Resources for Children & Families & All of Us Seeking to Be Faithful!
2020 continues to challenge all of us as we continue to live with the presence of COVID-19 in our world and as people take up the challenges to understand the racism that is pervasive in our society and world. Our resource page will continue to provide a variety of resources related to the issues of the day, activities that can help us bring our faith to the current situation, and to help us deepen our walk with God and each other.
We plan to collect on this page a variety of resources that anyone might enjoy. Your faith might be stirred in new ways! You might discover a spiritual practice you have not tried. You might follow a link to a new favorite writer or videographer. You might create conversation or art or study or poetry or ...... It's all up to you and the Spirit of our creative and loving God!
2020 continues to challenge all of us as we continue to live with the presence of COVID-19 in our world and as people take up the challenges to understand the racism that is pervasive in our society and world. Our resource page will continue to provide a variety of resources related to the issues of the day, activities that can help us bring our faith to the current situation, and to help us deepen our walk with God and each other.
We plan to collect on this page a variety of resources that anyone might enjoy. Your faith might be stirred in new ways! You might discover a spiritual practice you have not tried. You might follow a link to a new favorite writer or videographer. You might create conversation or art or study or poetry or ...... It's all up to you and the Spirit of our creative and loving God!
Fall Faith Resources
Singing Our Prayers!
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To God all praise and glory!
To God all praise and glory! |
Amazing Grace
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Praise God's name!
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Thank you, Lord, for this new day, Thank you, Lord, for this new day,
Thank you, Lord, for this new day, right where we are. Alleluia Praise the Lord, Alleluia Praise the Lord, Alleluia Praise the Lord, right where we are. |
Pentecost Season Resources
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Exploring Your Call from God
Pastor Sara Gross Samuelson shared this idea for each person in your family to explore what God is calling them to do and how they can serve: Together as a family, make blank paper doll forms from tagboard or cardboard. Then, using whatever craft supplies you can find in your house, have each family member decorate the doll with the things/ways that God has made that person special. Talk together as a family about how God has called each of us by name, the same way God called people in the Bible like Jonah, Moses, Mary,). Find a special way to label each paper doll with the name of that person. Display them someone prominent in the house for the month. |
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Surprises of the River!
Download the PDF of this page. Use crayons to decorate the creatures. Cut out each square on the solid lines. Fold the corners in on the dotted lines. Gently place the pictures on water and watch them unfold! Who is living along or in the river? 
Amazing Critters
The world is full of amazing critters. Draw the path you imagine the critters in the photo (or PDF) might leave in the sand. What shapes would be made by their feet and tails. Talk together about what you think it would be like to visit or live in the places where these critters live today! 
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Prayer Flags
This prayer activity comes from Traci Smith in Faithful Families: Creating Sacred Moments at Home (pp. 150-151). Many cultures and countries have the custom of hanging flags in the wind. The image is a reminder that as the wind blows, the prayers are carried away with it and everyone who is touched by the wind benefits from the prayers. Flags are kept up, even when they are weathered and worn, and eventually burned. Families can make their own prayer flags together and hang them outside. For Christians, a prayer flag is a way to talk about the presence of the Holy Spirit. Evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work is all around us, even if we can’t see it at times. Materials 1. 5 x 10 inch squares of fabric 2. Hot glue gun or fabric glue 3. yarn 4. Fabric markers or fabric paint and paint brushes How To 1. Explain the prayer flags: "This prayer is special, because we will write or draw it on our prayer flag and hang it outside. Then, when we look at our prayer flags outside, we will see them moving in the wind and remember how the Holy Spirit always hears our prayers. We can imagine that our prayers for the world will be spread around the whole earth, just like the wind." 2. Ask each family member to answer the question, "What is one thing that you hope for our world?" 3. Give each person a fabric square and fabric markers or paint and say, "Let's draw a picture of what our prayers would look like or write a word to represent our prayer." It's easiest to orient the rectangles vertically. Only draw on the bottom eight inches of the rectangle. The room at the top will be folded over to hang the flags. 4. After designs are complete and dry, hang the flags. Cut a piece of yarn long enough to hold all the flags with 2-3 inches of room between each. Fold the top of each flag over the yarn and secure it with hot glue or fabric glue. 5. Find a place outside to hang your flags! Take time to pray in that place. 
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Prayer & Encouragement Jar
This YouTube video from Aloha Crafts shows how to make a simple Prayer Jar. This also is the VBS craft for Week Three. You can add invitations to be encouraged by adding phrases of encouragement from Romans 12:9-21. Some examples are "Let love be genuine"; "Rejoice in hope"; "Extend hospitality to strangers"; "Live peaceably with all". When these come up in your prayer jar you can thank God for the encouragement, confess ways that you have not followed and ask for forgiveness, and pray for this quality to be active in your family or community. Be strong in prayer and encouraged! |
Jesus Appears
Melissa McDowell posted this in Pinterest on Wee Love Wednesdays: "Jesus appears - I traced an internet clip art of Jesus face with a white crayon for the kids to color over with watercolors. To go with our lesson on Jesus appearing to His disciples after the Resurrection." This would go well with a discussion of this Sunday's Gospel in Matthew where Jesus asks the disciples, "Who do people say that I am? ... Who do you say that I am?" |
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Jesus Heals Craft
In our story today, Jesus heals the daughter of a very persistant mother! This craft idea comes from a mother who writes, "Kids love bandaids and always seem to think that they will be healed if they put one on, so I thought using bandaids in our craft would be a great way to help them remember the story. 🙂" (Jackie on Blessings Overflowing blog) Just help the kids trace their hand, use two bandaids to make a cross, and write their own prayer of thanks or request to God for healing or help. |
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How to Make a Paper Boat
Jesus meets his disciples in a boat on a stormy sea. They trust that he will help them stay afloat in their time of trouble! Making a paper boat is a great activity that’s easy to finish and doesn’t require a lot of materials. These directions are from "How to Make a Paper Boat" on wikiHow. The beauty of making a paper boat is that you only need one piece of printer paper to complete the task! By folding the paper into sharp creases and shaping it to look like a boat, you can make a great-looking paper boat in minutes. As you make the boat, think about the steps that Jesus took on the water to meet the disciples. Pray while you work for Jesus to meet you, too, and guide you to safety. |
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Feeding America: How to Talk to Kids about Hunger
Feeding America wants to help you and your children be effective partners in the fight against hunger in our country - especially hunger that other children experience. This webpage is a guide for talking with your kids and participating in this work. They also have an action guide for families: "Hungry to Help: Family Action Plan". You can download it here. |
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Frame It!
For an exercise in focusing and reflecting, find a frame - a small picture frame that you can empty out or a small photo mat. You can make a frame by cutting out the center of a piece of paper. Or you can even make a frame with your hands! Take your frame with you to a place where you can use it to focus in on things. How do you feel when you look up close in this way? Grateful? Surprised? Curious? Journal about your thoughts and feelings. Take them to God for prayer and conversation. Talk with others to see what they see. This is an exercise in expanding your curiosity! |
Prayer Walk
Illustrated Ministry offers this idea as one of 10 ways to pray as a family: Go for a walk together in search for the things you’re thankful to God for. Sidewalks, trees, bird songs, smiles from other pedestrians, flowers in bloom, passing cars and buses that make travel possible. So much to appreciate! Additionally, this is an excellent way to get outside, slow down the mind and get active together. 
Family Prayer Walk Download
Ministry Spark offers this family prayer walk to help families and children walk out giving their worries to God! This activity teaches children that they can trust God—even when their lives are difficult. Grab these free resources (PDF files below) and take time to help yourself and your kids release their biggest worries to God.
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Toddler Prayer Walk
The idea of prayer walking with a toddler can seem kind of awkward, but it doesn’t have to be. Prayer walking is simply walking with intention. Use this fun scavenger hunt to keep your little one engaged, and to guide your family as you pray for your community. Download: Toddler Prayer Walk Spanish Edition: Caminata de Oración This Prayer-Walk Scavenger Hunt was made in collaboration with On Mission Moms. 
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Three-Legged Race
Find this and other fun cooperative activities at Kiwi Games, "12 Old-Fashioned Outdoor Party Games" for your family to try. A number of them give you the chance to work together and find how well you can support those you are "yoked" with (Matthew 11:25-3)! 
Paper Pinwheels of Welcome!
These paper pinwheels are cheerful and interactive! You can use your breath - that Spirit of God moving in and through you! - to make them move. You can feel and see the wind at work outside! Make some to display on your front yard as a "hello" and "welcome" to your neighbors! This example comes from the website "One Little Project at a Time", and there are many others out on the internet that will surely fit your family! 
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Teaching Kids to Welcome Others
is a posting by Colleen on the blog, Raising Lifelong Learners. Some of her suggestions include: Little Kids
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Water Projects - ELCA Good Gifts
As part of Jesus' encouragement to "give a cup of cold water" (Matt. 10"42), Pastor Tim recommended ELCA Good Gifts catalog as a place to donate towards important water projects. You will find a range of projects here from $30 water filters to latrine and irrigation projects. Your support translates to daily differences in thirsty communities! |
Prayers for Faithful Families
Prayers for Faithful Families by Traci Smith equips busy parents with simple prayers, written in ordinary language, for a wide variety of occasions. From everyday moments like mealtime and bedtime to milestones such as the first day of school, the death of a pet, or welcoming a new baby, this unique prayer book is an invaluable resource for creating meaningful faith connections at home throughout the highs and lows of family life. Traci also curates a weekly email called "Treasure Box Tuesday" (a free version and a premium version through Substack) with current resources of all kinds for families. Her prayer for peace is included here! |
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Creating Connection in Chaos
FOR THE ACTIVITY: HAVE A BLANK ENVELOPE AND NOTECARD. Sometimes the simple act of writing a note to someone can feel like a moment of peace in the midst of chaos. Think of someone who is overwhelmed by their situation or by the issues in the world today and could use a note of encouragement. Pray for them as you write words of hope and kindness. It will bring peace to them .... and to you! This can be a family project to think of people and help each other pray and write notes. Romans 5:1-5 helps us understand how this work helps us tell the story of God's love being poured out in the world and our lives. Find it in a Easy-to-Read Verson at BibleGateway.com. |
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Reading the Story!
Bishop Laurie Larson Caesar of our Oregon Synod posted a link to this "resource roundup" for people who want to talk about race with children: Your Kids Aren't Too Young to Talk About Race: Resource Roundup You will find podcast, article, and book recommendations. Sometimes it begins with the books we read! Storypath, a project of Union Presbyterian Seminary, regularly reviews children's and young adult literature and connects that with the lessons we read in church. They provided a list of books useful for "Challenging Conversations" about race and prejudice. The pdf is posted here.
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Exploring God as Holy Trinity
“Comprehending the Trinity as a adult is hard enough; how do we explain it to children? We can talk about the many ways we know God…” Read the whole article at Building Faith website. It includes a guided conversation while viewing the icon of the Trinity by Rublev which will bring insights to people of all ages! Also, you can click on the icon and follow another exploration of the meaning of the images in the icon for all ages. |
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Craft Activities for FIRING UP on Pentecost: Holy Spirit Paper Flame Hats
Create headgear featuring the flame of the Holy Spirit for your family to celebrate the coming of the Spirit on Pentecost! The "Pentecost Hat Template" is from the website Drawn 2B Creative. You can find more directions at that website for creating this out of paper plates and colored tissue paper! On the Pentecost page of the Building Faith website you will find a similar craft for a Tongue of Fire Craft. Make a hat for everyone in the family to wear at Pentecost worship!
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Easter Season Resources
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We Remember to PRAY TOGETHER
Today the disciples hear Jesus pray for them. We hear him pray for us, too! He holds our hearts in his hands together with God. The "Hands Love" color sheet can hold our prayers. Download it, write some prayer concerns on it, and remember that your heart is in God's care.
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PRAY TOGETHER the 5-Finger Prayer
To learn and practice praying beyond our own needs, try the 5-Finger Prayer. You can trace your own hand and write the names or groups of people you want to remember to pray for. Or you can download the prayer page and color it to help you remember.
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PRAY TOGETHER with a Prayer Jar You Create
To help kids understand the meaning of prayer, have them each create their own DIY Prayer Jar. This activity can go along with a discussion about what prayer is, why we pray, and specific Bible versus related to prayer. Learn more at this website. | ||||
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Make a Paper Family Chain or a Chain of Hearts: Love ONE ANOTHER!
In the Easter season Jesus accompanies the disciples as they discover the resurrection, and then he teaches them to accompany ONE ANOTHER! We can make paper chains of people or hearts to help us remember we are called to love and accompany ONE ANOTHER in this world! |
Show You Love ONE ANOTHER!
The Origami Resource Center has directions for making a chain of paper hearts. After you make your chain of hearts, you can decorate one another's rooms! Write names on the hearts of people you love - people you know and some you don't know. Display your chain in the window for people passing by to see you care! Find places where you can safely share this love. |
Tell ONE ANOTHER the Good News! Jesus Sends Us into the World! On Faith Finder Fun, Pastor Betsy shows us how to make Dancing People who go out, sent by Jesus with Good News for all the world. This is from the Godly Play story "Knowing Jesus in Making Him Known".
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LIVING STONES are what God uses to build up a "spiritual house" ... another way to talk about the church! This is from 1 Peter 2:5. We are the LIVING STONES that God uses to connect with one another and to create a loving and creative church community. For activities, you can collect and decorate rocks; make a rock stack in your yard or garden; you also could build houses with Legos or other toys as you talk about Jesus as the cornerstone, "chosen and precious" of our lives and our church (1 Peter 2:4-10)!
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Build-A-Face LIVING STONES
To make your stones really live, try this craft of story stones. "Round up some rocks and give each one a facial feature ... eyes, noses, and mouths in different expressions ... and then make faces!" This comes from the website, Where Imagination Grows. Everyone in the household can help with drawing or painting a feature on the stones. Get happy smiley mouths, some sad eyes and some surprised eyes, scrunched up noses, and whatever other looks you can think of. Then draw an oval representing a face on a paper and use the different rocks to create faces with a variety of emotions. You can help each other name them and think about questions like: * how would that person pray to God? * what question is that person asking? * what is making that person smile? * how does that face make me feel? It's a great way to learn to name and think about emotions. 
Building Community with GRATITUDE STONES
We all are a part of the "body of Christ". We can express our thankfulness for one another with GRATITUDE STONES! Here's an easy activity from Fireflies and Mudpies website! After the description of the craft are five ideas for using the GRATITUDE STONES in daily life as a family. |
NAME Activity Ideas
On May 3rd we will be talking with the children about their NAMES and the NAMES of people they know. For a very simple activity, you could provide paper and colors, markers, or paints and they could print out the names of people in their circle and decorate the name pages to become colorful signs to post on doors and walls! With a little preparation you could help your children create HIDDEN NAME ART - you just need a white crayon, heavy paper or cardstock, and watercolor paints. Follow the link for all the directions! How wonderful that Jesus knows our NAMES! We can celebrate that with art featuring our names. |
He KNOWS MY NAME
Jesus the Good Shepherd knows all of his sheep BY NAME! That includes you and me! Take your first initial (or the first initial of someone in your family) and make a large version of it. Decorate it to help you remember, "Jesus knows my name!" Read the story in John 10:1-10. The video, "The Sheep and the Shepherd" illustrates this Bible story for kids! The song, "I Just Wanna Be a Sheep" is a favorite from Day Camp! Enjoy singing and dancing along! |
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Explore the Story of Jesus Serving BREAD at the Beach!
After rising from the dead, Jesus showed up on the beach where his disciples were trying to catch fish. He even built them a beach fire and prepared a breakfast of BREAD and fish! Experience the joy of meeting Jesus through creating your own "beach" at home, retelling the story, decorating placemats, and sharing a seaside snack. The ideas and reading are in the PDF file, "Come, Eat Breakfast" posted here.
Living each day to SHARE BREAD
Another resurrection story in John, chapter 21:1-19, finds Jesus at the beach building a campfire! He watches the disciples as they fish. Read the story to find out just how many fish they caught and what happened around the campfire! Jesus takes the bread he's baking and gives it to the disciples. They know him in this meal. This week, BAKE BREAD together! You can try one of the recipes here or do something simple like getting dough from the store or breaking open a can of biscuits. Bring your homemade bread to the communion table on Sunday. Again, Jesus will bless and break it FOR YOU! He will be really present when we all remember and trust his promises given in the BREAD. 
Living each day to OPEN DOORS
On April 19, in John 20:19-29, the risen Jesus crosses through closed doors and appears to the disciples, offering them the gift of peace. We are called to live each day OPENING DOORS to share peace and faith with others. This week, decorate and cut out DOOR HANGERS to put on the doors in your home, reminding everyone when they reach for the door handle that God loves them! Jesus is risen! Peace be with you! These are some of the messages to remember as we go through the doorways. You also could decorate DOOR HANGERS to put on the doors of neighbors or car doors to spread the good news to others! |
Book: Around the Table That Grandad Built!
Around the Table That Grandad Built by Melanie Heuiser Hill (Written for ages 5-8) In Luke 24:13-35,two unnamed disciples are walking and talking and Jesus – totally unrecognized – joins them. The disciples can recount the story of Jesus’ death and the tentative hope that he has been seen by others. But they do not recognize Jesus until he sits with them to share a meal and to BREAK BREAD with them. Recognizing Jesus, they move on to share their story of Jesus and his effect on them with others. In Around the Table that Grandad Built, a meal begins to be prepared around the family table. The preparations for this meal include flowers from young cousins, forks and spoons from a father’s grandmother, food grown in a garden. At the end of the book, a prayer of thankfulness is shared by a table that includes young and old, racially diverse neighbors and family members, and a variety of foods. But it all started with the table that Grandpa built. As Sarah Henrich says, “In feeding others at the right time and in receiving the bread broken for us with thanksgiving, we are given Jesus. Stop talking, stop everything, and pay attention as you reach out to receive what is blessed. A glimpse of the Lord may propel you new confidence, new hope, even a new way of remembering. ” Eating is central to both of these stories. In BREAKING BREAD together, we meet Jesus, welcome others and are welcomed ourselves to the gifts that Christ offers. Reflection: God Will Keep Your Going Out and Coming In - Through DOORS!
Watch this video from Faith Finder Fun ("Random Saturday, 18 April 2020-Psalm121) for some wonderful thoughts on how "God keeps your going out and your coming in" through the DOORS of your house. Faith Finder Fun is a YouTube Channel that produces short, faith-centered videos for children and all ages! | ||
GODLY PLAY RESOURCES
Since 2014 West Linn Lutheran has been offering families Godly Play as our primary activity for grade school children. Many have experienced the welcome of the doorkeepers and the joy of the storytellers in our Godly Play room on the lower level. From time to time we have had stories told in the sanctuary for all to participate - like the story of the church year and the birth of Jesus. Everyone benefits from listening to the stories, watching the movement of the story pieces, and taking time to wonder together. One additional step is to follow the wondering with letting the story flow through you - in journaling, painting, writing poetry, sculpting, drawing, or any other expression meaningful to you!
During this season of crisis, the Godly Play Foundation is offering households a special "Making Meaning in Exile" bundle for $15 plus postage - until April 1st. This bundle includes a hard copy of Stories of God at Home and two sets of materials: Easter and The Good Shepherd, with a cardboard box, colored prints, and felt underlays. Other Godly Play material for home is reduced by 30%. This includes packages of stories that are DIY - where for a reduced price you can do the finishing work at home! Stories of God at Home also is available from Amazon in Kindle and paperback formats!
Many Godly Play stories can be found on YouTube. We will post some here for easy access. We also hope to have some WLLC Storytellers telling you stories on video posted here and on the WLLC Parents Facebook page. Let us know if your family would like to hear a particular story!
During this season of crisis, the Godly Play Foundation is offering households a special "Making Meaning in Exile" bundle for $15 plus postage - until April 1st. This bundle includes a hard copy of Stories of God at Home and two sets of materials: Easter and The Good Shepherd, with a cardboard box, colored prints, and felt underlays. Other Godly Play material for home is reduced by 30%. This includes packages of stories that are DIY - where for a reduced price you can do the finishing work at home! Stories of God at Home also is available from Amazon in Kindle and paperback formats!
Many Godly Play stories can be found on YouTube. We will post some here for easy access. We also hope to have some WLLC Storytellers telling you stories on video posted here and on the WLLC Parents Facebook page. Let us know if your family would like to hear a particular story!
Faces of Easter 1-4Godly Play Storyteller Libby Isensee shares the stories of Jesus born, in the temple, baptized, and tempted in the wilderness. She gives you a chance between each story to pause, do an activity, and talk about what you have heard.
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Faces of Easter 5-7Libby continues the stories with Jesus' "work", his coming into Jerusalem and sharing the Last Supper, and, finally, the Mystery of Easter. Again, you are encouraged to pause after each story, consider it in your context and share your wonderings!
For families who would like to explore Godly Play Storytelling and learning in their homes, check out these resources from the Godly Play Website. Click on images for direct link to the descriptions.
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The Circle of the Church Year
The Circle of the Church Year gives us a chance to consider God's gift of time and the Mysteries that we move through in the seasons of the church year.
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