Prayer Stations

This week, during the message, Lisa created prayer stations for the kids in another part of the building. We used one large room with a closing partition and closed the partition.

The babies, toddlers, and children waiting for their turn played on one side of the partition. The other side of the partition was set up as "sacred space". She had each station numbered. Each station for sitting had a colored cloth to sit on. She took two children at a time through the stations with another adult.

She asked the children to look for each number and once there, told them a little about that particular kind of prayer.

Station 1: This station was for sentence prayers (mostly "thank you" prayers) She wrote the sentences on a huge pad of paper. One of the kids asked why there was a dot after his name. The dot for the end of the sentence.

Station 2: a cloth on the floor and a picture of Jesus kneeling to pray. She taught them the Jesus prayer, a singing prayer, a simple prayer asking forgiveness, a sentence song that we sang three times.

Station 3: a different colored cloth, a different picture of Jesus more iconic in style. He's holding a Bible. This was for listening prayers.

Station 4: the kneeling rail and The Lord's Prayer on the wall. We kneeled. She spoke one phrase at a time and the kids repeated it after her. Enthusiastically, I might add.

Station 5: the communion table - purple table runner, wooden cross, a solid rectangular purple candle on each side lit, pita bread on a small stoneware plate and juice in a matching challis. She talked about communion.

After each of the kids had gone through the sacred space we gathered with the littler ones on the other side and she did praise prayers, praying with a loud noise: a music tape and rhythym instruments walking over and around the toys. We discovered an eight month old who likes to sing.

At the end, the partition was openned and the kids who were old enough to draw were each given a huge piece of paper. I didn't hear the "assignment". But it went well.