Tapestry of Faith: Faithful Journeys: A Program about Pilgrimages of Faith in Action for Grades 2-3

Activity 6: Faithful Journeys Action Club Project Selection

Activity time: 8 minutes

Materials for Activity

  • Newsprint, markers and tape
  • A copy of Leader Resource 3, Faithful Journeys Action Club Project Ideas

Preparation for Activity

  • Consult with your social action committee, minister, and/or director of religious education to determine ideas for local action or find ways your club could dovetail with congregational projects. The best projects for children this age are concrete, have a personal connection, and can be broken down into smaller goals with measurable progress. Leader Resource 3 suggests many possible projects.
  • Write the project ideas you have selected on a sheet of newsprint and post it where it will be visible when you gather in a circle for this activity.

Description of Activity

Sit in a circle. Tell participants you are going to create an action club, like the clubs that Fannie Barrier Williams helped to form. Show the children the list of possible projects on the newsprint and describe them briefly. Invite the children to add projects to the list. Once the list is complete, ask if any children wish to speak briefly in favor of a particular project. Ask also if any children strongly dislike any of the project possibilities, and remove those from the list. Then, vote for the favorite project.

Now ask the children if there should be any special rules for being part of the club. Tell the children the first rule is that anyone can belong to the club if they want to and if they agree to follow the Faithful Journeys group covenant. List all appropriate suggestions on the newsprint. You may want to ask the group if they think there might be any reasons to keep someone out or to ask them to leave; affirm that any member who breaks the Faithful Journeys covenant or acts as if they do not want to be in the club could be asked to leave. Excluding rules are only appropriate if their purpose is to keep the club - like the group meeting space - safe for everyone.