Tapestry of Faith: Wonderful Welcome: A Program for Children Grades K-1

Closing

Activity time: 10 minutes

Materials for Activity

  • Wonder Box poster
  • Picture of a dove with an olive branch (Leader Resource 1) and tape or glue stick
  • Copies of Taking It Home for all participants
  • Newsprint, markers and tape

Preparation for Activity

  • If you have not made a Wonder Box poster, cut and decorate a sheet of poster board to resemble a gift box. In each session's Closing, you will place an icon on the poster to represent that session's intangible gift. Display the Wonder Box poster in the meeting space throughout the program
  • Print out Leader Resource 1, Dove with Olive Branch. Cut out the image to attach to the Wonder Box poster.
  • Write the closing words on newsprint and post.
  • Customize, print out, and photocopy Taking It Home for all participants.

Description of Activity

Gather the children in a circle. Point to the Wonder Box poster and explain that it looks like the Wonder Box to remind us about our intangible gifts. Invite a child to tape or glue the picture of a dove with an olive branch to the poster. You may say:

Now we will see the dove of peace every time we are together here. The dove reminds us that, just as Great Joy forgave the Prince and brought peace back to their friendship, we, too, know how to use forgiveness to make peace.

Tell the children you are happy and thankful you all could be together this morning. You may say:

Giving thanks for being together helps us remember that it is important to be ready to forgive one another. Let's say our closing words of gratitude together.

Invite the children to hold hands. Show them where you have posted the closing words. Ask them to say each line with you, and say the lines slowly:

We are thankful.

We are thankful to be here.

We are thankful to be here, together.

We are thankful to be here, together, now.

Then ask one child to very gently squeeze the hand of the person to their left, and have that person continue to pass the squeeze until the squeeze has returned to the person who started it. Tell the person who started the squeeze to signal that it has returned to them by raising their arms, still holding hands with the people on either side. When this happens, instruct everyone to raise their clasped hands, together. If you like, suggest a word for them to say at this moment, like "Good-bye!" or "Shalom!" or the name of this session's intangible gift - "Forgiveness!".

Extinguish the chalice. Distribute copies of Taking It Home. Thank and dismiss participants.