As the Lenten season approaches, here are lots of ideas for using the 5 sessions in GenOn Ministries' “All God’s Children: The Church Family Gathers for Lent” intergenerational resource! :
- Gather for five evenings in Lent beginning the last week of February. Mid-week, Friday night, or Sunday evening are all possibilities but consistency is helpful.
- Come together once or twice—the sessions are written as a continuous theme but can also stand apart.
- Follow (or proceed) an Ash Wednesday worship service using “The Temptation of Jesus in the Wilderness” session. Enjoy “Stone Soup” (recipe included!) for dinner. Share reflection questions around the table about Jesus in the wilderness. Create activity stations in the room for small groups or choose one of the three for everyone to do around the tables. Pray and sing what is included or end with worship in your sanctuary.
- Bring all ages together on a day that works for your church to study the story of Jesus teaching Nicodemus. The menu suggestion offers “foods with fillings on the inside”: turkey and vegetable wraps, cupcakes or donuts with fillings, box drinks. These items continue the theme lifted in prayer: “Dear God, Thank you for what is inside both our meal and our lives…” There are several activities offered, creative ways to tell the biblical story and reflection questions for small table groups. A closing of song and prayer is also included.
- Use the content to resource your families in faith development around their own dinner tables (or Sunday brunch or Saturday breakfast). Share the ideas weekly in your Sunday bulletin or on your church's Facebook page.
How might you use this creative chock-full resource to bring the generations together to study, eat, play and worship during Lent?
All God's Children: The Church Family Gathers for Lent