Easter Season with Kids

Easter has come! Christ is Resurrected!  Alleluia!

I heard someone say this week that the church season we most struggle with as Anglicans is Resurrection.  They said, "We've got Lent down to a 'T', but Resurrection seems more difficult for us to enter."

Why is that?

Perhaps it is that chasing Resurrection is like chasing a butterfly.

Easter draws us into wonder, adventure, delight, amazement, and nearly lifts us off our feet.  The disciples were confused what to do for sure, Peter just said, "I'm going fishing."  They were scared, confused, distraught, and wondering, until it finally clicked that Jesus had been telling them about resurrection all along.

Resurrection with Kids

• One of the beautiful ways that we learn about resurrection is to see the resurrection mirrored in the world around us.
  • GO OUTSIDE AND LOOK
    • tree buds swelling
    • tulip, crocus, and daffodill poking out and blooming
    • Little signs of green
    • bees and bugs out looking for food.  What are they eating this time of year?
    • The sun a little higher in the sky
    • warm winds coming and going
  • go for a walk/hike and just enjoy it and have fun. If it turned out to be a good time (we know how it can go with kids!) you might say, "Pastor Jonathan thinks that a beautiful day like this reminds us of resurrection after the winter, what do you think?"
  • Read one of the stories where Jesus eats with his friends (e.g. John 21), read it aloud or re-tell it while out for a picnic.
  • Go collect pussy willows and talk about hope - like waiting for a bud to form into leaves.
  • Talk about how complex nature is in all kinds of inter-related connections and relationships between plants, fungi, bugs, water, soil, microbes, and us, and reflect on how God's grace must be like this too - connecting all things together.

Sundays

• April 18th - Third Sunday of Easter
  • The disciples are confused. (Have you ever been confused?)  Jesus says  "see it is I myself."
  • What did Resurrection mean for Jesus?  What changed about him, what stayed the same?  Maybe talk about what what Resurrection means for you.
• April 25th - Fourth Sunday of Easter (Good Shepherd Sunday)
  • Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd...I lay down my life for my sheep."
  • Talk or learn about shepherds in Jesus' day.  Why do you think Jesus chose to call himself a Shepherd?  Are there people in your life who are an example to you like a Shepherd and protector?  What about the sheep?  What are they like?  How might you be like a sheep?
• May 2nd - Fifth Sunday of Easter
  • Jesus says, "Abide in me, As I abide in you"
  • What does 'abide' mean?  What would it mean to abide in Jesus/God?  You might talk about how plants work, and how good pruning actually helps plants grow.  Grape vines are a good example or pumpkins.  I like to think about how God uses healthy community to 'prune' us: pointing out our strengths and reminding us when we are acting in weakness!  Kid's might do this for you!  You might be able to do that for them :)
• May 9th - Sixth Sunday of Easter
  • Jesus calls his disciples, "friends"
  • Do the kids think of Jesus as a friend?  What is a good friend like?  How is Jesus like a friend?  How can we be a good friend to others?  Really actually think about your adult friendships and what makes them strong.  How could you communicate this.  Really actually think about your relationship with God, what makes that strong?  How could you communicate this?
• May 16th - Seventh Sunday of Easter (or the Ascension)
  • Jesus returns to the Father, and 'hands the baton' on to us
  • What does it mean for Jesus to 'leave?'  How is he 'gone', how is he still with us