Respond CYP

Respond to the Word

A range of activities for Children (C) and Young People (YP) based on Luke 13.1-9

Invite the young people to go round the ‘action stations’ you have prepared, considering how they can take some responsibility for what is going on in their world. They could do one or all of the following actions:
- station 1: sign a card or letter for a prisoner of conscience;
- station 2: sample some Fairtrade products and take some literature to give to people at school, or create a poster encouraging people to get involved;
- station 3: commit to support a charity throughout Lent;
- station 4: light a candle and place it on the world map as a prayer for a place of conflict or war.

A game of co-operation

You will need: ’Jenga‘ style blocks.

Explain that this game is about working together. The rules are similar to the usual game – the blocks are stacked in threes. Each person takes a turn in pulling one block out and placing it on top of the tower. This continues until the tower falls. However, this time the idea is to build the tower as high as possible as a team.
Play the game a few times. Observe to see if there are any frustrations growing. Set a challenge to get the tower higher each time.
When you feel the youngsters have played for long enough, stop the game and talk about it. If no one has been blamed so far, ask whose fault it was each time the tower fell, or discuss the blame that has already happened. Is it ever one person’s fault? Could the problem have occurred due to the way the blocks were placed earlier? Or from where they were removed?

An ongoing activity, looking for the glimpses of glory

You will need: torch or torches.

Look back at the Glory torch activity from 10 February (or introduce it this week).
Consider the passage from this week. Where are the moments of glory?

A simple prayer action

You will need: twigs and branches in a vase; copies of the fig template, one per person; felt tips; a hole punch; some lengths of thread.

Before the session, set out the branches in a vase with plenty of hanging points. With a large group, use more than one vase.
Give each person a fig template to colour. Talk about the fig being a fruit from the time of Jesus, full of goodness and nutrients.
Talk about how both dried and fresh figs can be bought from most supermarkets today.
Invite each person to write on their fruit one thing that they are pleased about, one way in which they know they are getting things right. This might be in their prayers, or in their relationships.
Invite people to cut out their fruit, make a hole with the hole punch and attach some thread through the hole. Then invite them to hang their fig on the tree as a sign that they will not be cut away, that they need to grow and develop.