Lent Worship

You may have heard your child talking about drawing their prayers and noticed that it is different from worship in other times. We observe lent as a quieter time in worship. We began by celebrating Mardi Gras, ending with us putting away the word “Alleluia” until Easter. In daily worship, we light the candle in silence, and we have a special way to pray and reflect silently.

On Ash Wednesday, children were introduced to their lenten journals. Each child dipped their finger into (a separate pile)  the unblessed ashes, made a cross on their journal, and prayed, “Jesus, teach me how to follow you.”

Each day as we begin worship, there is an image of a piece of art projected on the wall. These paintings come from varied time periods, places, and artists.

We hear the bible passage, pray, hear a brief description of the art and artist, then are prompted with some wondering questions to further our own reflection.

After the video ends, the artwork is projected again. The children retrieve their lenten journals and continue to have quiet reflection time. The children are given flair pens and crayons. They are invited to draw or write a prayer or reflection. There is nothing quite as touching as the faith of a child. As often sung (in other years) in our school, “A mustard seed is tiny, but it’s tree grows very tall. We can move a mountain with a faith so small.”

Some children draw the artwork and reflect on the story. Some draw using the prompt of a time that the worship story reminds them of and some just draw their own prayers. Some write their prayers or the title of the story. The children have a time where they can share with their classmates if they’d like.