aids, they should not compete with the Book of Readings and its
display, facing the children, on a stand that might be covered
with a cloth of a color in keeping the liturgical season.
You might also have banners, poles with ribbon streamers, or candles
to compliment the season and that are similar to those used in
the large assembly, so that the separate children's liturgy is
seen as part of event being celebrated by the larger assembly.
The principle that we are applying for the children's environment
for celebrating the word is related to one applied to decorating
the altar and surrounding area (or the place where the Gospel
book is displayed and the Word is proclaimed). Nothing is on the
table except the vessels for bread and wine, and the book. Candles
are on the side and perhaps flowers but not so as to compete with
the primary symbol of the table and vessels.
We hope this is helpful. If not, let us know.
Best wishes,
Gerard Pottebaum
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