3 Dynamic Ways to Engage Kids on Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday is fast approaching, peep, and the beginning of Lent is right around the corner!
So, you wanna celebrate with your kids but need some ideas. We’re here to help! Use these ideas to foster discussions and more fully engage your kids.
How do you invite your kids into the celebration of Ash Wednesday? We want to know and so does your ICM community. So, share in the comments below!
How’d We Get to Forehead Crosses?
The ashes we receive today are a relic of what was long ago called the order of penitents. Before the Middle Ages, it was only possible to receive forgiveness for one’s sins after Baptism once or twice, and sins had to be confessed publicly to the bishop.
The bishop would then place the person seeking forgiveness in the order of penitents for one to three years. The penitents would sit outside the church begging for alms, wearing itchy sackcloth and covering their heads with ashes.
Over time, churches began the ritual of placing ashes upon the foreheads of the whole congregation instead. Together, the community together recognizes the sinfulness all carry. And it takes notice of the fleeting nature of our earthen footsteps, for from dust we came and to dust we will return.
Talking About Sin with Kids
Talking about sin with kids can be a daunting task. Since it’s a relevant concept to Ash Wednesday, try approaching it this way.
Explain to your kids that we all miss the mark sometimes by doing things that don’t lead to good things for us, the Earth, other people or creatures. Discuss some examples.
Missing the mark, which we call sin, is part of being human and God lovingly invites us to live each day in alignment with God’s hopes for the world.
When we celebrate Ash Wednesday, we recognize how we all miss the mark, no matter who we are. And in receiving the ashes on our foreheads we remind ourselves that we will continue in our quest to follow God’s ways each day.
3 Ways to Engage Kids on Ash Wednesday
Create Ashes
If possible, it can be a fantastic experience for children to be a part of the burning of last year’s palm branches. Some churches gather in the courtyard or even at a location off-campus for Ash Wednesday worship, so they can participate together in setting the palms ablaze.
Create a coloring station or hand out coloring sheets and utensils to children as they enter. This is a wonderful way to keep them engaged. And it helps them listen and reflect during the service. Pssst. This is great for kids and adults!
Lenten Practice
Give each congregant the opportunity to write what practice they will give up or take on during Lent. This can be done on paper cut in symbolic shapes. For example, try crosses or butterflies. Then, at a special time during the service congregants can take their intention to the altar or baptismal font.
Benefits of Engaging Kids on Ash Wednesday
Sense of Belonging
Ash Wednesday is an opportunity for children to see themselves as part of the whole congregation. We all have a fundamental need to be part of something greater than ourselves. Children develop their identity in relationship to others, which means their church can be vital. Rituals like these are powerful reminders that they are not alone.
The celebration of Ash Wednesday is a beautiful example for children of humility. Together, adults and children alike admit to messing up and commit to strive for God’s ways in their lives. Children learn the curriculum of honesty, vulnerability and grace represented in the practices of their faith family on Ash Wednesday. Additionally, and more importantly, children learn that in spite of missing the mark, we are in God’s presence loved and lovable.
Receiving ashes is a sensory experience, which brings to life the intangible elements of faith in the unseen. These experiences engage the body in a way that is not done at any other time during the church year. As a result, children connect more easily to the practice and theology.
The Power of Ritual
Dr. Barbara Feise, psychologist and professor at Syracuse University, researches the power of ritual in community. She and her team find that it improves overall well being and strengthens relationships and identity. She tells us also that “rituals…provide continuity in meaning across generations.”
As you begin the preparation for the mystery of Easter, we hope you find these ideas helpful and that this Ash Wednesday creates and carries on meaning for your faith family.
Have name tags. On a table near the entrance to the sanctuary, set out name tags and markers. Calling each other by name creates a sense of community and belonging. This helps visitors as well as those who’ve been in the pew for decades.
Make clear what your church stands for. Put in writing what your mission statement is and how your church includes the marginalized. This is important in order for all of us to feel safe and know if we’re a part of the faith family.
Say hello, Pastor. If a personal greeting from the pastor isn’t possible, create a team of leaders who keep an eye out for those who are new. Don’t assume it’s someone’s first time; it might not be. If you say something to indicate you think it’s their first time when it isn’t, things get awkward for you and them. Say hello, tell them you’re happy to see them.
Have quality refreshments. This goes for any worship service, in my opinion. If you have yummy stuff out, make it good. Most people have become familiar with boutique coffee and high-quality bakes. So, throw out the coffee in a giant can that goes beyond earthiness into muddiness. Also, offer tasty allergy-free options, too.
Additionally, think of families who would rather not have their kid on their way down from a sugar high as they drive home. Perhaps put out some festive cranberry granola instead of sugar cookies, for example.
Provide information for biblical passages. When reading scripture, describe where the text is located in the Bible. Additionally, give context for the passage. Consequently, people are more likely to feel there isn’t insider knowledge they don’t have. This is helpful for all of us, whether newcomers or long-time members.
Leaders, introduce yourselves up front. Have those who are up front speaking in any capacity give their name and role in the church. Do this whether the person is giving announcements, singing, or preaching. This helps visitors get to know who’s who. And it makes getting involved easier for them, too.
Hospitality as Community Culture
Welcoming visitors to church is more than checking boxes. Hospitality is for all of us. When we live out our faith through care with intention, we actually help those who are already regular attendees feel more connected, too.
Furthermore, we communicate our common humanity, our personhood as individuals, and worthiness as children of Creation. We hope you discover ways to welcome visitors to church this Christmas Eve as an expression of your unique faith community and continue them the whole year through.
3 Wondrous Ways to Celebrate All Saints’ Day with Kids
Celebrate All Saints’ Day with children and open them up to the significance of those who have gone before and to the value of their own life here and now.
Halloween or All Hallows’ Eve or All Saints’ Eve or The Day Before All Saints Day. See the connection?
Growing up, I never knew this connection. I was entirely unaware that this super fun, candy-crazed, neighborhood run amok related to the day at church when we remembered our ancestors of the faith. To be honest, I don’t know that I ever celebrated All Saints’ Day as I grew up in the church.
What a loss! Because it is seriously such a gift to faith families, and one often under-appreciated. Celebrate All Saints’ Day with kids and teach them just how lasting our connections in the family of faith are and how profound the gift of life is.
Quick Facts About All Saints’ Day
When I hear the word saints I think of high church, gold gilding, stained-glass windows. But, really, All Saints’ Day was celebrated long before cathedrals were erected. Let me shed a little bit of light on the origin and practice of this very cool holiday.
This day of remembrance…
…was first celebrated as early as the fourth century to ensure all martyrs were honored since martyrdom had increased during the persecution of the Late Roman Empire.
…became a formalized holy day for the diocese of Rome in the middle of the 8th century when Pope Gregory III moved it to November 1.
…Pope Gregory IV made it a holiday for the whole church, not only the diocese of Rome.
…now honors all those who have gone before us and reside in the realm of Heaven.
…is also known as Feast of All Saints and All Hallows Day. (A hallow was a saint or holy person.)
…falls the day after Halloween.
…overlaps with the Mexican holiday El Día de los Muertos, or The Day of the Dead, when people gather to remember family members and friends who have passed away and pray for their spiritual journey to Heaven.
…is followed in the Catholic Church by All Souls’ Day on November 2nd, which commemorates all the souls in Purgatory readying for entry into Heaven.
…is often celebrated by visiting the grave sites of loved ones who have died to leave flowers and blessings of gratitude.
Connecting in Both Life and Death
So, the days that close October and welcome November are rich with symbolism and honor both life and death. All Hallows’ Eve (or Halloween) begins the celebration on October 31st. Then, All Saints’ Day takes place November 1st. Lastly, All Souls’ Day happens November 2nd.
So, how do we teach children the richness of life and the gift of those who have come before us? How might we use these days to highlight for them their spiritual ancestors and the importance of their life, too?
In current times, it’s common to feel disconnected and un-rooted. This is true for children, too. And the church provides powerful ways to connect, rooting us in community with one another.
These connections are celebrated on All Saints’ Day. We ask questions of our own lives as we remember those who have gone before us. What relationships formed me? Who did God use in my life? What moments and people showed me who God is? How will I be remembered? What will I be appreciated for? How can my life be used by God?
We are part of God’s endless creation; each of us a strand of yarn. God knits us together to create beauty, warmth, protection, and comfort in the world as we walk through life alongside one another. Not one of us is left out. Celebrating All Saints’ Day with kids teaches them that they, too, are a strand in God’s ongoing masterpiece.
Three Easy Ways to Celebrate
When celebrating All Saints’ Day with kids it’s helpful to set yourself objectives. Here, we’ve listed three activities that aim to teach children that…
…all people are saints
…we remember our spiritual ancestors
…others’ lives can teach us how to live for God
…their life matters
Faithful Depiction: Invite the children to draw a picture of a person who has passed away and from whom they learned a lot about life and/or their faith. Invite them to think of qualities in this person they would want to have in their own life. Tell them to draw those qualities and ask that they share with the class when all finished.
Candle Lighting: In worship or Sunday school, invite members to light a candle for each person they’d like to remember. Do this at one table up front or at stations around your space. For increased safety, use battery-operated tea lights. If you use these, use them for all people, not only the children. This will keep them feeling a part of the community. Invite those who are lighting to say something like, “We remember and thank you.”
My Story is God’s Story: Provide the children with booklets made out of construction paper. Invite them to write their life story, one event per page. Encourage them to illustrate their story and to look for ways God was with them and at work along the way. Discuss the ways God can change lives through their story.