Making Connections: The Fettuccia

On Sunday in the True Vine Atrium we went downstairs to unroll the Fettuccia. We gather for this presentation every year, and much of our work in the atrium for the first through third grade child connects to this impressionistic lesson. You can read about this presentation in the blog post The Fettuccia. With this work we offer the child a glimpse into the vastness of the History of the Kingdom of God, and an awareness of its three great moments: creation, redemption, and parousia.

After seeing the presentation this morning, we returned to our atrium and everyone began to work. A little later in the morning, I presented the Liturgical Calendar to one of our first graders. This bubbly boy is a joy to talk with, and we were moving through the calendar together quite companionably. Suddenly, he surprised me by saying "If Jesus died again the light would go out of the world forever." He proceeded to tell me all that he imagined would happen - the sun would go out, and the animals and plants would die. It would be dark and all the people would be cold. He said much more, but I was so surprised by this turn in conversation that I honestly can't recall it!

After he finished telling me about this scenario, I agreed that this would be a very bad thing. Then I asked him if he remembered the three great moments of the History of the Kingdom of God and we talked about them together. He remembered "parousia" and we talked about God's promise that Christ would come again and at that time God would be all in all. There would be no more tears, or pain, or death and the whole earth would be filled with the love and joy of God. This seemed to satisfy him and he began talk again about the Liturgical Calendar material.

At the end of atrium as we were gathered at the prayer table, I prepared the group to make silence together and invited the children's prayers. My young friend from the Liturgical Calendar work indicated that he would like to pray and he waited in silence until it was time. Then he astounded me, praying, "Thank you God for all hope."

As so often happens, I was reminded that in the atrium God and the children themselves offer so much more than I can ever give. Thank you God for all hope.

Making Connections: Holy Week

On Palm Sunday, our last atrium gathering before Easter, I walked through the City of Jerusalem work with our first through third graders. This is a work most have seen before, some of them many times, and a new work for a few. Unlike many presentations which are offered to small groups, we did this work all together, quietly walking through the last days of Jesus' life, his death and resurrection, using the map of the City of Jerusalem as a touch point.

I've presented this work in this manner for the last few Palm Sundays and I am always moved by the peaceful, serious manner the children bring to it. This year, thoughtful comments and questions peppered the presentation, and the group moved through the work slowly and deliberately.

When we were finished I invited any additional thoughts the children would like to share. No one offered anything and I encouraged them to continue to ponder the work in atrium and in the days ahead. Several children asked to put the work back together and the others returned to other parts of the atrium to finish their own work.

I sat by as two children put the pieces back where they belonged on the topography map. One of the two is a first grader, and I watched as he gently and silently replaced one of the wooden pieces. Then softly, as if he breathed the words, I heard him say "Thank you, Jesus."

As We Approach Holy Week...

Last Sunday in the True Vine Atrium the children created some lovely artwork. We used it decorate our prayer table and the children shared their work during our prayer. When I first read the psalm to the left with the artist I asked her "when do we open our eyes?" I was thinking of waking up each morning, as I always do with this scripture reading. The child surprised me by saying "when we are born!" We thought together about the beauty of the newborn proclaiming God's praise for the gift of life. I  was still pondering this response at prayer time, when I asked the group the same question. Wasn't I surprised when another child's first thought was for the moment of our birth?  It is such a blessing to ponder scripture with children!

We are drawing close to Holy Week! This Sunday we will be participating in the Last Supper Celebration in atrium. I love walking through the scripture together with the children as we share matzo and drink grape juice. You can learn more about this celebration in the post Last Supper Celebration. You can also see photos of last year's celebration here.

Our Family Maundy Thursday Service is coming up! We will gather at 5:30 pm in the Chapel on Thursday, March 28th for foot washing and Holy Communion. Holy Week is not an easy fit for the spirituality of young children, but this service speaks to them in a meaningful way with scripture they know and an acknowledgement of the death and resurrection of Jesus in a way that isn't frightening. It was designed especially with young children in mind - short and to the point! If you are local please plan to bring your family to this special gathering.

Advent in the Atrium

We are having a really lovely advent in the True Vine Atrium! The children have been working so well with real focus and joy. All of the History of the Kingdom of God work that we did this fall has made a big impact on how we are seeing the infancy narratives and prophecies. I've been amazed by the depth of the connections the children are making.

On Advent two, we took a look at the prophecies we learned in Level One of the Catechesis and began to synthesize them. I wrote about this presentation and a bit about the role of prophecy in a previous post. The conversation was so rich this year - and the children quickly pointed out several themes they saw in the prophecies. They talked about "little and big," the presence of light and darkness, and the Kingdom of God in the prophecies.

Later in the morning two children presented the scripture and material telling of Mary's visit to Elizabeth to the group. As we pondered what more we might learn about Mary from this moment, we compared the very humble way that Mary saw herself with the amazing role she was given by God. One child connected our work with the prophecies and our thoughts about Mary together in a beautiful way: He said that God took all of that light and the whole kingdom of God and put them in Mary! I've been thinking about his words ever since. What a blessing it is to be in the atrium in advent!

Recent Projects

Last Sunday we completed a project we've been working on for about six weeks in the True Vine Atrium. I brought this 3D model of the Temple in Jesus' time back with me from Israel with my third graders in mind. I loved the large scale model of first century Jerusalem that we saw in Israel, and the children have enjoyed seeing pictures of it and learning a bit more about the Temple in Jesus' day. 

The puzzle was almost impossible (there were a ton of small pieces and the directions weren't very helpful) but the children were determined and worked intently on it each week. The persistence of a core group of children paid off when the last pieces of the puzzle were added on Sunday! We are thinking about painting the Temple with our watercolors, and then I hope to bring it downstairs to the Great Hall so that the congregation can see it. Lynn (a catechist from the Golden Thread Atrium) saw the Temple and wanted one for her group. I was able to buy one in the U.S. from Judaism.com. I hope our fourth, fifth, and sixth graders are ready for a challenge!

Another interesting development in the True Vine Atrium has been the use of Stockmar Modeling Beeswax by the children. This is a wonderful product! It is very soothing to handle, doesn't dry out, leaves no residue on your hands, and it smells great! I bought it this year to use with children who find it difficult to sit for a presentation. We have had it on a bookshelf and have been quietly putting it into the hands of children who might benefit from using it during presentations and prayer time. Several weeks ago, the children discovered our stash and brought the whole box down from the shelf. They have been happily sculpting ever since. There were several interesting creations this week. 

The first was this beautiful sculpture of the Holy Family. I love the smiles on Mary and Joseph's faces and the way that Jesus is so carefully wrapped in his blanket.

Another piece complete this week was this sculpture of Jesus on the cross. As the artist was showing us his work, one of the children commented that Jesus looked like an angel. This prompted some thoughtful looks and comments from the children. The artist went on to create another figure of Jesus as a baby, but I wasn't able to get a picture of it. We have been disassembling our art work at the end of atrium so that others may use the modeling beeswax the next week. 

Only two more Sundays of Christian formation at Christ Church before the summer rest. We have many children moving up this year. They will be recognized during our final celebration on Sunday, June 3rd.

Making Connections: Gestures

Jesus from our Last Supper Celebration lifting
the chalice in the gesture of the Offering.

In my last post, I wrote about N. and the maxim booklet he made a few months ago. As children were leaving the atrium that day, N. asked me if I would pray with him. I said of course and we sat together at the prayer table in silence. As we were praying I saw him pick up the book of maxims he had made, and with two hands lift it up in front of him. He held it there for a moment, then placed it back on the seat next to him and continued praying.

This is a gesture that we know well in the atrium - the gesture of the Offering.  Rev. Peter makes this gesture at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, when he lifts the bread and wine to God. It is an offering we make to God with gratitude - the bread and wine (gifts of the earth made by human hands), Jesus (given to us by the Holy Spirit), and ourselves (as symbolized by the water added to the wine when the chalice is prepared). We meditate on this gesture with children in the atrium beginning at around age four. But because N. is new to our Church, he had not received these presentations. He made the gesture spontaneously!

When he was finished praying, N. said "Did you see me lift up my book?"  I answered that I did see it, and I wondered what he was doing. He said, "I showed my book to God, and I thanked him for helping me make it." I mentioned to N. that Rev. Peter makes that same gesture every Sunday in our service, and that it means something similar. I encouraged him to watch for it during Church that day.

This was such a special moment for me as a catechist. For me it affirms the power of gestures as they speak to children, and it lifts up the grateful spirit of the child which we so often encounter in the atrium. 

Making Connections: Maxims

The Maxim Box sits on the left and the Bible Box on the right in the photo above.

Several months ago I had a lovely experience with a child in the True Vine Atrium that I haven't had time to share. N. is relatively new to the atrium, and hasn't attended a Church in the past. It is so amazing to share in another person's first encounter with the Bible and the theology of the Church. We know that God is in relationship with every child, but to be with a person as they put words together with their experience and begin to understand the world through the lens of faith is really special.

In the previous month we had been working with the Bible, and learning to read and find Bible citations. On this particular day, we were working with the maxims. The maxims are short sayings, usually from Jesus, that teach us something about how we should live. N. was very interested in the maxims. After spending time looking up and contemplating several maxims, he decided to make maxims of his own. He pulled out the materials we have on hand to write out and decorate a maxim and got to work.

Materials for decorating maxims.

After finishing his first maxim, he brought it over to show me. He had written "Love Jesus and God and the Holy Spirit." Interestingly, he used the same citation system that we use with the Bible (listing a chapter and verse), and used his own name as the name of the book! He was very excited about the prospect of making more maxims and creating a booklet. I asked him how he would decide what to write. He thought for a minute and then announced that he would read the maxims of Jesus and put them into his own words, which is just what he did. He worked diligently for the rest of atrium (and the following atrium too, I might add!). His maxims were lovely, and we had some great conversations about them.

In addition to the wonderful work that N. did making his maxims, I was touched by a moment of prayer that we shared afterward, which I will write about in my next post!

Making Connections: Easter

The Empty Tomb material from the True Vine Atrium.

A child made a wonderful connection last Sunday that I have been thinking a lot about. As we were preparing for the Liturgy of Light we had a little conversation about the scripture reading for our celebration. I initially thought it was Matthew's account of the Resurrection and told the children that this was the version which included the guards, who for fear of the angel "shook and became like dead men." (Matt 28:4)**

Several children were marveling at the fact that soldiers are supposed to be brave and yet they passed out when faced with the angel. Meanwhile, the women who came to prepare Jesus for burial didn't! I wondered out loud why that might have been. In response, a third grader said she thought that it must have been because the women were closer to God. Isn't that lovely?

 **We use this scriptural account of the Resurrection in the True Vine Atrium and the children love it, but we actually use a different account for the celebration.

Making Connections: The Bible

I've already written about a great moment in the True Vine Atrium last Sunday.  Things were just clicking in there!  Another surprising moment for me came when one of the boys was looking at the book we have placed on the lectern.

"Hey, this is only the New Testament." he said.

"That's true," I replied.  We talked about how the real lectionary has readings from the Old Testament as well as the New Testament in it, and that we always hear both in Church.

As he flipped through the book he noticed Hebrews.  "Hebrews -- That must be one of the letters!" he said.  He put the book down and walked over to the nearby Bible Box (which is a material with wooden "books" inside for every book of the Bible).  He quickly pulled out the book for Paul's letters, ran his finger down the list, and said with joy, "Yep-here it is!  It's a letter!"

Lately the Bible Box has been a great point of reference for the children. This is the second time in two weeks that a child has spontaneously gone to the Bible Box to understand something about the Bible!  I think that is really exciting!

Making Connections: Baptism

Last Sunday was one of those great days in the True Vine Atrium when the children were making connections. In preparation for a baptism, several of us were sitting together making cards for the baby. When the children want to make baptismal cards we set out all of the card materials for them to contemplate, copy and trace.

One six year old who hasn't yet seen all of the baptism materials was tracing a picture of the priest with his hand extended over the baptismal font.  "What's the priest doing?" she asked.

I looked at her drawing.  "Oh-- we've seen that gesture before, haven't we?" I asked.

An older girl leaned across to see.  "That's the same gesture the priest makes over the bread and wine!"

"And what's the priest asking for at that moment?" I asked.

Several children tried to answer at once.  "He's asking God to make Jesus a part of the bread and wine for us so Jesus will be in us," the older girl answered.

"I wonder what Rev. Peter might be praying when he has his arm extended over the baptismal font?" I said.

An eight year old boy answered. "He's asking God to send Jesus in the water so Jesus will be in the baby. Hey-- The priest is making that gesture on my card too!"  Everyone crowded in to see what the priest was up to now!  "He has his hand out over the baby, the family, and everybody in the Church," the boy told us.

"What do you think is happening here?" I asked.

"He's asking God to send Jesus to be inside all of us!" he said. The children continued to talk happily about the sign of the cross Rev. Peter makes over the congregation as he blesses us each week.

Such beautiful connections!