The kids were great at the Harvest Festival yesterday. Bob had this idea that they should go out during the sermon and produce something to display at the end of the service. Then he left me to implement it!
Those in the 11+ group used the time to prepare for next Sunday's Youth Event - and the remainder [post toddler] came with me, and two great helpers, Kara and Deb into the Small Hall.
We began by practising the Harvest Thank you from the BMS resources CD. I'd prepared a series of 7 pictures [world, field, wheat, flour, bread, meal, "today"] and the children held up each in turn, whilst we read a poem. Each verse added an extra line [ a bit like The house That Jack Built} "This is the bread that is made from the flour that is cooked by the baker, from the wheat that is ground by the miller that grows in the field that is part of the world that God made" etc.
Then we made ears of corn and coloured in letters and stuck them onto a banner which we carried in at the end off the service.
The sermon slot was a tiny bit longer than I was anticipating [not complaining here - I hadn't anticipated the intercessions and hymn!]so I decided we would have an extra prayer time ourselves.
"We collected lots of tins of food this morning. Where are the tins going, can anyone tell me?"
"To the playground in Tanzania"
"Err, no, not Africa. Alex and Tom did show us their video this morning, but that's not where the tins are going"
"To the middle!"
"Sorry? what did you say?"
"To the middle of Leicester"
"That's right!" said Debs, who had worked it out "You mean THE CENTRE PROJECT in Leicester!"
Centre/Middle/it's all the same when you are only 7!
I suggested we should also pray for baby Charis, born the day before -and the youngest child in the group, only 5, said "She has breathing difficulties" Which amazed me - that fact had been mentioned once, briefly, in the notices at the start of the service. Many adults do not listen to the notices, and yet this little dot had taken in the fact of the new baby's needs.
I love those giant ears of wheat in the collage.
ReplyDeleteI love the comments of children too. It reminded me of a time when I was about 8 and a school friend of mine was due to move to Bicester in Oxfordshire. When I recounted it to my Mum I said she was going to live in Oxo in Oxfordshire(I knew it had something to do with gravy!).
As for profound prayers- I always find children's prayers to be amazing.
But don't they always hear the little things? My Mum always said little pitchers have big ears, and it's true!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments.
ReplyDeleteThe kids loved making the ears of wheat
I think Bicester/Oxo is a perfectly reasonably error!
As a child, I muisunderstood the saying, and thought little PICTURES had big ears, and that never made sense, either!