In our family, we celebrate Shabbat each week and Passover each year so I wanted to look at the Jewish ‘High Holy Days’ as they are known, to find some rituals we could use to enrich our faith at home. I’m not going to give an exhaustive overview here, (because you have google too!) but […]
Set up a tent in the garden and share a Bible story together inside it. This activity is particularly relevant for the festival of Tabernacles, when Jews celebrate, among other things, God’s provision for them when they lived in the desert. However, a tent is a fun way to explore lots of different Bible stories […]
Have fun with some pumpkins in October by celebrating the light of Jesus. Instead of carving scary faces, create a positive image such as a cross or the letters of the word ‘Jesus’. (I’ve tried to do an angel but haven’t managed so if you do, please send me a photo!) Look up some Bible verses […]
I don’t know about you, but near us there are lots of trees on fire! Not literally, but Autumn seems to brought out a huge flash of bright red and orange in some trees, leaving the rest of the leaves green. It’s like some giant paint brush has splodged them or like they’re on fire. I love […]
If you’re doing a pumpkin carving, the first job is to cut off the ‘lid’ and scoop out the inners. I came across this idea by Sharon Ely on how to use the scooping as a reflection. As you empty your pumpkin, reflect on Jesus who emptied himself by being human. This is also translated […]
As the nights start to get longer, many children may be involved in activities which take advantage of the darker evenings and seasonal celebrations such as Halloween and guy faukes night. This prayer activity takes advantage of the darker evenings to use the movement of a sky lantern far away in the sky to represent […]
Look out for special looking trees this Autumn and when you spot one, praise God for it. You could play Top Tree, a game where you see which tree is the most stunning over the Autumn period. This could involve taking photos of them, and if you play with different people, you could upload them […]
I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a lot of conkers in my house this Autumn. It seems to have been a bumper year, and although I pretend I’m collecting them just because my daughters love playing with them, if I’m honest, they’re partly for me as I love the wonder of those beautiful […]
Use the contrast between the spikey shell and the smooth conker to reflect on God’s transforming work. Collect conkers still in their spikey shells. Invite everyone to carefully pick one shell up and hold it while thinking of something ‘spikey’ or not nice they would like God to sort out. This could be anything, for […]
