Mar
17
Written by:
host
3/17/2010 7:00 AM
Palm Sunday is a fun day for children and adults alike. As we celebrate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, we wave palm branches and shout Hosanna! Excitement is in the air. Many children (and adults) leave church on Palm Sunday on that wave of excitement, and return a week later. Easter! He is risen! This is the best news of all. It is another joyous morning of worship and Sunday School.
While the excitement of Palm Sunday and the joy of Easter morning are important, we are doing children a disservice when we neglect to help them mark the events in between these two joyous events. Even if the stories of Jesus and the moneychangers, the meal in the upper room, the crucifixion and Peter’s denial of Jesus have been taught in Sunday School before Palm Sunday, it is not quite the same as feeling the fluctuating emotions of these events during a one week period. How then, can we give children an opportunity to experience Holy Week? Although I never claim to have all the answers, here are some suggestions.
First of all, invite children to participate in the Holy Week events at your church. This translates into inviting parents and making it clear that children are welcome. Likely, this will involve education of parents (and other adults) on why we observe Holy Week rather than skipping from Palm Sunday to Easter. Generally, the services of Holy Week are interesting to children because they tend to be different than many of our worship services.
A second possibility is inviting children to observe a “mini” Holy Week. By this I mean offering children an opportunity to remember the events from Palm Sunday to Easter all at one time. This could be offered midweek during Holy Week, either as part of a midweek children’s program, or as a special event. Alternatively, such an opportunity could be offered on Palm Sunday or Easter morning. Here are three fun ways to review Holy Week with children.
- Holy Week Roller Coaster – While reviewing the events of Holy Week, have the children decide whether the emotions of these events correspond to a high or a low, or anywhere in between. Set up the course accordingly. This could be done with a car track, or cardboard and marbles.
- Holy Week Miniature Golf – Design (or invite older children or youth design) a mini-golf course which begins with Palm Sunday and progresses through the week to Easter. Have each hole reflect the tone of the remembered event.
- Holy Week Obstacle Course – Design an obstacle course observing the events of Palm Sunday (perhaps running through palm branches or waving palm branches while running a certain distance) through Easter (perhaps finding the empty plastic egg in a bucket full of filled eggs).
Use your imagination. Remember that it is possible to have fun, even while observing somber events. Helping children experience the lows of holy week, in addition the highs, will give them a better understanding of Easter joy.
~Sally Hoelscher
Thanks to Ellen Johnsen for the roller coaster and miniature golf ideas.
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