Tapestry of Faith: Families: A Jr. High School Youth Program that Explores the Diversity, Commonality, and Meaning of Families

Opening

Part of Families

Activity time: 5 minutes

Materials for Activity

  • Chalice and matches

Description of Activity

Chalice Lighting

Gather in a circle. Light the chalice, using words that the youth listed at the end of the last session to describe the congregation or other words. Unless a youth volunteered at the end of last session, invite a participant to lead or assist with chalice lighting.

Check-In

Check in with participants about their photo-documentary work and reflections they may have about the opening activities.

If you choose, start with an overview of the session. You might say, "Today we are going to explore the work of being in a family. We will start by thinking of what a family needs to do in order to function. Next you will form small groups and work together on scenarios of different families to figure out "the work" of being a family member. Then we will do an activity; we will either write job descriptions for each family member or create posters that advertise them. Then, we will come together as a large group again."