Thinking Ahead to Holy Week

It is hard to believe that Palm Sunday is almost here (March 16th!). And if Palm Sunday is almost here, then Holy Week and Easter are rapidly approaching. Parents, especially the parents of young children, are often confused as to how to deal with the crucifixion as we tell the story of how Easter happens.

The events of Jesus' death are shocking and violent, but we cannot fully live into Easter if we have not experienced Jesus' death. There are ways to approach this with children that make it easier to share the whole story. Here are some of the things I have learned in twenty years as an educator and a parent:

1. Children - even very young ones - know that bad things happen. The Easter message is that good always triumphs over evil - even if it doesn't seem to at the moment. This is a message children can hear and understand.

2. When you talk about the crucifxion, always continue immediately with the Ressurrection. I have found the following kinds of language helpful: "Jesus loved people so much that some people were scared by it and they put Jesus to death on a cross. But love is so strong, that not even death can destroy it, so God raised Jesus from the dead on Easter to show us that love lives always."

3. Some children find any visual picture of the crucifxion too hard to manage. If your child is a visual learner, you may only want to share the story in words - the shorter the better.

4. Some children are curious about how crucifixion actually works. They will ask questions like "Did it hurt?" ("yes") "How does crucifixion kill someone?" ("slow suffocation".) You do not need to dwell on the gore, but an honest answer that is short and to the point is helpful to yor child and allows you to move on to the resurrection.

5. Other children worry that Jesus was alone. He wasn't - his mother and the Beloved Disciple were there, along with other women. Two other men were crucified with him. And most importantly, God was with Jesus.

Experiencing the events of Holy Week and Easter can be a powerful way for children to share in the defining action of our Christian faith while being held in a safe and familiar environment. Please join us for our Maundy Thursday Supper and Eucharist. We will begin at 5:30 PM in Fellowship Hall making bread with the children for the Eucharist that evening. We will have a simple supper of soup, bread and salad at 6:00 PM. The service begins at 7:00 PM. We will hear the liturgy of the word and wash each other's feet. Following the Peace, we will head upstairs to the Sanctuary for the liturgy of the table and the stripping of the altar. The Youth Choir will sing at the service.

We offer a Good Friday service especially for children and families. We will re-enact the events of Holy Week together beginning with a procession into the Chapel, sharing matzoh and grape juice with Jesus and letting him wash our feet. The children will then carry the cross down the aisle, sit in the tomb and be amazed as Jesus is resurrected. This is a powerful and meaningful service that many families have found important to their lives of faith. There is nothing morbid or scary involved. We will offer this twice - once at noon and once at 4:00 PM.

If you have questions or concerns, please give me a call or email me. I am always happy to talk things through with you.

Faithfully,
Elizabeth